Ovi Magazine Issue #12: Sexuality Published: 01-03-2006

offer the suggestion of nurture and
care, such as ‘De-Stressing Soother’
or ‘Night Recovery’.
Whilst the more cynical may think
that these products simply contain
the same concoctions gender-specifically
rebranded, they would be
wrong. The skin is a human’s heaviest
and largest organ, weighing between
3 to 3.5kg (in an adult). Whilst
the basic three-layer make-up of the
skin and its functions is the same in
males and females, a man’s skin is
actually a lot different to a woman’s,
as Nic Coomber, a skincare distributor
in the UK, explains:
“Regular shaving systematically
deprives a man’s skin of moisture
and oil. Men’s skin has more horny
layers, making it about 20% thicker
than women’s. Men’s skin is also
more elastic. Owing to different
tissue structure and skin thickness,
men’s skin generally remains firm
and resilient until about age 30.
Then, however, it loses its elasticity
and tone much faster than women’s
skin.
in a style attractive to men, as Sarah
North, a skincare brand manager
explains:
“Treatment descriptions should be
more precise and logical for men.
Although ladies tend to prefer a
wordy, enticing treatment description,
men want to know exactly
what it does.”
Thirty-year old Tim Wooldridge,
a Personal Trainer, visits a salon
regularly, and has a strong view on
what would appeal to male clients:
“Making the salon a bit more masculine
would be a good start if you
want to get more chaps through the
doors… it’s a shame you can’t just
stick Playstation in there!”
Salon owner Karen Cook-Wadman
has found that most men initially enter
the salon for massage treatments,
often relating to sports injuries.
“Once they have made that decision
to visit a salon, however, they can
become loyal customers and start
to book treatments like facials and
manicures,” she says.
With attitudes like this it seems that
the taboo is becoming the norm for
this modern generation of males,
and only time will tell whether our
sons and grandsons will spend their
Saturday afternoon’s in the salon
rather than at the football stadium.
www.beautyserve.net
“Additionally, men’s skin has different
sebum gland activity, because
male hormones (androgens) influence
the lipid metabolism of the
sebum glands. So men naturally
have different skin problems than
women. The man frequently has
to deal with blackheads, impurities,
dry skin, inflammations of beard
hairs, or oily skin.” Therefore, products
are developed to deal with these
skincare issues.
Professional therapists, salons and
Spas are more than aware of this
difference, and so specifically tailor
face and body care programmes, and
the environments within which they
are administered, to encourage male
clientele. Again, these are branded
Sarah North agrees: “Once a male
client starts having treatments they
generally tend to be much more
loyal.”
Tim Wooldridge adds: “Maybe if
salon owners were to hold an open
day just for men, or offer something
for free at first just to break the ice.
Men love a freebie and once they’re
in that’ll be it. As a personal trainer
I know how nerve-racking people
find places like salons for the first
time… it’s a bit like gyms.
“I had a free salt scrub at the beauty
salon at the gym where I work the
other day… and enjoyed it so much
that I’d definitely have another now,
and pay for it!”