menscience.com

For the 20-year-old, pampering himself with manicures and pedicures — once considered “women only” territory — is nothing new at all. He’s been enjoying the monthly ritual for the past year.

That’s right, ladies. Don’t be surprised if one day a man sits down next to you during your “mani-pedi” session at the salon. These days, men agree with what women have been saying for years: It’s important to take care of yourself.

And Yanuar is ready to testify to it.

“Actually, it’s not only about making my hands and feet look good or anything,” Yanuar says. “Rather, mani-pedi for me is relaxing and stress relieving. It makes me feel good.”

Well, why not? Who doesn’t want to feel — and look — good? These days, men too want to have great-looking skin and overall appearance. Gone are the days where men just lathered themselves with a bar of soap and went out to face the day.

Today, there’s more to a beauty treatment for men than just a shower and a shave.

Once upon a time, it was commonly considered feminine for a man to pay attention to his own
appearance, but contemporary culture and attitudes have given men more freedom to indulge in what was once considered “girly” self-care.

Yanuar for one doesn’t agree with people describing someone like him as “feminine”.

“I think that’s just how society constructs what to believe,” says the student of a private university. “Instead [of that belief], I take care of myself because I respect my body.

“People can have different getaways from stress, and going to the spa and so on is just how I escape from stress,” he adds.

Actor Ferry Salim, dubbed Indonesia’s “metrosexual” icon, says that these days, Indonesian men have shifted from a conservative lifestyle to modern one. Driving the trend is a global movement, he says.

“Globally, there’s now this trend of metrosexuality among men,” he says, referring to the neologism applied to heterosexual men with a strong concern for their appearance, and/or a lifestyle that displays attributes stereotypically associated with gay men.

“Just look at how [English soccer player] David Beckham has influenced [other men] to look good,” he adds.

But actually, Ferry says, it’s not just today that men have understood the importance in taking care of their appearance. He gives the example of Indonesia’s first president Sukarno.

“Sukarno was someone who paid a lot of attention to his appearance — just look at how he dressed up,” he says. “And when I looked at my grandfather’s photos from back then, he and his friends were all trendy — like wearing pomade on their hair,” he adds, referring to a waxy hair product often associated with men’s hairstyles of the 1950s.

Now, with growing media exposure on men’s treatments and lifestyle, Ferry continues, the metrosexuality trend is starting to influence many men.

Furthermore, the plethora of male-oriented lifestyle magazines, such as Maxim, Men’s Health and Esquire, have publicized the benefits of skin and hair care regimens and show male role models, such as entertainers and athletes, using beauty products. Consequently, men are starting to look after their skin and hair.  

“Beauty treatments today aren’t only for women anymore,” Ferry says. “Just get to the basics: Taking care of your skin is for everyone, regardless of gender, right?”

He offers anti-aging cream as an example. “Everybody — men and women — have to deal with their skin aging. So it’s normal for men if they want to delay such aging to use [beauty] products.”

Ferry freely admits he’s into men’s skin products such as facial cleanser and scrub, moisturizer, sun block and anti-aging cream. Ferry also makes regular trips to the hair salon to get hair treatments and coloring.

“For me, having a skin treatment is like investing in the future,” he says. “It has to be done from an early age to prevent the effects of aging.”

And when he needs advice, it is always close to home.

“My wife is a cosmetologist,” he says. “So I often ask her about beauty treatments and products.”
He agrees that his job as an entertainer has influenced his habit of pampering himself with beauty treatments.

“As an entertainer, I surely have to look good,” says Ferry, also a presenter and fashion designer. But after all, he goes on, “I basically love to keep my skin healthy.”

The same goes to new pop sensation Afgan Syah Reza. The 20-year-old singer emphasizes the importance of skin care for men.

“We men must also look after our skin because our faces tend to get oily easily,” says Afgan, an ambassador for a beauty product brand. “We have to wash our face to prevent blemishes and pimples,” he adds.

Afgan feels that seeking skin treatments is obligatory for him, as his work in show business means he often has to wear makeup.

“It was my mom who first introduced me to skin treatments,” Afgan reveals. “She was a bit of a busybody about this matter; she wanted me to look after my skin so I can be pimple-free,” he laughs.

From what Afgan, Ferry and Yanuar say, it seems clear that skin and beauty treatments aren’t a foreign language anymore for men. Therefore, many major consumer products companies across the world are recognizing the importance of including male customers in their product range: All of them want to be in the men’s category. Whether it’s hair dye, skin care, fragrance, hair care or even makeup, more products than ever before are appearing in the men’s grooming market.

This is quite different from the olden days when the men’s grooming market basically comprised only razors, shaving cream and hair gel. At that time, men who were into grooming habits were forced to shop in the female-oriented beauty aisles for their personal care products, meaning they had to use those products designed for women.  

Luckily, today men have plenty of choices when it comes to grooming. And don’t be surprised if you spot beauty clinics, spa houses and salons specially designed for men. As Adam Yogie, public relations manager of Brown Spa, reveals, plenty of men are hunting down a spa.

“Men do care about healthy skin, because they want to look and feel good,” says Adam, whose spa house is specially designed for men. “Besides, pampering in a spa treatment can help reduce stress,” he adds.

Before opening the men’s spa, he says, his company started with a spa targeting women called Chocolate Spa. But their experience taught them that men were looking for the same treatments available for women.

“At that time, we had found that many men who took their girlfriends or wives to our spa wanted to have the same treatments,” Adam says. But the problem was, he says with a laugh, “the girlfriends and wives got jealous when their men were treated by female therapists.”

So, he adds, “we decided to open another spa for men, with male therapists.”

Adam acknowledges that the metrosexuality trend has helped boost his spa’s business.

“That has brought awareness to men that body and skin treatments are no longer exclusively for women, and that they deserve the same things,” says Adam, adding that his spa focuses on chocolate-based treatments.

Just like female customers, Adam says, male visitors love to be pampered with body massages, body scrubs, body masks and chocolate baths. Whether daytime or evening, there’s no shortage of male customers heading to Brown Spa.

“The difference is, at noon, most of our customers come to take a short treatment like a body massage, while in the evening, they tend to take treatments in a package that includes body scrubs and body massage,” Adam says.

If there’s any difference from women in terms of treatment, Adam explains that there’s a special treatment called “Brown Vitality with Chocolate Oil Essential” for men.

“It’s like a relaxing and gentle massage targeting a man’s chest,” he explains, adding this therapy is the most popular among his customers.

According to Adam, the men who are showing up his place are mostly celebrities and executives whose daily activities bring them face to face with many people.

“Men today work out and have a variety of activities. They have to deal with many people so they need to be confident, and having healthy skin can help [boost confidence],” Adam says.

If anyone agrees with Adam, it’s spa enthusiast Yanuar.

“If your skin is healthy and you’re free from stress, then that can help you gain your self-confidence,” Yanuar says. “That not only makes you look good, but feel good too.”

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