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Men’s little secrets
Don’t judge a book by its cover, the saying goes
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D
on’t judge a book by its cover, the saying goes. But many men have started to realize that first impressions do count.
Hollywood actor Clive Owen, known for his tough-guy roles, became the first male spokesperson for Lancome’s fragrance for men and their anti-aging skin care cream.
Massage treatment --JP/Ricky Yudhistira
Indonesian actors Nicholas Saputra and Christian Sugiono have also become brand ambassadors for men’s products.
Women are no longer the sole target for the face and body treatment products and services.
These days, spa, beauty salons and skin doctors are not the sole territory of women – they must share their beauty secrets with a growing number of men who feel the need to groom themselves.
Ahmad Yerry is no exception. The account executive officer at a high-profile company said he started to pay close attention to his skin and health.
At first, he went to a high-end dermatology clinic in the capital city, but then switched to a skin doctor to treat his acne scars.
“I have an oily face. When I was a teenager, I did not know about facial soap and did not understand how to treat my acne. I only learned about men’s facial soap products when I was in college, but it was already too late,” he says.
He also takes some other treatment in the doctor’s clinic, which include facials, and back and bottom peelings.
“Peeling treatment helps clean up the cellulite lines in my waist, making it nice to see when I go to the sauna or swim. Yes, I care about my skin. I don’t like it when I see the blackening prickly heat when I look in the mirror.”
Yerry said he uses an expensive Japanese skin care product every night for his daily treatment and called a middle-aged therapist to his rented house in West Jakarta to give him a massage-and-scrub treatment.
The whole treatment regime, he said, was worth it as it boosts his confidence not to mention the feeling of personal satisfaction of having clean and fragrant skin.
“I do this for fun. It’s like a hobby and something to do in my leisure time,” he said, adding that sometimes, he takes his girlfriend when he goes to the clinic, where she can have a facial treatment while he was had his routine treatment.
Guruh Wijaya, a human capital strategy and development worker at a manufacturing company, also has a concern for his skin.
He regularly cleans his face with a men’s facial soap and applies facial gel and later cream to protect his skin from sun exposure. He also has a liquid product for his puffy eyes.
“I just want to look fresh in the morning and reduce the wrinkles after being exposed to the heat, fatigue from daily work and sleeping late at night. The skin product is not merely a lifestyle choice to me. It’s a need,” Guruh says.
For the sake of a decent appearance, he also goes to a salon for a hair massage treatment, to have his hair cut and to have it colored black once every two or three months.
He also goes to a spa and massage house every month to get traditional massage and scrub treatment.
“People who don’t understand may have certain stigmas about men doing all these treatments, but I think we need such treatment in Jakarta because we want to be fresh and release our stress,” he said.
Sri Ida Mulyani, the spa manager at Dharmawangsa’s Bimasena Spa, said the number of the spa’s male customers grew significantly after 2000 due to increasing concerns about health and the improving image of spa and massage centers.
Massage treatments, she said, were the most popular service for men.
The spa, which opened in late 1997, can cater to around 900 customers in the peak season, a jump from 300 customers before 2000.
She said men comprised 70 percent of the spa’s massage treatment customers and 30 percent of its facial customers.
Facial and nail treatment, she said, have become more popular among male customers.
“These days, the male customers start thinking about treating their face, nails and taking slimming treatment because they don’t have the time to work out,” she said, adding that guests usually spent about 90 minutes in the spa.
Waxing treatments, she said, were not too popular as the number of guests asking for it was still around one percent of the total guests.
“Male foreigner guests usually ask for back, neck and shoulder wax. Local male guests started to use this service only six years ago,” she said.
Men, who take care of their look, are not only those who have corporate jobs like Guruh and Yerry. Others, who work in the harsh fields and brace the blistering heat, have also started to feel the need to protect their skin.
Albert Dian, an oil engineer who works offshore, said he was concerned with the extreme temperature differences in his working place.
Besides using facial soap as well as hand and body lotion after taking a bath, he also applies sunblock cream three to five times a day every time he goes out of a room.
The number of cosmetic products offering men’s line is growing too along with the raising concern of skin health among the dudes.
Colin D’Silva, the associate director of Procter and Gamble’s international operations, said the selection of the right models or brand ambassadors for the men’s line cosmetics strongly influenced the acceptance of the products in the market.
Psychological science plays a role in this game. A row of masculine public figures have become the faces of some skincare products, sending a message that using the products does not make you feminine.
Check out their choices.
Guruh admitted he was tempted to use a certain product because of an advertisement that features a manly brand ambassador.
“I feel more confident if the ad model is a cool, fresh and straight man,” he said.
The guys may look better with their skin care regime, but do the girls happy?
Tripena Handayani, who works for a government-owned company, said men doing home daily treatments, such as using facial soaps or hand and body lotions, are still acceptable.
But going to salons, spas or skin doctors was too much, except if their facial conditions are really bad, she added.
“Men don’t need to really think of their appearance because in my opinion, the most important thing is they have charisma,” the 27-year-old woman said.
Marcelina Adesti, a 27-year-old English lecturer, said she would be interested to know the treatment regime of a well-groomed man because they probably can go to the salon or spa together.
“It’s actually fun to have a boyfriend who can join you to have a body treatment as long as his penchant for the treatment is not too much or I will end up looking much more masculine than him.”
