July 7, 2007
More guys are body waxing
If you’re in your 30s, 40s or older, you probably have noticed it: hair sprouting in places where you’ve never had it before.
Your back. Your shoulders. Your ears. Don’t forget that Rapunzel-like growth from your nose.
Face it. You’re furry, and hormones are to blame.
Some guys, tired of looking like the Geico insurance company caveman, are doing something about it.
Four simple steps
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1. Warm wax, often made of resin, is spread over the body area with a wooden stick that looks like a doctor’s tongue depressor.
2. A thin fabric strip is applied on top, flattened by hand so it adheres to the wax and hair.
3. The skin is held taut, and the strip is pulled off rapidly.
4. This is done repeatedly, depending on the size of the area being waxed.
Cost: The chest or back start at about $40, depending on the amount of hair. The range is usually $40 to $60. Men return for a wax job every four to five weeks.
Source: Creative Hair Design Salon and Spa, 120th and Pacific Streets.When guys hear wax, they usually think cars, soft cloths and a nice shine on the Dodge Caravan.
But we’re talking more along the lines of “40-Year-Old Virgin,” although not with the blinding pain Steve Carell’s character howled over when he got his chest rug yanked in the movie.
Some local salons say the number of men coming in for body waxing, though not huge, is growing. Backs are the most common spot.
Back waxings are more common than chests because a hairy back seems more unusual than a hairy chest.
Warm wax is spread on your body hair. Thin fabric is pressed on top of the wax, then stripped away, pulling the hair out by the roots. (More on what it feels like later).
Interest in waxing typically grows in the summer, when wooly guys are hoping to lose some hair so they won’t frighten small children at the pool. Wives or girlfriends often encourage their guy to shed the shag.
Even guys in their 20s are going in for a little “manscaping.”
Ryan Knihal, 26, heads to Gloss Salon & Day Spa once a month for a back waxing. He said he has been hairy since high school.
Eight months ago, at the urging of his fiancee, who works at Gloss, he got his first waxing.
So how did it feel?
It stung. A lot.
“You wince,” said Knihal, a bartender at Old Chicago.
But it gets less painful each time. The hair grows back thinner and finer, making it easier to pull. Knihal said it now feels like getting a bandage pulled.
Gloss, near 108th and Q Streets, isn’t the only place that is seeing more guys for waxing. At least 20 guys a month come in for a wax job at Creative Hair Design Salon and Spa, at 120th and Pacific Streets, said manager Melanie Thies. A few years ago, four or five a month came in.
More than a dozen guys a month make appointments for waxing at M. Constantino Salon, 180th and Pacific Streets, up from one or two a month a few years ago, said owner Mark Constantino.
Thies attributes the trend to the influence of advertising and celebrities. Guys like Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and David Beckham don’t exactly look like a sasquatch.
Flip through magazines such as Esquire. The ads usually show guys who have more in common — at least hair-wise — with a Chihuahua than a sheepdog.
Constantino has seen plenty of style trends come and go during his 37 years in the salon business.
He said it’s tough to say how long the waxing trend will continue, but he doesn’t expect it to fade soon.
“Guys find it a little tidier,” he said.
