The very fact that a man uses the services of a beautician is not a reason to point a finger at him, as if he were a client of a lingerie store (although, perhaps, this will soon not be surprising). It is worth discussing something else: with what problems did the representative of the stronger sex come to the beauty salon …
If a man came with the words “Doctor, I haven’t got very silky hair lately”, the cosmetologist has the right to quietly exchange glances with colleagues, but does not have the right, probably, to dissuade the client from the need to deal with such a flaw – this is rather the prerogative of the therapist. Also, however, it is strange if a man suffers from the fact that he has thin lips or too short eyelashes.
It’s a completely different matter if a man comes to a beauty salon to cut his nails, squeeze out pimples or buy some remedy for the stench of armpits. In this case, we are talking more about a civilized approach to eliminating aesthetic imperfections, rather than a painfully increased attention to one’s own appearance. And yet: what is a civilized approach and what is heightened attention?
This dilemma worries primarily those sensitive natures in whom the sidelong glance of others causes internal discomfort. They dislike not only the slight grin of the administrator or the security guard of the beauty salon, but also the thought that friends and colleagues, having learned “about this”, will misunderstand them. Perhaps one can be ironic on this score. However, according to psychologists, the fear of seeming strange or not quite adequate lies in the field of normal psychology and is characteristic of the vast majority of people.
And even if this fear does not pass into the category of an obsession or paranoid delirium, it is unlikely that it can make a man a regular in a beauty salon. After all, relaxation is the cornerstone of many procedures – how can you relax when it seems like they are pointing a finger at you.
However, all reflections on a deeply vulnerable male soul are appropriate, first of all, when it comes to visiting a beauty salon “for pleasure.”
After all, procedures such as manicure, pedicure, hydromassage and mud baths do not have any serious effect on the appearance, which means they are not vital. Very different feelings embrace a man when he needs something more serious than the microelements of the Dead Sea. For example, he started to go bald.
There is an opinion that a mentally balanced, uncomplexed man will not become sad for a long time about the loss of hair. Proponents of this point of view are armed with advice from psychologists (for example, that you need to get a haircut as soon as the first signs of baldness appear) and perceive the inevitable alopecia as another reason for jokes about their own appearance.
However, this happens exactly as long as something else grows on the skull of these daredevils. No one will undertake to predict where they will run, when one fine morning they see a fine mesh of their own hair on their white pillow. I bet that cold sweat will break through ninety percent of them.
Whether a man should put up with baldness or not is still an open question.
The main thing is that the fight against external shortcomings does not turn into an obsession. In other words, as long as a pimple on the nose or a receding hairline is perceived as an annoying nuisance, this is normal. But if these – by and large – little things begin to poison the existence, then this problem already lies in the field of psychiatry and is called dysmorphophobia. (By the way, most often this disorder occurs in women).
Foreign researchers note an interesting pattern: the more loyal the society is to sexual minorities, the more often men use the services of a cosmetologist. And not only supporters of same-sex love. An example is the United States, where, according to the International SPA Association (ISPA), there are as many as 35% of all clients of spa salons and clinics for men! In addition to traditional SPA manicure, American guys love SPA pedicure, massage, balneotherapy and especially mud therapy.
Of course, the ISPA research did not go unnoticed by the organizers of the cosmetic business.
And although the creation of a purely male SPA clinic can be considered a revolutionary step even for the civilized West, beauty centers began to perceive male clients not only as an exotic decoration of their institution, but also as one of the main sources of income.
The salons followed the advice of psychologists and seriously attended to the development of individual relaxing programs: it has long been noticed that psychological and physical relaxation is sometimes more important for men than aesthetic correction of appearance. For example, many of them do their manicure in the salon not so much because they care about the sophistication of nails, but because women’s touch and massage bring them real bliss on the verge of oblivion.
In addition, in most Western beauty centers, the range of aromatic oils has increased, which are offered to the client to choose from before starting the procedure.