Manscaping:
Southward-Bound?
In the age of the metrosexual, some men have already
begun to improve their grooming habits…above
the chin. A new revolution is hitting below-the-belt,
targeting his back fuzz, toe hairs and, well,
everything in between. By Sarika Dani
These days, most guys have gotten
the metrosexual memo: They keep their nails clean,
embrace the idea that Irish Spring shouldn’t
double as shampoo, and some even allow spouses
to gleefully weed-whack their unibrows. But venture
below the chin (we’re talking chest, back,
shoulders, and nethers), and it’s still
a no-fly zone, grooming-wise. Or was.
In certain Hollywood circles,
rumors of x-treme manscaping are beginning to
circulate. The latest trend, gaining in popularity,
is known, poetically, as the “back, crack,
sack wax,” raising the question: How low
do you want him to go? Most women who value manly
men don’t want their partner transformed
into Mr. Bigglesworth, and yet most of us might
give the green light to a little “lite”
maintenance for the hairier sex.
Then, if you do come down on
the side of manscaping, how to broach the subject?
Delicately, to be sure. And don’t be afraid
to offer a bribe, says John Esposito, co-founder
and co-owner of Truman’s Gentlemen’s
Groomers in New York City. “Get him a gift
certificate to a salon, and make it fun,”
he suggests. And if your fuzzy-wuzzy honey still
insists on wearing his thatches like bearish badges
of manhood, here are five reasons for him to reconsider:
- Survival of the trimmed-est.
“Men have become more objectified through
the media and advertising, and that has raised
both self-awareness and competitiveness among
[them],” says Michael Flocker, author of
The Metrosexual Guide to Style: A Handbook for
the Modern Man. “The result is that people
stay single longer and are more selective in choosing
their mates, so for better or worse, you have
to work a little harder to stand out.” Tango
Tip: According to Philips Norelco, 50 percent
of men aged 20 to 49 body groom—try asking
your partner if he really wants to be the only
guy on the beach wearing a “sweater”
this summer.
- He can get drunk while getting
shorn. We admit, it’s got to be intimidating
for a guy to walk into a salon full of women,
and say, “One back wax, please.”
Enter the full-service men’s salon. Vic
Sosikian, founder of Mark Matthew Fine Gentlemen’s
Grooming Club in Los Angeles, which opened last
year, describes his establishment as a “cross
between a barber shop, salon, and day spa for
men.” Leather arm chairs, flat panel TVs,
and free alcohol create a discreet, masculine
environment—not even a guy who says “I
don’t do salons” can argue with this.
- It doesn’t have to hurt.
Let’s not beat around the bush: As women
well know, waxing smarts, and it’s not the
only way to tame his tufts. “Men
have been asking for an alternative to waxing,”
says Sosikian. “They don’t mind [having]
the hair, but they want to trim it down.”
The pain-free solution? Special razors,
like the Philips Norelco BodyGroom, designed for
manscaping. With features like a hypo-allergenic
shaving foil instead of a rotary head, it allows
men to trim hair at different lengths in the privacy
of their homes. But regular maintenance is required:
“The problem with trimming is that it’s
going to come back quickly, just like with shaving,”
Esposito warns. “You’ll have to trim
at least once a week.”
- David Beckham’s doing
it. So are porn stars. After the trend-setting
soccer star boasted about his “back, crack,
sack” wax, some guys warmed to the idea
of going bare. And according to Esposito, the
rise of smut is also partly responsible for encouraging
men to clean up their acts: There’s now
pressure, he says, for men to hold themselves
to the unrealistically tidy standards the industry
has heretofore demanded of women. Which brings
us to…
- It’s payback time. Women
have endured all sorts of torture in the name
of beauty, from the risk of crimping your lashes
(or worse) with an eyelash curler to the agony
of Brazilian waxes. In The Reluctant Metrosexual:
Dispatches from an Almost Hip Life, author Peter
Hyman recounts his own experience of getting a
Brazilian: “I did it because I felt it was
unfair for men to expect women to be perfectly
groomed without at least some appreciation for
what they go through,” he says. Thank you,
Hyman, for taking one for the team. Esposito goes
one better: “It’s not payback,”
he says. “Back and chest grooming is all
vanity. Grooming below the waist is just a nice
thing to do for your partner.”
Tango’s Take: Agreed. But,
unlike putting the seat down, being nice to your
mother, and knowing “no, you don’t
look fat” is always the right answer, manscaping
below the chin is optional, not something a man
should be forced into. That said, we’re
not above gentle cajoling. Then, with any luck,
you’ll see the monkey-see, monkey-get-his-back-waxed-too
effect kick in: After all, “The
majority of men come in because they choose to,”
says Sosikian, and Esposito concurs:
“Guys realize it’s not that bad. Then
they start coming in on their own.” Both
agree they see an equal mix of single and taken
men, which means body grooming is fair game for
any male body, bachelor or betrothed. Know someone
who missed the memo?
Text from tangomag.com |
