An article from the 1999 issue of Cosmopolitan, written by Eric Crites, titled “When a Man Is Too Vain,” caught my attention. Remember when women ruled the hair salons and make-up counters and men would not be caught dead with anything but soap and a razor in their medicine cabinet? Well, Crites states the reality of men today.“These days men are plucking, primping, and exfoliating with enthusiasm to feel better about themselves and to seem more attractive to women,” Crites says. I have to agree that men are the ones becoming more high maintenance, not women. I experience it almost every day at work. I work at a hair and beauty salon in Kailua and almost fifty percent of our clients are males. The thing that I find strange is that these men are making appointments for much more than only the ordinary hair cut. I schedule facials, manicures, pedicures, and waxing appointments for men all the time. Men come to my salon to get their chests, backs, and brows waxed. They feel that women don’t l
ike hairy men. They come in for a blow-dry and style, or just a shampoo and cut. It’s strange to look over and see a guy all nice and relaxed having a pedicure or a manicure. What happened to the macho man image?
One women told her story of how her husband schedules monthly appointments for manicures, pedicures, and facials. “I have to add on my husband’s beauty bills to all of our other bills every month,” says the woman. Another woman explains how her man every night puts a mask of leave-in hair conditioner on his face to keep his skin baby soft. One of the strangest things I read was, about a man who put rouge on his nipples when he goes to the gym or beach so his nipples look more appealing to women. One man puts mayo in his hair once a week to make it shinier.
Crites interviewed women asking them questions about their boyfriends and husbands. Crites wanted to see their reactions to what he had to say and to see if these women had any strange stories to tell about their guy’s primping behavior.
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