MEN ALLTHE WAY

With stars like Harry Styles, Machine Gun Kelly, Brad Pitt, Idris Elba, Pharrell Williams, John Legend and Travis Barker launching skincare and/or nail products, the male grooming market has taken a huge step into the mainstream.

Alongside the emergence of so many male celeb skincare and/or nail lines, there are other dynamics at play in terms of male grooming, as both Harry Styles and Machine Gun Kelly, as well as Jared Leto to some extent, have moved into gender neutral dressing, blurring the lines of traditionally defined masculinity.

Middle-aged actor Paul Rudd was in 2021 voted People’s Sexiest Man of the Year, and while always quietly good looking, he has never had the typically hunky muscular body type of the more traditional choices like Chris Hemsworth or Channing Tatum. At the time, Ruud revealed to Page Six that he uses concealer on his face.

A recent study by Humanery reveals that searches for ’men’s skin care’ have jumped by 124% in three months. In July last year, Future Market Insights reported that the sector’s global worth was around $13.5 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $28.3 billion by 2029.

According to a recent report from capitalmind.com, “male grooming habits have undergone dramatic changes in recent years, as men increasingly emphasise the importance of appearance, which is driving growth in premiumisation and other high valueadded product categories. The market was traditionally geared around mass-market personal hygiene and fragrance categories, but skincare has since emerged as the highest growth category (eg. anti-ageing serums that offer targeted solutions).”

The capitalmind.com report notes that new growth trends include sustainable and natural products and now also male make-up. “Although convincing men to wear make-up sounds impossible, this hasn’t stopped the largest beauty players from betting big on it, including the US giants Coty and Maybelline.”

South African perspective

Sorbet Man, part of the Sorbet Group, is one of the larger salon franchises that caters specifically to men, with 20 stores countrywide.

Say Sorbet Group’s Leigh-Anne Wagner and Gustav Steenburg: “While we haven’t opened any new stores since Covid, we do have plans to expand our national footprint over the coming 12 to 24 months. We are currently investigating potential sites.”

Sorbet Man

They note that during the past year, Sorbet Man has seen its skincare business grow by 45%, with facial sales increasing by 43%. “There has also been an increase in haircuts, colour, shaves and beard grooming. Furthermore, we have seen a rise in anti-hair loss and scalp care treatments, as well as ingrown hair treatments. And, of course, we know how much men love their manicures and pedicures, in particular our anti-age manicure and pedicure offering. We are happy to say that retail sales have been very healthy, with a growth of 20% over the past year.”

The award-winning Hines and Harley Men’s Grooming Lounge now has two branches, the original salon in Parktown North, Johannesburg, and a second in Alberante in Alberton.

Owner and founder, Jared Hines, himself an awardwinner in spa and salon management, reports an increase in the spa treatment offerings overall. He continues: “More specifically, we’ve noted a rise in massages and more specialised skin treatments. We have also seen a big increase in the amount of facials being booked; our clients are buying more and more skincare products for home use.

“Beards remain popular. In fact, more and more of our clients are choosing to wear facial hair in one form or another and there has not been a decline in beard treatments.”

Jared Hines

“ AT HINES AND HARLEY we’ve noted a RISE IN MASSAGES and MORE SPECIALISED SKIN TREATMENTS. There has also been a BIG INCREASE in the amount of FACIALS BEING BOOKED; our clients are BUYING MORE and more SKINCARE PRODUCTS for HOME USE. ”

Hair removal

For many years hair removal among men has been a sought after treatment, and for Hines and Harley, waxing is the second highest offering overall. Hines continues: “Waxing is always extremely popular. I have considered whether or not to introduce laser hair removal but the laser treatments do not fit in with the current aesthetic that we are wanting to create and offer. Possibly in the future I might introduce laser hair removal if we open a different type of space that would be more tailored to offering this kind of treatment.”

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In-Spa: The Men’s Marine Facial protocol stimulates, rebalances and tonifies their skin for a revitalised face bursting with energy. The Force Marine Fortifying Massage created especially for men, is made up of deep and powerful techniques for an ultra-rested body, released tension and deep relaxation. Concentrating on the areas of men’s bodies most sensitive to stress, muscle contractures and tension, this massage re-harmonises the back, relieves the nape of the neck and trapezius muscles, stretches and relaxes the legs, and rebalances the hips.

All these amazing benefits don’t simply end when you leave the spa.

Take-home: Continually exposed to external aggressors, men’s skin requires tailored skincare to restore tone and vitality. Despite the fact that they appear later than in women, the signs of skin ageing in men are generally deeper.

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What would a Men’s range be without shaving products?

The Thalgo After-Shave Balm immediately soothes and comforts the skin after a well-needed shave. In just 28 days your skin will be repaired and the harmful effects of shaving is LASTINGLY reduced.

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“ We try and KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON TRENDS and what our CLIENTS ARE WANTING to do and strive to ACCOMMODATE THEM as much AS POSSIBLE. ”

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Sorbet Man’s hair removal category continues to grow as double digits, with particular focus on facial and back waxing. Approximately 50% of guests have their brows either threaded or waxed while they are in the salon for another treatment.

Nails

Stars like Harry Styles and Machine Gun Kelly are regularly seen on the red carpet sporting coloured manicures but is this a trend in South Africa?

At Sorbet Man the answer is a resounding yes. Say Wagner and Steenburg: “We have seen a 193% growth in our colour nail services in the past year.”

Hines and Harley has a different experience. “At this stage we only have one or two clients who opt to have colour on their nails. Generally speaking, we have seen more bookings specifically for pedicures than in the past,” Hines states.

“ THE SORBET MAN team knows how much MEN LOVE THEIR MANICURES AND PEDICURES, in particular the ANTI-AGE MANICURE and PEDICURE OFFERING. ”

Hair services

He notes that haircuts are still the biggest revenue generator at his salons. “With our clients, it seems as though there is a move back to the neat, not too short sides and blended neat cut on top – what is known as the ‘regular cut’.

Similarly, Sorbet Man’s biggest revenue spinners are the Signature Haircut and Faded Clipper Cut. Wagner and Steenburg say: “Our Clipper Combos and Signature Cut Combos are very popular as they package the services that our guests love and they are also a value for money offering.

“We have seen a rapid growth of 71% growth in our hair services, which are upsold when guests come for cut and colour. And by the way, hair colour is one of our top 10 revenue generating services.”

Aesthetic treatments

As Hines was keen to create a one-stop-shop for his clientele, he also offers aesthetic treatments such as anti-ageing injections (i.e. botulinum toxins and dermal fillers), PDO threads, micro-needling and peels.

“It has always been my vision for Hines and Harley to be the space where men can come to get all the treatments that they want, so this was a natural progression for us. We started offering facial peeling around 2019 as we saw a demand for that. Soon after, we introduced microneedling and recently partnered with a medical doctor to start offering injectables and threads. As most of our staff, myself included, are aestheticians, we are able to perform the peels and micro-needling treatments ourselves.

“We also try and keep a close eye on trends and what our clients are wanting to do and strive to accommodate them as much as possible. There has definitely been an increase in demand for aesthetic treatments recently. Currently our most popular treatment is the facial peel. We are also seeing a steady increase in men wanting botulinum toxin injections,” comments Hines.

He believes the facial peel treatment has proved so popular as men like to see that they are getting immediate results with their treatments. “The peels definitely offer that and this is also the reason that toxins are becoming more and more popular too.”

The age group most into these treatments at Hines and Harley ranges from between 35 to 50. All of these clients have added aesthetics to their other current treatments.

With lip fillers currently all the range among women, are there any of Hines’ male clients who are wanting to plump up their lips? “No,” he responds, “the clients that are doing the fillers are not using it for fuller lips, they are having them done to smooth out the deeper wrinkles to aid in evening out the skin.”

In conclusion, Hines says: “We are seeing more interest in treatments for men both on the spa and aesthetic treatment offerings and I think it’s important for more offerings to become available to males.”

Wagner and Steenburg add: “Our menu is updated yearly, however we are constantly relooking at our menu offering to stay up to date and will launch through our booking service.