News

"It would be exciting," he said.

Cairns, 61, was browsing in L'Occitane En Provence, a French Bath and Beauty Boutique in Shadyside -- and contrary to what you might expect, he was shopping for himself.

Apparently, nothing says "thanks, dad" like an naturally invigorating, shea-butter moisturizer.

"It seems like guys are starting to see that it's important to have the same amount of upkeep as women do," said Amber Johnson, the store's manager, She said items from the store's men's line "Cade" fly off the shelves around Father's Day.

Some guys may have innocently stumbled into the uncharted territory of male body products -- perhaps because of a favorable shaving gel or aftershave. But more men are embracing a routine to reinvigorate, refresh or exfoliate and are willing to buy designer creams, lotions and balms.

Men make up 29 percent of the spa industry -- it's fastest growing segment, said Mike Gilman, co-founder of the Grooming Lounge, a retail store and barber shop in Washington, D.C. The sale of men's grooming products is expected to surge 67 percent to $20 billion by 2008, he said.

Nathan Arnold, 23, of Crafton is a frequent L'Occitane customer, regularly purchasing its shaving and shower gel. He said most of his friends use the products.

"Suddenly, it's more culturally acceptable," he said.

Johnson said the stigma surrounding such products is disappearing because men are finally getting hip to "What Women Want."

To a woman, a man who cares for himself is one who will care for his lady, she said.

Indeed, Gilman said that many of the Grooming Lounge's customers are women shopping for their boyfriends, husbands or fathers. Women are more inclined to buy these sorts of gifts for their men now, he said, because they realize men actually like using them.

But, as with any other trend, there are the dissenters.

"There's always an anti-trend," said Pat Anello, director of marketing for the Wahl Clipper Corp. "You get men who still like to have the rough-and-tumble look," Some guys might prefer their old standby can of lather to something that smells like wild juniper.

Though Wahl has been in the male-grooming industry for years -- it invented the beard and mustache trimmer -- it is responding to the recent popularity of grooming products among younger men with a new marketing approach, Anello said.

It recently launched a Web-based campaign called "Keep it Clean," an interactive site which allows visitors to learn "Manscaping 101." Interested men can enter their personal information and learn which particular beard style -- be it the Van Dyke, the Hulihee or just the plain old Goatee -- best suits their mug.

Adam Mitchel, a business owner from the North Side, said he doesn't use male grooming products and that his girlfriend would never think about buying him "something like that."

"People think it's a necessity when it's not," he said. "It's an unnecessary evil."

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News