Beauty Over Brawn?

Hayden Case tries out one of the fastest growing trends in the male grooming industry: The Spa Treatment

Dry, agitated skin, razor burn, sensitivity, folliculitis and wrinkles are common occurrences for the modern man who, with 20% thicker skin, increased testosterone and 15% more facial oil than women, tends to regularly wear a grubbier, more worn out complexion. To combat this, I headed for a Hot Towel Shave and Facial treatment (ear burning and threading included) at the SK Clinic + Spa in Bury St Edmunds.
Head Therapist Laura Darragh firstly exfoliates my face free of dead skin by using hot towels, steam and a Pevonia face wash. She then applies Turkish soap with a boar hair brush and accurately shaves the stubble. With visible hairs removed, Laura applies a refreshing lemon stringent before any trace of the products are hot towelled and removed.
Shaving complete, Laura grabs a flaming cotton tipped stick and begins flicking it wickedly onto my earlobes, the idea being to flash fire the ear hair in rapid bursts before instantly smothering the flames. “I thought the ear burning was crazy when the specialists were training us,” says Laura, who then starts darting across my face and eyebrows, plucking away stray hairs as she finds them. And with that, she's done. The result is a clean, cut free shave and facial. Total time: 45 minutes.
Later on I chatted with Laura, Dani Wye (Pevonia's PR & Marketing manager) and Adele O'Donoghue (SK receptionist/guest QVC presenter for skincare brand SBC) to find out more about the male grooming industry.
Is there a stigma attached to men's spa treatments?
“The rise in grooming among male celebrities has removed some of the stigma attached to the male beauty industry,” says Dani. “Men visit gyms and hair salons regularly; the next step is skincare, which should be viewed as essential maintenance.” “Men feel vulnerable at first, but we deal with them all the time.” says Adele. ”After a while they become comfortable and we actually find they enjoy it.”

What type of men come in for treatments?
“

We get a lot of American guys from the nearby bases,” says Adele. “For Americans, male spa treatments are nothing new. It’s in their culture.” “Our biggest sellers are usually pre-wedding treatments,” says Laura. “We even have dual rooms if guys are into the bro-mance thing!”
Which kind of treatments are popular?

“SK’s sports massages are popular,” says Dani. “The name lends it an active feel which explains its popularity amongst men.” “Other popular treatments are those geared towards men such as the SkinFit facial for Him and the Biarritz Pedi-Spa, which is a pedicure with foot spa and massage elements.”
What advice do you have for men when it comes to shaving and looking after their skin?
“As Baz Luhrmann says, use sunscreen. Or more specifically, wear a moisturiser containing an SPF 15+,” says Dani. “With prolonged use, an SPF moisturiser makes a real difference to a man's skin.” “With shaving,” continues Dani, “applying a moisturiser or balm to post-shave skin helps minimise rashes and blemishes.”
If you like great skin, then the SK Clinic is for you.People might give you a funny look when you’re walking in, but they'll give you a second glance when you're walking out.