Thanks in part to the UK media's categorisation of the metro-sexual, a heterosexual man who cared about the way he was groomed, and celebrities such as David Beckham who have made a name for themselves as fashion icons, the door opened to men who wanted to maintain their burly manliness but also look great.
When Cape Town's first men's grooming spa, The Glasshouse, opened a decade ago, the idea of body and intimate waxing was still sufficiently daunting to make men, including the writer, anxious according to owner Carol Boag. "Although having hair forcibly removed is not pleasant, the greater discomfort arises because of the intimate nature of the treatment, which, for women opting for Brazilian waxes, was already commonplace," she explains. For Boag and her therapists their professional and no-nonsense approach removes any suggestion of lewdness. "Body hair has been removed since the ancient Egyptians so this is nothing new," she says.
The problem with having your short and curlies ripped from their roots is that regrowth is very often accompanied by ingrowing hairs that rather than reach up to the light, plunge back into the skin creating inflammation and, frequently, painful infection.
Regular exfoliation to remove the top layer of skin cells with an abrasive sponge has, until now, been the best form of defence against ingrowing hairs, but, in my experience, it is not an adequate one.
Nakedcherry, a Johannesburg-based professional waxing outfit, has created two companion productions to assist with post-waxing recovery and, from my perspective, offer a 100%-effective solution to ingrowing hairs.
The spray product has salicylic acid (that's aspirin to you and me), which not only provides topical pain relief, but also acts as an exfoliant. Witch Hazel delivers anti-microbial support, which, along with lemongrass, camphor and tea tree in the body wash smells good and leaves me feeling tingly.
I don't think much of the names: Morning Glory and Nakedcherry, but the products are fabulous and I will keep using them.
In Cape Town, Glasshouse Rejuvenation for Men keeps them, while www.cherrysmooth.co.za has links to other stockists.
