Plucky Blokes go for the Brozilian

Beauty conscious blokes are flocking to salons, with the eye-watering male brazilian - the "brozilian" - one of the favoured treatments.

A RIPPING YARN

Once the domain of women, brow shaping, facials, tanning and manicures are attracting a growing stream of men.
And bookings for "brozilians" have doubled at some facilities in the past two years.

"It's the fastest growing service over any," Off Wax and Brow Bar owner Nicky Shore said. "There are connotations that men's waxing is a sexual thing but it's about hygiene and confidence.

"A lot of guys are growing up getting teased about being hairy. They're more insecure than we think."

Off Wax is one of the few facilities that strips male pubic hair, with around 100 bookings a month. Many beauty parlours stop at the buttocks.

But those that offer the service are not limited to Auckland. Christchurch and Wellington beauticians are reporting similar trends. The complete stripping of pubic hair gained popularity through the likes of famous David Beckham and Puff Daddy.

And men now make up to 20 per cent of beauty therapy clientele, therapists say.

Grooms are joining their brides in brow shaping, facials and manicures for their big day. But predominantly married men aged 35-50, with encouragement from their wives, are "manscaping".

"Brozilian" training is not offered in New Zealand, so therapists have to do their homework to get staff skilled up.

"You need a certain level of maturity to handle a male client," Shore said. "You don't want a 15-year-old who's just graduated chatting with you about going clubbing on the weekend."

Richardson said it was a shame there weren't more men's grooming lounges to meet demand.

Manscape in Christchurch does a steady stream of what it calls "manzilians" and other men's treatments, despite being temporarily displaced by earthquakes.

"With the rebuild we've seen a strong increase in clientele. Guys are getting recommended by other workmen."

A recent Auckland University survey on body hair found 78 per cent of male participants had removed some or all of their pubic hair, and 54 per cent still did.

A recent German study found 70 per cent of young respondents removed underarm hair.

One survey respondent said the brozilian helped "to make the tiger stand tall on the plain".

- Sunday Star Times

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