To prepare for important meetings, Robert Tomson, the owner of a women’s activewear company, has a secret weapon: an at-home two-step facial peel. “It’s a perfect little pick-me-up,” said Robert, who lives in Brooklyn.
“It takes care of ingrown hairs and gives me the instant feel of getting a facial.” Robert, who is in his 40s, first tried a peel from his wife’s stash after he noticed the results on her. Now he jokingly compares himself with the Mel Gibson character in What Women Want, the ad man awash in beauty products intended for women.
The macho attitude
Men are unlikely to request peels (they just complain about their skin), but dermatologists, facialists and skin-care companies say they are selling more to men every year to treat a variety of problems. “Men feel comfortable with peels because they work fast and there are no injections, so they don’t feel like they’re having work done,” said Dr Francesca Fusco, a dermatologist in Manhattan, who uses them to treat brown spots (the top complaint), fine lines, wrinkles, ingrown hairs and large pores (especially on the nose) and to address skin texture.
For men, there is the welcome side-effect of a closer shave, she said, and skin-care professionals like that the peel has become a gateway drug to other cosmetic procedures. “Men come in for that, and then maybe the next year they’re asking about skin tightening,” Franscesca said.
Men tend to stick to gentler peels, like those with glycolic acid (as opposed to, say, fraxel laser peels) because they’d rather not walk around pink and flaking. Jim Massaro, a strength and conditioning coach in Nyack, New York, first went to a dermatologist because he was worried about the brown spots on his face and hands. (He sheepishly admits to rarely wearing a hat.) Now, about once a season, he has a peel (usually glycolic acid or trichloracetic acid, a relative of vinegar), which he says has reduced the spots about 90 percent. “I didn’t want to do injections or laser because that might give you downtime,” he said.
“I don’t want athletes making fun of me, thinking I’m getting Botox or something.”Joanna Vargas, a facialist in Manhattan, has seen a steady increase in male clients, and she said she gives them peels because they’re a quick way to see results – and, most especially, because they make removing blemishes less painful. “Women think it’s okay to suffer a bit for beauty, but men are a little more sensitive to extractions,” she said. She avoids anything that smells like a woman’s product and opts for higher concentrations of fruit acid (men’s skin is thicker) mixed with paprika. “They like the heat of the paprika,” Joanna said. “It’s invigorating.”
At a three-month-old pop-up peel bar at Butterfly Studio Salon in New York, customers can get dermatologist Dr Neal Schultz’s signature glycolic acid peel without trekking uptown to his office. Men make up about 20 percent of the clientele for the peel, Neel’s most popular office procedure, and the number has been rising. They tend to come for the roughly five-minute, $39 treatment after work, usually at the prodding of a significant
other. “It’s quick and painless, so why not?” said Jaime Maser, a spokeswoman.
Practicality factorBecause men are less likely to browse for products, skin-care brands rely on seduction via in-store demonstrations, samples and a bit of psychology. The men’s skin-care company Jack Black introduced a peel in 2011, handing out foil packet samplers. They called it the DIY Power Peel. “Guys are kind of into Home Depot and Lowe’s and doing it themselves,” said Curran Dandurand, a founder and the company’s chief executive. “We wanted that strong, powerful association.”
The Philosophy cosmetics company engages men, often as they wait for wives or girlfriends to finish shopping, by suggesting they try the Reveal Imaging Machines, which use ultraviolet technology to show skin damage.
Some 50 cameras connected to laptops rotate among the company’s five “peel bars,” and the smaller “peel stations,” at many of its 200 counters. “Most men lean into the machine feeling pretty confident,” said Angelina Bellanti, Philosophy’s retail sales manager in Chandler, Arizona, the brand’s birthplace and its only stand-alone store. “This is usually a wake-up call.”
To make unisex peel products appeal to men, Philosophy skips the inspirational text it deploys on concoctions like its Hope in a Jar moisturiser. “Men don’t want to sift through emotional mumbo-jumbo,” said David Booth, Philosophy’s vice president for global marketing.
“So, for them we go straight to the science.”Stafford Broumand, a dermatologist in Manhattan, also skips the flowery sentiments (and scents) to attract male patients. Lights aren’t dimmed, there’s no gentle music, and men can stay in their suits and ties and text on their phones throughout the half-hour peel. “We don’t want it to seem like a fluffy facial treatment,” he said. “It’s all business.”