Spas in Search of New Ways to Attract Male Clientele

Online, May 23, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Beauty may be only skin-deep but don't say that to the growing number of men who've gotten their hair frosted, their chests waxed or their sagging skin lifted in the last few years. Apparently The Beast is now the Beauty - and med spa businesses are trying their darndest to capitalize on that.

"10 to 15 years ago," Barry Lycka of Age Defying Dermatology in Edmonton, Canada was quoted in the magazine Medical Spas as saying, "I would say out of 100 patients one would be male, but now we have two or three out of every 10." In the same article, Cheryl Whitman of the medical spa consulting company Beautiful Women cited a statistic that estimated the amount of money men spend a year on beauty products to be as much as 12 billion.

Perhaps this shouldn't be surprising. With the prevalence of make-over shows and men's fitness magazines and society's obsession with celebrity-worship, it would seem only natural that eventually men, like women, would begin to take more of an interest in their health and physical appearance. Whitman cites the long work hours most men endure as a possible cause. Men are stressed, they enjoy being pampered and getting a massage or pedicure can work as an outlet for that. Plus as baby boomers age and remain in the workforce, they find themselves in competition with younger executives. A Botox injection here or a microdermabrasion there can make them look - and feel - younger, which does a world of good for their confidence and self-esteem.

Med spas have been trying take advantage of this trend but have found it difficult. Because despite the increase in the amount of men eager for a little a primping and pampering, spas still retain the stigma of being a predominantly "girl thing"; akin to doll shopping or Tupperware parties.

But as Whitman noted in Medical Spas magazine, some of her clients have begun to fight against the stigma, redecorating their offices in neutral hues instead of pinks or pastels and experimenting with more unisex music, like Jazz. One Pennsylvanian business owner, Dr. Ira Berman, even opted to forgo using the word "spa" at all; opting to refer to his company as the more male-friendly "Cosmetic Dermatological Center."

Whitman recommends med spa businesses offer "couples nights", where women and their boyfriends or husbands can watch a PowerPoint presentation on the importance of skin care, for example, or hear a lecture on the latest anti-aging remedy. Men, she reasons, might feel more comfortable learning about beauty-enhancing products and procedures with their wives at their sides.

For more information on this trend or for tips on how to start or market a medical spa, contact author and medical spa consultant, Cheryl Whitman through her company's website, www.beautifulforever.com, or call toll free at 1-800-Spa-Medi.