Sathnam Sanghera: The rise of male pampering
Sir John Bond, chairman of HSBC, looked at the papers one last time and felt pleased. The negotiations had been tough but the final deal was satisfactory. Satisfactory for shareholders. Satisfactory for employees. ADVERTISEMENT But glancing across the boardroom table, he spotted something not very satisfactory at all. “Listen, old chap,” he barked at his chief executive. “I hate to point it out, but your lip liner’s wonky. Would you like a session with my beautician? She’s very good.”A fictional scene, as far as we know. But not an unlikely one if we are to believe recent press coverage about the “pampering boom” sweeping the City of London. Grooming salons in the Square Mile are apparently experiencing “a huge surge” in the number of male bankers, brokers and lawyers booking massages and back waxes. Formerly macho City workers are arriving at work smothered in eye creams and tinted moisturisers.Of all the trends reportedly shaping the way we do business in the noughties, this one is the least believable. Anyone who has walked through Bank Station on a Monday morning knows that the average male City worker is as he has always been: badly dressed and, particularly at this time of year, red-faced and mucky. But still, the idea of a “male pampering boom” persists. Last month I received a press release from City Skinklinic, a new beauty parlour, claiming that City men just could not get enough of its services. Spotting an opportunity to establish once and for all whether this boom was myth or reality, I got in touch with them. I began by asking them to put me in contact with some of these male City clients, who apparently account for 35 per cent of their business and would not hesitate to have their back waxed during lunchtime.They responded by giving me two names: Harry Hyman, managing director of a company called Nexus Group, and Ricardo Mercado, a freelance personal trainer.I rejected both men: Mr Hyman on the grounds that he is the financier behind City Skinklinic, and therefore likely to be biased, and Mr Mercado on the grounds that he is not a City worker. Undeterred, City Skinklinic’s PR came back with a third name: David Poutney, a director at Numis. I rang him last Tuesday.“For me it’s a medical rather than cosmetic thing,” began the 51-year-old, explaining that he had visited the clinic to have treatment for sunspots. “I went for a laugh really. And because it was free - I know Harry Hyman.” So he is not an advocate of male pampering after all? “To be honest, in my experience it’s a growing trend but not widespread. Once I get rid of these sunspots I’ll stop. I certainly won’t be having botox.” The interview did not do much to quell my scepticism. Nevertheless, I thought I would take up City Skinklinic’s offer of pampering, to see if it was something that men should at least consider. Choosing a treatment proved more difficult than expected. The menu, with its talk of “endermologie”, “mesotherapy”, “microdermabrasion” and “hyperpigmentation” was largely incomprehensible. Initially I considered going for botox, but chickened out at the thought of being injected with gunk. In the end, after being reassured by the PR that it would not hurt (“it will feel like having your skin sandpapered - your face will twitch a bit”) I opted for the “City Skin Cleanse”, a treatment aimed specifically at city workers. “The city is a hostile environment for our skin,” said the brochure. “Make some time to ensure you protect and nourish your skin - it will pay dividends!”I arrived at City Skinklinic, based in a swish building opposite ABN Amro, one lunchtime last week. The first thing I had to do was fill out a medical history form. Did I have herpes? No. Was I afflicted by hormonal disturbances? No. Did I suffer from depression/anxiety? Admittedly, I had had a touch of the jitters since talking to the PR. Eventually I was introduced to Alison McKinnon, who described herself as the clinic’s senior “aesthetician”, a job title I have never come across before and which is not listed in my dictionary.In her soothing Glaswegian accent, Alison explained that the ￡75, hour-long treatment had seven stages: 1. Cleansing; 2. Flash exfoliating; 3. Steaming; 4. Extraction; 5. Hydration; 6. Nourishment; 7. UV protection. Most of this sounded tolerable, but I didn’t like the sound of “extraction” at all. It turned out to involve Alison squeezing my whiteheads and blackheads with her fingers. This felt not so much like being sand-papered as being stung by a swarm of wasps. Nevertheless, most of the session passed without agonising pain. Towards the end Alison applied some smelly purple “clay” to my face and gave me a head massage, focusing on my “pressure points”. When she finished I went to inspect her handiwork in a mirror. Frankly, I struggled to notice much of a difference. There was a line of dribble across my cheek (I must have fallen asleep at some point). My hair looked mad: the head massage had disturbed my bouffant. And my skin looked marginally less filthy. But that was it.Back in the office I asked colleagues if they could spot a difference in my appearance. “Is it your teeth?” asked one. “Your ears? Your clothes? Your hair? It’s your hair, isn’t it? Yes it’s definitely your hair. It looks different.” A second colleague was just as clueless. “There’s something different about your cheek,” she pronounced.Of the eight people I asked, only one spotted that I had been skin-pampered. Which prompts the question: why bother? Not only is evidence of a male pampering boom scarce, but so are the reasons for paying for pampering. Certainly, the only thing I will be scrubbing and waxing for the foreseeable future is my car. And the only thing I will be steaming is vegetables.
男士美容看得出来吗
汇丰集团(HSBC)主席约翰?邦德爵士(Sir John Bond)最后一次看了看有关文件，心里很高兴。尽管谈判很艰难，但最后的交易还是令人满意的，他为股东们感到满意、为雇员们感到满意。
然而，当他的视线扫过会议室桌子对面时，他看见令人失望的东西。“听着，老兄，”他对着首席执行官喊道：“尽管我很不愿意说出来，但你的唇线笔太糟了。你要不要见见我的美容师？她很棒。”
据我们所知，以上场景纯属虚构。但是，如果我们相信有关席卷伦敦金融区的“美容潮”最新报道，上述场景并非不可能。在这“方圆一英里”的金融区，美容店生意堪称“如火如荼”，男性银行家、经纪人和律师争相预约接受按摩和背部除毛护理。先前男子汉气概十足的金融区专业人士现在上班前都会抹上厚厚的眼霜和带颜色的润肤霜。
在当前的21世纪，据说有许多趋势正决定着人们从事商业活动的方式，而在这些趋势中，上述潮流最令人难以置信。您只要在周一上午走过伦敦的Bank地铁站，您便会知道，金融区普通男性工薪一族还是那个样子：衣着拙劣、面红耳赤、邋里邋遢（特别在目前这个季节里）。
但是，“男士美容潮”这一想法始终存留在我脑海里。上个月，我收到一家新美容店“城市皮肤诊所”（City Skinklinic）的新闻发布稿，声称其服务在金融区男士市场上供不应求。于是我与他们取得联系，希望借此机会彻底了解这一潮流究竟是虚构还是事实。
首先，我要求他们帮助我与一些金融区男性客户取得联系，这些人占了该诊所生意额的35%，他们会毫不犹豫地利用午饭时间接受背部除毛护理。
诊所给了我两个名字：纽克瑟斯集团（Nexus Group）董事总经理哈里?海曼（Harry Hyman）和从事自由职业的私人健康训练师里卡多?梅尔卡多（Ricardo Mercado）。
但我拒绝了这两个人选，原因是：海曼是为城市皮肤诊所筹集资金的理财专家，因而可能会有所偏袒；而梅尔卡多并不属于金融区上班一族。城市皮肤诊所的公关部门并未因此而气馁，他们又给了我第三个名字：纽米斯证券公司（Numis）的一位董事戴维?普特尼（David Poutney）。上周二我与他通了电话。
“对我来说，这是医疗服务，而不是美容服务，”这名51岁的男士开口说道，并解释说他前往诊所是为了治疗雀斑。“其实我去是为了好玩，因为这是免费的―我认识哈里?海曼。”这么说他并不是男性美容的拥护者了？“老实说，就我的经历而言，这确是一个上升的趋势，但并没有普及的程度。一旦雀斑没了，我就不会再去了。我肯定不会做‘保妥适’（botox）注射除皱。”
这次采访并没有打消我的疑惑。不过，我决定接受城市皮肤诊所的美容护理，看看男士是否至少应该对这种呵护加以考虑。后来的事实证明，挑选护理方案比预想的要难。护理单上列出的项目大多难以令人看得懂，如负压纤体按摩（endermologie）、中层疗法（mesotherapy）、微晶换肤（microdermabrasion）以及色素沉着过度（hyperpigmentation)等。
起初我曾考虑过接受保妥适注射除皱，但一想到要注射那粘稠的东西，就临阵畏缩了。经诊所公关一再向我保证没有痛感（“感觉如同皮肤被砂纸打磨，脸部有少许抽动”）后，我决定选择城市皮肤清洗方案，这是专为金融区上班一族而设计的护理方案。“金融区环境不利于皮肤，”手册如是写道：“请花些时间来保护和滋润你的皮肤―你一定会得到回报。”
上周某一天，我利用午饭时间前往城市皮肤诊所，该诊所位于荷兰银行（ABN Amro）对面一座时尚的建筑物内。首先要填写病历表。是否曾患疱疹？否。是否曾有过荷尔蒙紊乱？否。是否患有抑郁/焦虑症？我得承认，在与公关部门交谈过后确实曾感到一丝不安。最后，我被介绍给艾利森?麦金农（Alison McKinnon)，她说自己是诊所的资深“美学家”，我还从没有听过这一职位名称，我的字典中也没有。
艾利森带着令人觉得安慰的格拉斯哥口音解释说，这个疗程一小时的费用为75英镑，总共分7个步骤：1.清洗；2. 瞬间去皮3.蒸疗4.拔取5.保湿6.滋养7.紫外线保护。这些步骤大多数听起来还可以忍受，但我根本不愿意听到“拔取”一词。结果，就在这一步骤，艾利森用手指挤压我脸上的粟粒疹和黑头粉刺，感觉像是被一群黄蜂螫了一下，而不像是用砂纸在上面打磨。
不过，在整个过程中，我大部分时间都没有感到疼痛。快结束时，艾利森在我脸上涂抹上某种难闻的紫色“粘土”，并在我的头部进行按摩，还注意在“压力点”上使劲。结束后，我尝试对着镜子检查她的手艺成效。坦率地说，我竭力想找出一些差别。我的脸颊上有一道水痕（我一定是在某个时候睡着了），头发看起来很乱：头部按摩弄乱了我蓬松的发式。我的皮肤看起来不那么脏了。但也仅此而已。
回到办公室，我问同事是否能看出我的外表有什么不同。 “是牙齿吗？”一个同事猜道：“耳朵？衣服？头发？是头发，对不对？不错，绝对是头发，看起来是有些不同。”另一个同事同样毫无头绪，她发表的意见是：“你的脸颊有些不同。”
在我所询问的8个人当中，仅有一人看出我做过皮肤美容。这就引发了一个问题：费那个神干嘛？不仅男士美容潮缺乏证据，而且花钱美容也没有足够理由。当然，在可预见的将来，我只会为我的车擦洗和上蜡，而蒸煮的也只会是蔬菜。
