VALDOSTA — Spa treatments, salons and manicures/pedicures has been a necessity for women forever. Now, men are getting in on the action by becoming more conscious of their bodies, appearance and health.

Male customers now compose nearly 30 percent of all spa customers, according to the International SPA Association.  

Those figures are spilling over to the spa industry in Valdosta.

“I see men trying to take better care of themselves,” Anthony Rowe, owner of Anthony and Company Salon and Spa, said. “I don’t know if it’s because their wives are looking young and they want to look the part with them or if there’s just a greater interest in looking younger as you’re getting older.”

Anthony and Company has two locations in Valdosta. While 50 percent of its  hair clientele is male, men make up around 10 percent of the spa clientele.

“It’s better now than what it used to be,” Rowe said. “It used to be about 3 percent but now it’s 10.”

Michelle Lamb, owner of Lemongrass Day Spa, says her percentage of male clients varies day to day, but overall about 40 percent of her clients are male.

“Everything (now) is beauty, beauty, beauty, beauty,” Lamb said. “You are starting to see movie stars and more and more people are coming to spas because they’re stressed or they are getting a gift certificate. I’ve had men get a facial and they are like ‘Wow, this is a facial? I wasn’t expecting it.’ So once they get it, they are wowed by it.”

While men are finding spas and beauty salons more attractive, there are still males who are nervous or intimidated by the stigma that goes along with going to them.

“Sometimes men will be like, if they go to a place that has a spa and they’re on a meeting or a casino trip, they will try a spa away from where they’re (from) because they’re nervous,” said Rowe, who has 25 years experience in the industry. “They don’t know what to expect or what to wear. Then when they feel more comfortable, they come here because they know what to expect. They’re shy.”



Mani/Pedis and Hair

Men who receive Father’s Day packages that include a pedicure, along with a haircut and massage, Rowe says, are usually experiencing a pedicure for the first time. And they love it.

“Then the ones who (like it) and can afford it or have the time for it, will come back and get another one,” Rowe said. “They might not be a regular like a woman would be but they will come back once or twice a year. We try to show them that you only get one pair of feet in your life. You’ve got to take care of them and if you get into situations with ingrown toenails or callused feet, you have to address it now. You can’t just wait until you’re older to do something about it because your feet will be damaged.”

While Lemongrass Day Spa doesn’t have as many male clients asking for manicures or pedicures compared to massages, Lamb said, most men visit with their significant other to get pedicures.

“A lot of men come in to get pedicures with their wives or their date and get a couple package,” Lamb said. “We had so many men come in for Valentine’s Day. It was crazy.”

Looking younger and taking care of themselves has also spilled over to hair care.

“Whether it’s to look the age that they are or whether it’s to say on the cutting edge in their industry because men who are older are trying to look younger to compete with younger people who are out for their job,” Rowe said. “So we do quite a bit of color on guys more so now than ever. Through the years, there’s been phases where kids or young men would highlight their hair, but now we are seeing more distinguished men in their 40s and 50s trying to keep their gray down or to a natural level color.”



Massages

At Lemongrass Day Spa, most of the male clientele prefer massages, whether it’s a deep-tissue massage or a sports massage.

“We deal with golfers and athletes,” Lamb said. “So when they come here, they are coming to a spa, but they are coming here for a treatment. Especially work-related stress. It’s good for that as well. Massages are good for the body because they relieve stress and toxins.”

At Anthony and Company, Rowe also has a lot of male clients who use massages as a way to de-stress from their everyday lives.

“We have some high-end clients who are doctors and lawyers,” Rowe said. “When they have big cases or a lot of surgeries, their nerves are rattled.”

Among the massages that Rowe recommends at Anthony & Company is the Four-Hand Massage.

“We have (a massage) called the Four-Hand Massage where two people massage you at one time,” he said. “Your body can detect (the) hands on you. The nerve endings that go to your brain know that if someone is rubbing your feet and rubbing your shoulders. So your central nervous system can’t detect where it’s coming from, so your body has to give up and relax.”

According to both Rowe and Lamb, they get a lot of business from men at Moody Air Force Base.

“We do very well with Moody Air Force Base,” Rowe said. “Each year, they have a weigh-in where they have to be under a certain weight. We have body wraps that delete the water retention in (their) body retention, so we do quite well with the military guys before their weigh-in.”

“Once they get in here and experience it, they want to come back for more,” Lamb said. “It’s just getting them in here that first time.”



Anthony & Company Spa & Salon

Location: 420 Murray Road, Valdosta

Phone: (229) 244-1214

Salon and Tanning (Remerton)

Location: 1337 Baytree Road

Phone: (229) 247-1217



Lemongrass Day Spa

104 W. Northside Drive, Valdosta

Phone: (229) 244-4111