Svurveys show a rising aspiration among men to look better groomed which means that the fashion, style, skin and haircare market is not just limited to women. It may be an increased visibility of metrosexual men in pop culture, a variety of social and cultural factors are driving Pakistani men to break stereotypes and go for beauty and styling — giving, in the process, a boost to the grooming market, say experts. Better groomed people, regardless of their gender, make better first impressions, are generally more confident — and on a side note, lack pungent body odour. It’s almost unfair that for the longest time, cultural expectations have allowed men to be elusive consumers of beauty products and grooming techniques while women have happily ruled the roost.

This particularly rings true for Pakistan where notions of masculinity have long attributed the world of salons and beauty treatments to women while men are expected to fend for themselves with only an occasional trip to the neighbourhood barber’s shop. But times are changing, as one noticed at the recent ‘We are Two’ show hosted by Toni&Guy in Karachi. It was a hair show that aimed to bring international trends to Pakistan and while most of the looks were styled on women, a segment dedicated to men featured four styles that could work as well on the catwalk as they could in daily life. Even the host for the evening, Adnan Malik, had his hair styled by the salon.

“We wanted to showcase designs that were wearable,” explains Saeeda Mandviwalla, the CEO of Toni&Guy South Pakistan. “Men generally want fuss-free touchable hair so we used limited products and chose hairstyles that were trendy but easy to manage. One of the models was given a very European close-shaved look. Another one’s hair was worked into soft layers with a fringe. Men’s fringes work very well for those who have receding hairlines. The layers can be combed over thinning temples to cover them easily. A model with long hair was simply given a slight cut and a wet hair look with minimal gel.”

Men are becoming more conscious about the way they look

“The focus was on easy-to-do quick styling because I have noticed that this is what men want when they come to the salon,” says Saeeda. “The male market for grooming has really grown over the past few years. Earlier, 80 percent of our clients were female while 20 percent were male. Now, the breakdown has changed to 60 percent women and 40 percent men. In fact, over the weekend, we have a huge male clientele. During the wedding season, our ‘groom packages’ gain popularity, with grooms-to-be coming in for hair styling, facials, manicures, pedicures and even slight touch-ups of base and concealer to their faces. It’s not just women who want to look good in their wedding photographs!”

“Like female customers, men who visit the salon have requirements that depend on their jobs and personalities. A man in the corporate sector will usually opt for short, neatly-cropped hair, while someone with a more casual job may choose longer layers. Often, men ask for hairstyles that can be styled in the evening with the aid of products. The choice for facials may vary according to the time of the week. Weekend clients will often choose the longer, pricier ‘executive’ option, as will the grooms-to-be. Others will step in during a work day for a quick cleanse during their lunch break.”

The quietly-booming market for male grooming was also noticed by stylist Nabila who promptly sought to cash in on this need by opening an all male salon five years ago. N-Gents first launched in Karachi and a second branch opened late last year in Lahore, catering to the many grooming needs of men. “The salon brings together old-fashioned barbering techniques in a clean, masculine environment. The décor is in oxblood and maroon, there are armchairs and cigars and staff trained particularly to cater to the needs of men,” describes Nabila. “Men’s haircuts require a lot of finesse and precision because mistakes cannot be hidden away in layers as they are in the case of women. There are basic cuts and more avant-garde cuts available, based on client’s requirements, a Turkish bath, facials, manicures, pedicures and shaves. Men are now taking their grooming very seriously.”

A similar aesthetic transformation has been observed in the realm of cosmetology where men have transitioned to becoming very particular about skincare.

What hairstyles do her clients usually opt for? “It varies, from person to person. A few are adventurous enough to grow their hair into dreadlocks while most others opt for short, simpler cuts. More vivacious colours don’t usually look good because our complexions are too dark to carry them off. Instead, I tend to recommend shades of black and grey — a steely all-grey or black blended with dark blue.”

A similar aesthetic transformation has been observed in the realm of cosmetology where men have transitioned to becoming very particular about skincare. “The macho association with having a ‘scarface’ is long gone,” observes skin specialist Dr Badr Dhanani. “Men no longer want to bear with acne or post-acne scars. Their sense of vanity has multiplied manifold and they come in regularly for hair issues, botox, peels and even moderately aggressive procedures like micro-needling that can help reduce post-acne scars. It’s been a major aesthetic transition where the ratio of female to male clients has changed from 90:10 in the past to 60:40 now. I feel that this change can largely be attributed to the media boom which has enabled people to be better informed about procedures and made them want to improve their looks.”

And why shouldn’t men want to improve looks just as women do? The social stigma to men investing into beauty procedures and products is now quite hackneyed. The world of beauty and styling still isn’t a man’s world — and it may never be, especially in Pakistan with its cultural preconceived notions — but it is inching towards a unisex balance of scales.

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 18th, 2018