Men attraction

The spread of skincare products, hair gels and slimming techniques for men has given rise to a new consumer phenomenon in mainland China


With its lemon-scented air, hypnotically repetitive New Age music and bamboo-motif massage rooms offering "essential oil'' treatments, the Natural Beauty spa feels much like thousands of other such places that have sprung up across China as the days of Marxist class struggle grow distant and a burgeoning nouveau riche marches forward — or at least rides along in a luxury sedan.

Similar, except for the sometimes rotund and hairy bodies reclining belly up on the rattan loungers arrayed among tropical foliage, wrapped in flower-print robes and sipping lavender tea as they wait for their facials: The clientele is exclusively male.

The spa, which opened recently as an addition to a women's-only operation, claims to be the first of its kind in mainland China to serve only men. The very existence of the place highlights a new Chinese consumer phenomenon: the spread of skincare products, cosmetics, hair gels and slimming techniques for men.

"Of course we men need this. We need to pay more attention to our image,'' Jing Huajie, a taxi driver, said outside the spa — a square building draped in red banners, the crystal chandelier hanging over the marble lobby. A quarter-century ago, the Mao suit still defined the Shanghai wardrobe. Today, Gucci, Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo have colonised a good chunk of closet space. A popular brand of domestically produced mobile phones comes adorned with diamonds.

Across this country of 1.3 billion, the number of beauty salons, barbershops and spas has increased from about 100,000 in 1985 to about 1.2 million in 2000, according to the China Association of Fragrance, Flavour and Cosmetic Industries, a trade group in Beijing. China is now home to nearly 3,000 cosmetics factories, and sales of such products reached $6 billion last year.

For more than a decade, Shiseido, the Japanese cosmetics giant, has been active in China, building two factories, one in Shanghai and one in Beijing. Its revenue grew 40 to 45 per cent every year since 1993 and approached $200 million last year, according to the company's sales manager for southern China, Liu Yongqian.

Shiseido is increasingly focused on boosting sales of its Handsome Man line — hair products such as mousse, facial cleansing lotion, cologne and skin moisturiser.

Despite the solid beginning, Liu said the day when most Chinese men apply skin cream and cologne before heading out into the world is still probably far off. More men in Shanghai are open to the idea, but he guessed that only 10 to 15 per cent of all white-collar male workers nationwide are using such products.

Shiseido initially tried to win men over to its cause through large-scale advertising. But several months into the launch of Handsome Man, Shiseido noticed that "half the products are bought by the girlfriend or wife because the guy is too embarrassed to buy them himself,'' Liu said.

At Parkson's, a major department store downtown, Hu Wei, a 22-year-old university student, held a tube of cleansing foam to his nose for a sniff. He started using it when his girlfriend gave it to him. Now, he was back to surrender $10 for more.

©Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service