Despite being considered a predominantly female-centric business, the spa industry is seeing exponential growth in male spa-goers.
The International SPA Association, or ISPA, has been tracking the rise of the male spa industry for over a decade. Its findings show that in 2005 only 29 per cent of spa-goers were male. Now, thanks to changing attitudes towards male grooming, that figure has risen to 49 per cent.
The change can only be recent, as in 2013 an ISPA survey found the following reasons as to why men don’t go to spas:
- 11 percent said it’s “too indulgent”
- 14 percent said because “none of my friends go”
- 17 percent said they were embarrassed to go
- 19 percent said “spas are for women”
However, it seems that a growing number of men are realising that spas aren’t solely for women, with men’s-only spas cropping up all over the world. Hammer & Nails founder Michael Elliot started his men’s only manicure and pedicure salon when he ”walked into a salon and felt everyone staring at [him].”
Furthermore, men’s spas are taking the emphasis away from the more effeminate idea of pampering and put the attention instead on “health and wellness” with sports massage and pedicures the more popular choices for men.
