Real men like manicures, too

By Brett Lieberman
for Virginia Business
August 2006

Redskins’ cornerback Shawn Springs wouldn’t be caught dead in a typical day spa. "Most men would be embarrassed to go to a salon with pretty women around," says Springs. Yet, the six-foot, 200-pound NFL football player seems relaxed as a manicurist applies a clear finish to his fingernails. The manicure follows “Hangover Eye Therapy” — a treatment to revitalize the eyes — and Springs is considering a pedicure.

He’s a regular at the Grooming Lounge, an upscale salon that caters exclusively to men. With locations at Tysons Corner in McLean and downtown Washington, the lounge is a place where guys can primp in manly surroundings.

What draws men is the atmosphere, a cross between an old-fashioned barbershop and a modern health spa. Springs sits in a comfortable leather chair in a semi-private room where he can watch a New York Yankees ballgame on a flat-screen television. The room is outfitted with dark woods and marble countertops, which creates a club-like ambiance.

For reading, there’s Maxim, Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone. Espresso is available throughout the day, and beer and martinis are served late in the evening. "I’ve never been to a place where it’s private, and you can get things most men would feel comfortable with," says Springs. He has a standing weekly appointment at the Tysons Corner location and sometimes brings along his Redskins teammates.

Men want to be well-groomed, says Michael Gilman, the Grooming Lounge’s co-founder and managing director. And they shouldn’t have to sneak around female-focused department stores to buy hair and skin products, he says. With that thought in mind, the salon opened in Washington in 2002. Business was so brisk the Grooming Lounge opened a second location at Tysons Corner in April.

“ Our customer is just guys who want to take care of themselves,” says Gilman. Apparently, that’s a big market with U. S. men spending an estimated $9.5 billion annually on personal grooming.

The typical Grooming Lounge customer is 30 to 45 years old. Many are well to do, says Gilman, but customers range from college students to senior citizens. The downtown Washington location attracts a large number of men in politics, lobbying, law and finance.

In fact, several of the company’s packages are themed around Capitol Hill. There’s “The Congressman,” a $260 dollar, three-hour plunge into personal grooming that includes a hot shave, massage therapy, business manicure, foot treatment and a shoeshine. Golfers can opt for the $100 “Golf Massage,” which focuses on muscle groups “essential to a smooth golf swing.”

The lounge’s signature service is the $50 hot lather shave, a soothing 45-minute process that involves layers of steaming towels and lotions to soften the beard and prime the skin. Men with more hair on their backs than their chin can try the Rock & Roll Back Wax, which offers a shot of Jack Daniels and “some serious tunes” to ease the pain of eliminating unsightly back hair.

Gilman and business partner Pirooz Sarshar have worked in the grooming industry for years. Gilman is a former vice president in a family business, the Davidson Cos., one of the country’s largest distributors of professional beauty and grooming products. Sarshar, who has been cutting hair since he was 15, is also experienced in the development of skin-care and cosmetic brands. The men came up with the idea for their business after being pestered by Gilman’s “beer-drinking, football-watching buddies” who kept asking, “Can you get us this moisturizer?”

Besides carrying a range of skin-care products and shaving aids (anyone in need of razor burn repair?) which can be ordered online, the Grooming Lounge offers its own line of "solutions," developed over the past three years through feedback from customers. “When guys are looking for something, they don’t want to know the history. They want a solution to a problem like thinning hair,” says Gilman.

The partners plan to open a third location in Miami soon. They’re considering other locations, including the suburbs of Maryland. Pampering: it’s not just for women anymore.