REDEFINING MACHO LONG THE DOMAIN OF WOMEN, SPAS AND SALONS ARE RACKING UP BIG BUCKS FROM THOSE WITH TRUE GRIT.

Byline: Barbara Correa Staff Writer

Construction equipment salesman Mickey Shaw in the Inland Empire is as masculine as they come. When he's not out pitching tractors or trash pumps, Shaw can be found riding his motorcycle or playing street hockey - or getting a skin exfoliation treatment at Jennifer's Professional Skin Care in Canyon Lake.

``(Six months ago) I thought I would never get manicures or facials. You were lucky if I put Chapstick on,'' said Shaw, 39. ``But once I started getting the reaction from the ladies ... I'm hooked.''

Beauty treatments like skin micro-abrasion, waxing and hair tipping aren't just for women anymore, nor are they restricted to the well-heeled executive. Male pampering has gone mainstream.

``I have firemen, policemen, businessmen,'' said Jennifer Venable, owner of Jennifer's Professional Skin Care, which, in addition to skin treatments, offers massage, cellulite body work, waxing, Botox/collagen injections and permanent makeup. ``These are masculine guys.''

Once the sole domain of froo-frooey women, day spas and treatments catering to men have sprouted up and major skin-care makers are launching product lines for regular guys.

In 2003, 29 percent of all spa customers were men, up from 24 percent in 2002, the International Spa Association reports.

Sales of men's toiletries - hair products, fragrances, skin care and shaving lotion and equipment - rose 4 percent last year to $13 million and are forecast to pass $16 million in the next four years, according to Mintel International Group, a research firm that tracks cosmetics.

Men's skin care in particular has shown exceptional growth recently, with major brands like Nivea, La Prairie and Paco Rabanne launching skin lines specifically for men within the past couple of years.

Cosmetics chain Sephora said its men's skin-care lines - such as Anthony for Men and Zirh - are selling faster than the category as a whole.

Baxter of California, a 39-year-old men's skin-care manufacturer in Los Angeles, has seen sales jump eightfold since 2000, in large part because of men's growing acceptance of buying cosmetics.

``There's no longer a girlie connotation about it,'' said Jean-Pierre Mastey, owner of Baxter.

Even Avon Products, that bastion of feminine indulgence, is selling the macho grooming concept. The marketing literature for Avon's Men's All-Over Body Scrub points out that ``Real men take care of their skin.''

Hair care brand Combe paired with Maxim magazine in 2002 to launch Maxim Hair Coloring for Men.

``I'm seeing more men coming in for (hair) extensions and the straightening process ... men are wearing their hair longer,'' said Joseph Esposito, manager of Thursday's Salon + Spa in Calabasas, which also offers a Men's Day Out package that includes a deep tissue/sports massage and a gentlemen's facial ($130).

He said he was surprised by the profile of clients coming in for the $35-$60 treatment. ``I would have thought it was the metrosexual type, but it's actually more the average guy.''

``They're getting more highlights,'' said Lance Lippman, a hairstylist in Beverly Hills. He said he's also hearing about rising demand (from straight men, he adds) for Brazilian waxes, described as a hair-removal ``ritual of pain so spectacular there are few words to describe it'' by James Whittall, president of MenEssentials, an online retailer of skin, hair and shave products for men.

The company, based in Quebec, Canada, opened a warehouse in Commerce last November to serve its U.S. customers, who account for 90 percent of its business. Since then, sales have tripled, said Whittall.

``I have bikers from the deep South and they want to make sure (the product) comes in a plain brown box so their biker friends don't see it. And I say, pal, they're probably using it too,'' he said.

Allen Roth, a 24-year-old real estate salesman in Los Angeles, started using Baxter of California shaving cream and lotion about a year ago. He liked it so much he's now spending $50 a month on Baxter shampoo and conditioner, toner, body wash and facial scrub.

``It just became more comfortable to think of myself using this stuff,'' he said. ``I had some friends who tried it first and liked it so I figured I wasn't the only one.''

``I think the men we have as clients have tended to be more professional, but the average Joe type of guy is what's growing,'' said Angelo Pacella, director of retail at Burke Williams Spas, with seven locations around Southern California.

He said part of what's motivating these men next door to plunk down $425 for Burke's Gentleman's Choice spa package is the proliferation of television shows like ``Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'' and The Learning Channel's ``What Not to Wear.''

``They highlight how to take better care of yourself,'' he said. ``As the tides turn, men look at these treatments less as beautification and more as good health.''

Indeed, 35 percent of men cite physical health as the reason they seek spa services, according to the International Spa Association's 2003 Spa- goer study. But even more, 44 percent, said they go as a way to pamper themselves.

``We are all becoming more open-minded,'' said Hannelore Leavy, founder of the Day Spa Association. ``Men have started to get away from that masculine thing where they decide, 'I can have a manicure and pedicure.' They dye their hair and use makeup so why not spa treatments?''

She said the expanding male spa clientele is resulting in more male- owned spas and the newest trend: the barber spa - a sort of hybrid barber shop/massage/skin care center.

It's also spawned spa-hosted bachelor parties and pre-wedding bonding sessions for the groom and his buddies, said Debra Locker, a spokeswoman for the International Spa Association.

Catering to men turns out to be good for business, because men make even better customers than women.

``They are loyal,'' said Jennifer Venable. ``Once they find the right underwear and socks, they will buy that same thing their whole life. Once they come in here, they are hooked. Money isn't really an issue.''

Indeed, Venable's clients don't seem to mind paying $12 to $100 for body waxing or $125 for a neck and shoulder massage and skin treatment.

``I just give her whatever she says,'' said Dave Shuck, 43, a sergeant with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department who tries to get in for a facial massage once a month. ``I don't see why all the guys don't do it.''

``It is expensive,'' said Shaw, the construction equipment salesman. ``But it's worth it when you start maturing and everyone's doing plastic surgery - this is cheaper and there are results.''

To the uninitiated, however, cost isn't the real turnoff. Instead, there can be a mental block to trying treatments that seem a little too feminine for comfort.

The key for the confident, well-groomed male is to resist any criticism and focus on the results.

``I'm a manly man,'' said Bill Duke, director of the films ``A Rage in Harlem'' and ``Hoodlum.'' But he has embraced skin treatments to remove the blackheads from his skin and smooth bumps caused by years of shaving because he sees that they work.

``One of my friends called me a girlie man,'' he said. ``I blew that off. His skin looks like a rodent.''

Barbara Correa, [phone]

barbara.correa(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Jennifer Venable, owner of Jennifer's Professional Skin Care in Canyon Lake, applies a green peel facial to Dr. Brian J. Eichenberg in demonstrating her deep-peel skin treatment.

Therese Tran/Staff Photographer

(2 -- 3 -- color) no caption (Before and after photos)

John Lazar/Staff Photographer