Grayson nervously awaits his wax treatment.
Manscaping, brozilians, mantenance. Call it what you like - men waxing and grooming themselves is definitely becoming more popular.
According to Beauty World owner Melissa Bird, grooming treatments are popular in Europe, "especially in France where guys tend to look after themselves".
She's certainly seen more men through the doors of her business in recent years. They book in for waxing (from armpits to brozilians to full body waxes), facials, eyebrow tidy-ups, manicures and pedicures.
We sent Hamilton News manager Grayson Bell along to Beauty World for some defuzzification. Here's how he got on ...
For those regular Hamilton News readers, you'll be familiar with our Insider's Guide series where our journalists have experienced everything from black water rafting to sky diving. So when we discussed including a MetroMan Insider's Guide in one of our special Metro editions, guess who drew the short straw ...
Tasked with finding my inner metrosexual would be interesting. Wearing a pink shirt to work from time to time is the closest to metrosexual I get, so when I drew the body wax idea out of the hat, I was a little intrigued.
Evidently, men's waxing is quite standard these days, but this was my first time to a beauty salon. There are many different kinds of body waxing, but I decided on the conservative back and chest wax. It was certainly the most appropriate for a work story anyway!
For weeks before my wax, the girls in the office had taunted me with stories of of pain, blood and ingrown hairs. With this and the waxing scene from the movie The 40-year-old Virgin wedged firmly in my brain, I was understandably a little nervous walking in the door of Beauty World.
My beauty therapist, Ashley, was excellent and she ensured that what I perceived to be a daunting situation was actually quite easy and soon-to-be humorous. She started off waxing, which wasn't too painful so I felt reasonably confident.
Time for some fun, I thought, so I asked Ashley to wax a smiley face on my stomach and chest in the vein of the abovementioned movie. Ashley laughed and said she'd always wanted to do that but no one had ever asked - understandably!
My cockiness backfired, though, as Ashley soon figured out my stomach is very ticklish. With each strip of wax she pulled off, I kicked my feet in reaction, at one point nearly kicking her. This was another first for Ashley and as we laughed away at my uncontrollable reaction. I thought at least this will be a memorable experience for both of us.
Smiley face done, Ashley waxed off the rest of my chest and stomach hair. I'll admit, parts of the chest wax were painful, but the stinging doesn't last long.
Overall, the pain level was generally a manageable 4 out of 10.
Ashley gave me some care-taking tips and a brief explanation on what exfoliating is and does and why it's important to do it regularly to ensure none of the ingrown hairs the girls at work ribbed me about actually eventuate.
I put my pink shirt back on and left smooth-chested and feeling quite metrosexual.
For all those guys out there that have thought about waxing but never plucked (pun intended!) up the courage, give it a try. Call the team at Beauty World. You never know, you may meet me in the waiting room for my next appointment ...
Beauty World is located at 4 Tennyson Rd. The team there offers a range of manscaping services. Check them out at www.beautyworld.co.nz/service/male-grooming