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Professional Beauty May 2015
AS THE WEATHER HEATS UP,
With more and more men on the hunt for that sun-kissed
glow, one thing is for sure, the “man tan” is on the rise.
And gone are the days of looking like Ross from Friends
after counting one too many Mississippis. Spray tanning
has not only become more fashionable but a staple part of many
young men’s grooming regimes, with more than one in four aged
16–24 using self-tan products, according to analyst Mintel’s Suncare
UK 2014 report.
“Male grooming has come a long way in recent years. It’s no longer
seen as feminine to take care of our skin, hair and bodies,” says spray-
tanning expert James Harknett, who tans celebrities and private
clients. “50% of my client base is now men and it’s partly because
men have become aware of the dangers of UV.”
The bronzed and buff look sported by celebrities such as David
Beckham and Mark Wright has also driven the craze. “Contouring
using self-tan is becoming an increasingly popular way of subtly but
effectively highlighting muscle definition and making the figure look
more toned,” says freelance global tanning and skin finishing expert
Jules Heptonstall, who also works events for spray tan brand St
Tropez. “It is the most commonly requested tan by my male clients.”
With the UK self-tan market worth an estimated £60million a year,
according to Mintel, there’s ample opportunity for salons to market
their treatments to meet this growing demand. “A huge proportion of
men work out and nothing makes all that hard work at the gym stand
out more than having it tanned,” says Harknett. “But the trick is not to
over tan the face. This can be a giveaway and make the client feel a
little self-conscious.”
It seems that the illusion of definition is the key to successfully
breaking this market. “Contouring is all about adding another
dimension to the skin,” says Heptonstall. “Define abs by shading in
the natural indents along the stomach, using a tanning mitt to add
contours to the outsides of the abdominal muscles.”
Research by analyst Kantar Worldpanel also backs the man tan
trend. It reveals that spray tanning was the treatment men visited
salons for most frequently last year – on average eight times a year –
and suggests there’s real opportunity for client growth in Lancashire
and the North East, the areas where tanning is the most popular.
We spoke to three very different businesses that are all successful
in the male tanning market, to find out how you can cash in on this
growing trend.
IT COULD BE TIME FOR SALONS
TO CASH IN ON THE GROWING
MARKET FOR MALE TANNING,
WRITES AMANDA PAULEY
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Dubbed London’s one-stop grooming emporium for men, The
Refinery offers a range of treatments to give a natural looking
tan to both face and body. “We’ve had a slow but gradual
increase in the number of male clients wanting a tan but we
always experience an upswing during London’s social season
and the summer holidays,” says managing director Deborah
Gayle. “Men have a vanity about what they are going to look
like on the beach or at the Henley Royal Regatta, and having a
healthier glow makes them feel better.”
The emporium is 15 years old and has a loyal client base –
mainly men in their 20s and 30s. Although it doesn’t actively
advertise any of its treatments, it does attract a steady stream
of new customers via client referrals, business-to-business
networking events and by marketing to neighbouring businesses,
such as Vera Wang and Claridges. “We’re not a private club but
we do have that aura about us, and we know it can be hard
marketing tanning to men because they don’t want to be seen
to be doing it,” says Gayle. “If you’re going to introduce it into
your salon, the first thing you need to do is make your existing
database aware, and then offer it in collaboration with another
treatment. For example, many places don’t do pre-tan exfoliation
body scrubs for men like we do.”
The business’s success in male tanning lies in the fact that it
is aware of the common pitfalls when dealing with those new
to the man tan. “Men expect immediacy. They think the tan is
going to be instant. You need to take control and explain point
by point what is going to happen, otherwise there’s a chance
THE REFINERY, LONDON
they could panic as it’s all an unknown,” says Gayle. And for
The Refinery’s clients it’s all about the experience. Men have
their own private changing area, dedicated tanning room and
therapists who provide in-depth consultations prior to treatment.
“If a client comes in and has long hair on his chest, this can be
problematic as it’s creating a barrier between the skin and the
tan,” says The Refinery’ beauty manager Cimran Thethy. “Any
salon getting into male tanning should recommend to clients
that they have clippering done beforehand, to make the hair
shorter, as this will even out the tan application.” However,
being extremely hair-free can be just as troublesome. “You
need to find out when they conducted their last hair removal
because if it was recently then the skin will be too sensitive for
the tan,” explains Thethy. “I tell clients to wait 24 to 48 hours
before coming in so the skin has time to calm down.”
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Vanilla Moon is a mobile salon that provides clients with a tan
either on location or in the privacy of their own home. The
business has experienced an increase in male clients over the
past three years. “It has been a real mixture of men – from body
builders to bricklayers – but the one thing they all have in common
is that they take a great deal of pride in their appearance,” says
owner Zoe Warner. “Many of my clients have progressed onto
tanning from waxing, so salons should always talk to their
clients about other complementary treatments they do.”
The salon’s 15-minute man tan enhances the skin to create a
more defined physique and has proved to be very popular. “I
add a deeper colour to certain sections of the body to create
shaded areas and this helps to make existing muscles look
more prominent. The technique even creates the appearance
of muscle tone across parts of the body that are a little out of
shape but in order to get the best effect I always moisturise the
ankles, elbows, knees, knuckles and fingertips beforehand – the
giveaway areas,” says Warner. “Spray tanning is like painting a
VANILLA MOON, GLOUCESTER
car – you’re not going to do a good
job if you just do one coat. You have to
work your way around the body and
personalise the treatment to the client.”
Warner uses conventional and unconventional methods to
market her services, from Twitter campaigns on skin damage
to making sure her website is SEO-optimised with key words
such as “false tan”. “You have to go to places where men go,
such as gyms, and market there. I’ve held promotion days at
local gyms where I set-up a temporary spray tent and offered
gym-goers a test patch of tan on their arm, hand or leg,”
explains Warner. “I’ve also held taster sessions at the salon and
invited men from local businesses, such as the police force and
fire brigade, to help spread the
word about what I do.”
Another client base that has
helped raise the salon’s tanning
reputation is wedding parties. “I
get a lot of clients coming in
before they get married but
instead of just promoting
packages for the bride, I also
promote treatments for the
groom and his stag party,” says
Warner. “Men care about how
they look on the big day too and
where before they may have just
had a manicure or waxing, I’ve
added tanning onto the list and it
has been a success.”
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ANESIS SALON, SPA AND CLINIC, LONDON
Catering to a unisex client base, Anesis Salon, Spa and
Clinic has recently launched its Gentlemen’s Retreat to
offer men an environment with privacy and added extras
for their man tan, including post-spray relaxation with a
cold beer. Anesis therapist Tara Fournillier says, “We
mainly get young and fit men opting for a spray tan
treatment. We have a lot of male model clients here. They
tend to come for a tan if they have a magazine shoot and
are usually pretty hairless as our young male clients do
their research and know about beauty treatments, so
most will book in for a wax well before a tan.”
Spread over three floors, the Anesis Salon, Spa and
Clinic does well through internal cross-promotion. “We
have quite a lot of male clients who use the hair salon
downstairs,” Fournillier says. “The stylists are really good
at talking about the beauty treatments we have.” If Anesis
ever has a quiet patch, manager Sonia Amoo, gets the
team to hand out leaflets on the high street.
With an active nightlife in Clapham, models are not the
only male visitors to the salon. Fournillier has many clients
who come in for a fake tan before a big night out, “Using
Sienna X, we tend to use Tonight’s the Night on them.
That formula develops in three hours and can then be
showered off. Express tans are the most popular with
men, so we use 8% DHA. But there are some men who
don't mind sleeping in it, especially if they want a darker
tan, so we tend to use a 12% DHA on them.”
For practical considerations, Anesis provides paper
boxer briefs for men to wear during the spray tan;
however, some clients prefer an all over tan so the
therapists advise them to roll the briefs up to reduce the
visible tan line. “Sometimes we get older males coming in
for a spray tan and usually the reason is that they are
about to go on holiday,” says Fournillier. Most of these
clients choose not to go hairless, so the Anesis therapists
suggest to them that they exfoliate several times a week
before the treatment. “Oil clings to the hair so the tan
won’t sit as well,” explains Fournillier. “We advise them
not to moisturise or put anything on their skin beforehand
as they need to be really dry. We tend not to spray too
close to the body either as the tan will cling to the hair,
but we always buff them afterwards so that the tan
develops evenly.” PB
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