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Cosmetic shops are appearing more geared
toward men, and products for men are diversifying and expanding: cologne,
foaming facial cleansers, hair styling products, shaving creams, bath creams
and scrubs and skin and facial moisturizers are all popping up more and
more.
Many of men’s cosmetics are more expensive
than women’s because the products are imported. Men take care of their
beauty needs quietly, but use a lot of money to do so. Many of them do not
hesitate to buy cologne that cost millions of dong and bath cream costing
thousands of dong.
In the past, men rarely went to beauty
salons. They may have gone for some extenuating circumstance, but it was not
the fad it is today. Being attractive has become a fetishized craze in
certain communities.
Asian men seem shy about their vanity, thus
their affairs with hygienic products tend to be secretive. Many men are
making visits to the Cosmetic Surgery Department in a hospital, a large
centre for cosmetic surgery in HCMC.
More than ten per cent of customers at
cosmetic surgery centres are men; in beauty salons, men tally up about 30
per cent of business, the head of the Cosmetic Surgery Department said. He
added that the men usually research cosmetic surgery well before making a
decision, but not all of the time.
At Viet My Institute of Aesthetic Plastic
Surgery, located at 75 Ho Ba Kien, Ward 15, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, a
doctor said he had to treat a patient who only spent US$600 at another
beauty salon on his nose which was not a good move. Plastic surgery centres
and salons are springing up in HCMC, targeting middle-age male customers who
want to stay attractive as they age.
Hair-implantation and weight-loss treatments
are at the top of the list. Wrinkle and eye-bag removal are other hits for
middle-aged men. Many get face lifts, said Dr.
Lai Cong Hiep,
an international surgeon on the list of Who’s Who
in the World 2004, published by Marquis in the
US.
Hiep has many 60-year-old patients that get
a series of face lifts. He said they are better looking afterwards.
The demand for businessmen and politicians
to stay forever young is continually increasing. They want to appear
fitfully attractive and active in the public eye. More than 50 per cent of
businessmen and politicians believe in employment based on looks, so they
change their appearances hoping for success in the workplace. In addition to
face lifts, many of these men want chin, ear and nose surgery.
The businessmen believe that a square chin
is better than pointed, dimpled or sloped chins, a doctor said. Many other
doctors think that cosmetic surgery is nonsensical. But Dr. Hiep didn’t
agree. He said that when people are confident in their appearance, success
comes easier.
"It’s a new way of thinking," said Thao,
whose wife persuaded him to get his first facial in 2001. "I went to the spa
three times, and before I knew it, it was part of my routine." A salesgirl
in a cosmetic shop in Diamond Plaza said more people are
realising the importance of good looks.
"The quality of people’s lives is improving
and demands for cosmetics are increasing," she said. "This kind of luxury is
becoming more popular. Everyone wants to go beyond the basics of life." —
VNS |
