Modern men of indulgence

Facials, pedicures, manicures and full-body exfoliation. A Tampa business is banking on men's longing for the luxuries of a full-service spa.

TAMPA - Get ready for the algae wrap, says the slender aesthetician to her male client. Undress and slip on some paper briefs, she instructs. Then lay face up on the padded table.

Any allergies to seafood? Comfortable, she asks, as she slides a cushion under knees for support.

Then she glides a layer of light-green algae paste down his legs, up his arms and across his chest. She wraps a cotton blanket around him like a cocoon and leaves for 15 minutes while he exfoliates.

Will guys go for this?

Today is the grand opening of the Difference, Tampa's first all-male day spa. Located at 4029 Henderson Blvd., the Difference caters to "the professional, mature male who isn't embarrassed to face his feminine side," says owner Tait Kmentt, 35.

It's a place for "metrosexuals," the buzz word used to describe a guy who owns more than three pairs of shoes, frequents wine bars, orders Grey Goose, likes women. The anti-Homer Simpson.

Places geared toward metrosexuals are gaining popularity in cities such as Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles. In Fresno, Calif., there's Men-U salon and in Washington, D.C., the Grooming Lounge.

But in Tampa?

Definitely, said Richard Allen, a 32-year-old medical imaging executive, while walking downtown one afternoon recently.

No way, said Douglas Drummond, a 23-year-old who works in computer logistics. He holds up his hands. Nails chewed. Cuticles rough.

"I'm not the type of guy who goes for manicures," he says proudly.

Places that cater to male grooming are nothing new.

Barbershops, such as Uptown Barber Shop on downtown Tampa's Madison Street, have given manicures and facials for years. "Men like to take care of themselves," said owner Vickie Graber.

And many salons have long catered to both sexes. In 15 years, Aacardi in St. Petersburg has seen a jump in male business.

"It's becoming okay for men to come into a salon," said president Stuart Arnold. The way to make guys feel comfortable in a salon for both sexes is decor, he says. His color scheme: gold and burgundy.

Now comes the metrosexual, a term coined by British journalist Mark Simpson, who used it in 1994 to offend. He was describing the heterosexual man who spends more money on looking good than a gay man. What drove the metrosexual, he said, was vanity.

British advertisers and newspapers picked up the word, using it to describe fashionable men such as David Beckham, who wears earrings, changes his hairstyle often and is so secure in his masculinity that he once donned a sarong.

In the United States, TV shows such as Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy - five gay men make over a straight guy - propel the trend.

So do products.

More and more, creams, lotions and soaps are being marketed to men. Last year, several brands debuted, including La Prairie and Biotherm Homme.

Retail sales for men's skin care products were $125-million in 2002 and have risen 9 percent a year since 1997, according to the market research firm Kline and Co. in Little Falls, N.J.

But why aren't Old Spice or Just For Men products good enough anymore?

Roberto Olivardia, co-author of The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession, sheds light: "Look good, get more sex, get more women," he writes.

Kmentt, the owner of the Difference, says he's not jumping on the metrosexual bandwagon.

He had the idea to open a male-only spa months ago, long before the craze hit a high. His impetus: himself. He gets manicures and facials all the time. He started at age 17, while dating a woman whose mother worked in a salon.

Kmentt wears Hugo Boss and Kenneth Cole. He showers at least three times a day. "I worry about what I have on, so I don't have spots or anything on my clothes."

He rakes Sebastian mousse into his dark hair every morning.

Born in Canfield, Ohio, the son of an accountant, Kmentt majored in marketing at Youngstown State University.

He came to Tampa seven years ago and lives in South Tampa. He likes to start businesses. He has several in California, Ohio and Tampa, including a company that serves legal documents and a courier business. Six months ago, he opened a private investigation firm with his brother in Pembroke Pines. Kmentt spent $300,000 revamping a former office building on Henderson for the Difference. He says he picked the perfect time to open. Tampa has a lot of men who go to regular salons now and are embarrassed.

Some quietly ask their girlfriends to pluck their eyebrows.

Others shave their own chests.

"I think there are a lot of guys trying to do this at home," he said.

The Difference has gray walls, hardwood floors and plasma TVs throughout, including one above the urinal. ESPN or CNN plays constantly "so clients can check their stock or watch a game," said Kmentt.

Copies of Golf Digest lie on a glass coffee table.

Wooden boxes full of cigars rest on a wine fridge.

The pedicure stations look like black leather arm chairs. Lamps and trash bins are chrome. Preshave oils and algae facial cleansers by Anthony Logistics for Men line shelves.

Framed magazine articles hang on the walls.

From People magazine, this headline: "Here Come the Groomed." The picture shows Ronde Barber in a chair at Anushka Spa & Sanctuary in Palm Beach Gardens. White lotion on his legs. Feet being buffed.

"I love being touched and groomed," he says in the article.

The Difference offers massages, spray tanning, manicures, pedicures, body wraps and facials, which differ from facials for women. "Not as froufrou," said Nicole Lockemer, an aesthetician.

The Difference doesn't offer haircuts or shaves because of the added expense, Kmentt said.

The salon has valet parking. When clients walk inside, a receptionist hands them a bottle of water. Only women work on the men.

Kmentt says his appointment book is filling up fast, but will the Difference outlast the trend? Only metrosexuals know.

- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Information from the New York Times was used. Babita Persaud can be reached at 813 226-3322 or persaud@sptimes.com

Deep pore facial, $45-65

Mud wrap, $65

Algae wrap, $65

Spa pedicure, $35

Spa manicure, $30

Back or chest hair removal starts at $40

The Difference, 4029 Henderson Blvd. (813) 282-8260.

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