The metrosexual trend is blooming in the Philippines, where male cosmetics, male beauty treatments and male spas are hitting market highs.
Finding special favor, even among rural men, are costly facials, pimple treatments and whitening products, Reuters reported.
“We already have dark skin, we’ll be ugly if we get even darker,” said Romeo Apelado, a 59-year-old fisherman, who takes special care to protect his skin from the sun, Reuters reported.
The trend is new. Filipino men traditionally have embraced a more “macho” image, Reuters reported. But now they’re eschewing barbershops for pricey salons, and Facebook and social media sites point to the nation’s growing embrace of the “metrosexual” male.
Springing up all over cities — and even in the rural settings — are male-catered beauty clinics, with owners who spend big bucks to get male celebrity endorsements and bash stereotypes that beauty is a women-only industry, Reuters reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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