On a Tuesday night, you’ll notice something in any mid-range gym in Manchester or London that would have seemed odd ten years ago. Many of the men who are lifting weights and examining themselves in the mirror lack chest hair. No fuzz in the back. Sharply defined beard lines that resemble clinic-managed hair rather than being shaved every day. Because it is becoming more and more.
For a few years now, laser hair removal for men has begun to gain popularity. However, it has recently begun to walk instead of creep. With more than 70 locations, Érapie Clinic, one of the bigger beauty chains in the UK, reported a 33 percent annual increase in male bookings. It’s not a blip. Men’s perceptions of their bodies, time, and, it seems, their relationship with razors have changed.
The majority of men seem to frame the reasons as being more pragmatic than selfish. Senior laser specialist Eimear Tolan of Rérapie emphasizes the ease of use: fewer ingrown hairs, no more razor burn on the neck, and a low-maintenance regimen that appeals to men who already spend four mornings a week at the gym but never have twenty minutes to fuss over shaving cream. Fitness enthusiasts and athletes have embraced it especially quickly. For swimmers, cyclists, and bodybuilders, the appearance of their skin under pressure literally determines how well they perform or look.
The fitness angle has a subtly intriguing quality. It makes sense that a man who devotes two years to developing his chest muscles, meticulously monitoring his macros, and recording all of his personal records would want to see the results without a blanket of hair covering them. The physical work speaks for itself when laser treatments are applied to the shoulders and chest. The tattoo community has also realized this; body art appears completely different on clear skin than on skin covered in hair, and clinics are reportedly receiving more requests to work around existing ink, carefully treating surrounding hair.
Stigma was the point of contention for years. Men are still a little shy about it, but the taboo has significantly softened, according to Teresa Tarmey, a laser specialist with twenty years of experience and a clinic in Notting Hill. Her male clients, who are mostly in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, are now openly interested in what is available and ask questions that they would not have raised a few years ago. Celebrity culture, which has a way of normalizing things faster than any advertising campaign could, is partly to blame for that change. A certain amount of permission is given to the general public when men like Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham are linked to careful grooming. Before they would think about doing something themselves, many men might have just needed to know that the men they looked up to were doing it.
One minor but significant development is the men-only clinic. The concept behind Mansculpt London, which currently has two locations in the capital, is that some men feel more at ease entering a space that is tailored to them; there are no pink walls or expectations that they are familiar with the terminology of aesthetic treatments. It’s an insightful read about a market that is actually still getting its bearings. The clinic’s founder, Arun Mason, observes that even the consultation process should feel different for male clients—more direct and less presumptuous.
Whether this is a long-term cultural realignment or a trend that will fall short of complete mainstream acceptance is still up for debate. The 90% hair loss that laser clinics claim is not always permanent; hormonal changes may cause some hair to grow back, albeit lighter and finer, necessitating sporadic maintenance appointments. Even though it’s more affordable now, a complete course still costs hundreds of dollars. For someone undecided, these are not insignificant challenges.
However, the direction of travel appears to be quite readable. For years, men’s grooming has grown. Previously taboo topics like skincare, brow shaping, and nail care are now readily available in pharmacies and discussed casually. Instead of being at the end of that continuum, lasers are located further along it. It’s difficult to ignore the fact that the discourse has already shifted, and clinics all over the UK appear to be hoping that it will continue to do so.
