New York’s men have long had to labor against the worst kind of injustice: overpriced salon services. But no more, reports The Wall Street Journal. In the past few years, as manscaping has become a more and more acceptable urban ritual, beauty-services professionals have capitalized on the new market, and, in many cases, charged dudes more for a manicure or a wax than they do for a woman. Whether this tax is imposed for the greater difficulty of grooming a man or is somehow exploiting any remaining embarrassment a man might feel for requesting such services remains a matter of debate.
>Ben Duon, the manager at Kim’s Holly Salon, said the business received a $300 violation for charging men $2 more for manicures.
“It cannot be the same. It’s much more work to do the men,” he said. “Most men, they need a good cleaning. They’re contractors, you need to do a lot of work on their nails.”
At Vanilla Hair Spa, manager Oksana, who didn’t want to give her last name, said the charge to wax men used to be $5 more than for women.
“If someone’s waxing a man’s back and a woman’s back, it’s like day and night,” she said. “Of course it takes longer for men. It’s more labor, more product.”
