Why women prefer male hairdressers and nail artisans

Men hairdressers are giving women a run for their money in the beauty industry.

They have embraced the art of beauty not only in hair styling and dressing but also in manicure, pedicure and massage.

Women are increasingly shifting their preference to male hair dressers and male massage parlours. 

They say male stylists are gentle when handling their hair.

"I find male hairdressers committed to their work because they will always ask how you want them to do your  hair. Men will go with whatever the customer wants and deliver exactly that," Abigael Wafula.

Abigael, a resident in Nairobi's Parklands estate has been visiting the same male stylist since her college days.

"Unlike women, men do not pressure you to have a style you are not interested with," Abigail said.

She added that salons serviced by male stylists are comfortable because they do not engage in gossip like their female counterparts.

Abigael said she finds comfort in knowing she will not be discussed as soon as she steps out of the salon.

The downside of working with male stylists, she said, is that they don't compromise on pricing. 

"Men hairdressers are strict with their prices. It is either you pay what they have set or walk out. Women can be lenient sometimes and try to negotiate prices because they do not want to lose any customer," she said.

John Kamau alias John Paul owns a hair salon and spa in Nairobi.

He said most of his customers are women and he gets up to ten female clients on a good day.

Kamau said he loves his job and gets challenged to do different hairstyles every day.

He said women are patient as they take time to explain the type of hairstyle they want or the products to be used.

"Most of my customers are women because they like to get attended to by a man. When I learned of this I employed two other men to help me," Kamau said.

"My joy is to see my client walking out of the salon smiling and happy with my services. Seeing that makes my heart melt because I know they will come back with their friends. At the end of the day I get to learn different things from each of them,” Kamau revealed.

Despite this discovery, Kamau has employed some female stylists to handle clients who prefer to be attended to by females.

He said most men who visit his salon prefer to have their hair made by female hairdressers.

"Men have embraced toxic masculinity. They will not accept another man to touch their hair," he said.

However, Kamau revealed that as a man, being in the beauty industry comes with a fair share of challenges.

"Some women would not like to be touched a certain way even though that was not the intention but you will notice a change of mood when you touch them," he said.

Sharon Mwende prefers to go to a male salon because they pay attention to detail and will always deliver results to customer satisfaction.

"Men are generous with their hair products. But a woman will often minimise to save the products for the next customer,” she said.

Julie Nduta, a resident at Kasarani said she is more comfortable with a male hairdresser because she believes that men are more professional in their jobs.

“When I want to make my hair, I go to my favorite male hairdresser, I have been going to him for ten years since I discovered that they are not only professional but also perfectionists,” she said.

Mwende added that male hair dressers often boosts women's confidence by complimenting them once the work is done.

"My hairstylist showers me with compliments after he finishes doing my hair. I walk from the salon feeling confident and knowing that he did a good job,” she said.

Moses Wanyoike, a salon and nail spa manager at Lolavie nails in Roysambu said that people prefer to be attended to by the opposite gender.

"Most men have embraced toxic masculinity and would not want their hair or nails made by a fellow man. Same as a woman they would go for a man to do feet and body massage," Wanyoike said.

And just like Kamau, he too has employed several women to lend a hand in the spa particularly in regards to male clients.

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