Brandi Bailey knows that while a waxing salon’s services can be intimidating for men, she has seen a steady increase in male guests in recent years. Manscaping is in and has grown to a multi-billion-dollar industry.
As such, brands like the Radiant Waxing® brand, where Bailey is a manager, are catering more to a growing male clientele, which is helping to fuel the company’s growth. The Radiant Waxing brand, formerly LunchboxWax®, underwent a rebranding in 2022 that ushered in a gender-neutral color palette for its products and salons. It also dropped the original logo, which featured the outline of a woman.
“It’s not pink. I didn’t really care for the pink – I’m not a pink girl – but it’s still the same wax,” Bailey said of the rebrand. “It’s still the same techniques. It’s still the same patterns. It’s just a different name. And it really does make a difference. And I think the male clients can really see that.”
Franchise owner Carrie Shyra agreed.
“The rebranding has been great for our salon,” Shyra said. “I think it’s more welcoming to men and helps relax them more when they come in. Waxing isn’t just for women.”
Denver-based Shyra’s observation echoes a number of industry analyses.
According to data gathered by market insight company Statista in 2023, the global male grooming market is expected to be worth $115 billion by 2028, up from nearly $80 billion in 2022. The same market was worth about $74.8 billion in 2021.
“The perception of beauty standards for men is changing,” according to a report from Straits Research, another research and consulting company. “Decades-long gender stereotypes have begun to break down, and men’s and women’s beauty products are now being created.”
The Global Men’s Personal Care Market is expected to be worth about $69 billion by 2030, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 9.2%. Straits Research attributes the growth to increasing awareness of personal care among men and new fashion trends.
Getting into Waxing
Shyra and her husband, Mike, were walking out of Barnes & Noble one night and saw a LunchboxWax salon.
“We looked it over and it was like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting,’” she said. “I wonder what that is.”
That interest has led to the couple’s investment into two franchise locations in the Denver area.
Before that, Carrie Shyra had worked as a renal nurse and case manager for 35 years.
“When we first reached out to them, they said there wasn’t a location available,” Shyra said. “And we didn’t want to build one at the time. But about four months later, Mike got a call that the owners wanted to sell.”
While they launched their first location, Carrie continued to work in nursing and learned her way around the business while Mike kept traveling for his career. But that changed when they bought their second salon.
“When we did that, I quickly realized I couldn’t work,” she said. At that point, Shyra quit nursing and went into franchising full time, building a great team around her, which includes Bailey.
From Nostrils to Manzilians
Above-the-waist waxing is a man’s gateway to additional and more serious services. Nostrils, eyebrows, inner ears, arms, chest and backs are many of the common services Radiant Waxing salons offers male clients.
Those are often the most requested by timid first-timers, Bailey said. “Their demeanor can go from kind of like, ‘Oh, man, my wife’s making me do this,’ to you know, just saying, ‘Hey, you know, I’m here to get my back done. I’m going to the beach, and I don’t want to look like Chewbacca.’”
If they decide to progress into additional services below the waist, that can include everything from legs to a “Manzilian” – the male version of a woman’s Brazilian wax, where all hair is removed from the groin area.
“The first time, they are a little bit more nervous,” she said. “But I think we do a good job of making sure that they’re comfortable and they know what’s going on. I just try to reassure them.”
At Radiant Waxing salons, the professionalism, specialized techniques and products they use set them apart from other waxing salons, Bailey and Shyra said.
“All of our staff is highly trained, and we’ve found the male clients tend to stick to using the same waxologist,” Shyra added. “Once they get used to it, they are less nervous and it’s not as foreign to them.”
Bailey has also noticed the male guests are more apt to develop a professional rapport with their specific waxologist. So, when someone goes on vacation or is out sick, they don’t want to see someone different. They will typically reschedule.
The Radiant Waxing brand’s aftercare regime and products are also tailored to be inclusive, which can make a big difference in proper care following waxing, Bailey said. “Since we rebranded, I do find a lot more of the male guests are willing to pick up the aftercare products because they don’t have a giant logo with a girl holding a pink lunch box.”