Catering to Hackney’s ‘mansome’ men

Blade stunner: Saf’s Barbers on Lower Clapton Road. Photograph: Tim Sullivan

Holiday and festival season is well underway and, gentlemen, if you’re still feeling like hairy bears following an extended hibernation, some guidance on grooming might tempt you out from your caves.

On speaking to Mandy Oxley-Swan, Beauty Manager at Shine Holistic on Stoke Newington Church Street, it becomes clear that a diffident view on male grooming is in decline.

She said: “We definitely get more male clients now than when I started seven years ago.

“A lot of men say, ‘I came because I wanted to, not because my girlfriend told me I needed to’.”

Before following in the footsteps of those modern men, I visit Saf’s Barbers on Lower Clapton Road for a wet shave.

On the walls are cut-throat razors, alongside familiar faces from the great spectrum of oh-so-enviable masculinity: Bruce Willis, David Beckham, George Michael and Martin Kemp.

One of Saf’s barbers puts the kettle on but there’s not a cup of tea in sight and we’re straight down to business with bowl, brush and foam.

Once finished, I feel the slight sting of a citrus balm. It’s towelled off in a second and lotion is applied. A not-too-hot towel was held over my face manfully.

On exiting to a warm, summer evening, my face is the softest and smoothest it has been since I was a pre-pubescent little plonker.

The service was swift, the shave successful and I wasn’t asked what I was doing at the weekend nor whether I going anywhere nice on holiday.

Recounting my barber shop shave with Oxley-Swan, she offered some advice: “You want to open the pores at the beginning with hot towels.”

What about the contemporary foam or oil dilemma? “Oil breaks down oil,” says Oxley-Swan. “If someone has congested skin, you can apply the oil and massage it in and add water to emulsify it. You can then use a toner to close down the pores.”

She also recommends regular use of SPF sun protection.

What are Hackney men in search of self-improvement most likely to seek professional help for?

“We do have a lot of men for facials. A couple of guys for eyebrows and pedicures. We do some manicures as well but back waxing and facials are the most popular. More men come for the massages than the beauty.”

To look good it is important of course that you feel good too.

“So many people in London get so tight, tension on the cheekbones and on the jawline,” says Oxley-Swan.

“You can feel it on people’s necks because they’re at a keyboard and hunching over. For a lot of people, when I’m doing massage, I have to pull their shoulders back.”

After speaking to Oxley-Swan, I stay for a facial and massage session.

“You have quite a lot of knots,” beauty therapist Desislava Arabadzhieva tells me as she goes to work.

Delyth Johnson is a nutritional therapist based in Hackney and she explains the benefits of stress management: “Stress is ageing and may impact overall well-being.”

Yoga, pilates, meditation and Tai Chi can be effective in keeping your stress levels low, Johnson says.

So the modern well-groomed man may need to keep his hair neat, but just as important is the old-fashioned regime of rest, relaxation and healthy eating.