Streak of vanity!

The geeks and the nerds, it would seem, want it all. First, they got to travel. Then, they inherited the earth (ok, they got stock options). Now, they are burning money (God knows, they have enough of that commodity) in an effort to look good and keep fit. Rakesh Pandey, for one, is not complaining. As CEO of Kaya Skin Clinic, a chain of skincare salons promoted by Marico, he is all for men spending money in his outlets, especially when the amount involved is, on an average, Rs 5,000 for a four- to six-session package. Sometime back, Pandey noticed that almost 40 per cent of the customers in Kaya's Bangalore outlet were men (the national average, across eight cities and 30 outlets, is close to 20 per cent). The corresponding figure for Chennai is 30 per cent; Pandey further claims that in some months, over half the customers at Kaya clinics in tony boroughs such as Koramangala in Bangalore and Anna Nagar in Chennai are men, and that some 60 per cent of this is it pros.

The anecdotal-heavy analysis put forth by Pandey is backed by more such evidence from other quarters: three out of every four regulars at the gym attached to the International Tech Park at Whitefield on the outskirts of Bangalore are men, and Satya Sinha, Director, Medfit Ventures, which runs the city's popular Chisel gym and 34 others across it campuses all over India, says that a good portion of the clientele is men out to get a "toned, supple look".

One reason for this could be the fact that most techies have travelled overseas, with some having spent substantial time in California, the heart of both the American technology industry and the Indian diaspora in that country. In sunny California, the men are (invariably) bronzed and fit, and the women, elegantly skinny, and everything, even the store windows, speak subtly of good grooming. That, and the importance attached by Americans to appearance-the Europeans are not as particular- makes it necessary for anyone hoping to make a good impression to look fit and groomed. "In the IT sector, people tend to travel abroad, and interact and socialise with colleagues and clients onsite," explains Kaya's Pandey. And although most male customers start with what he terms "problem-solution" treatments related to acne scars and pigmentation splotches, they rapidly graduate to more evolved (and expensive) procedures such as "botox treatment and fillers to eliminate wrinkles and laugh lines". One favourite is a beard softening service that promises to do away with the five o' clock shadow.

The phenomenon of male techies really getting into beauty treatments has not gone unnoticed. Over the past 18 months, the Delhi-based VLCC has enjoyed considerable success with its first VLCC-for-men outlet in Delhi, says Sandeep Ahuja, the firm's head of personal care. Bangalore, he lets on, is a prime target for the chain's second such centre. And that is in addition to the three unisex VLCC salons that have sprung up in the city over the past 12 months. The geeks, like we said it, want it all.

Source: BT