The pale and interesting look is off the menu when it comes to young Irish men now. Instead of the milky complexions of the Celts, they're looking for something a little more Jersey Shore these days.
And being hairy now is not what it was in the 1970s. From being the very stamp of a macho man, it's now become the stamp of a tramp. Young Irish men prefer to be smooth and tanned, which means waxing and Brazilians.
It's a major social change and beauticians have been taken aback by the speed and numbers. Dublin men under 25 are lining up for the 'man tan,' local beauty salon owners told the Evening Herald this week.
Marissa Carter, the owner of Carter Beauty in Blackrock, told the Herald that men are taking more care of their appearance and it's boosting her business.
'I only really noticed it around last year. My sister was going on her sixth-year holiday and she started booking young, hot men into the salon,' she said. 'We were a little bit taken aback by the amount of boys.'
Irish lads are reportedly getting their chests waxed, their eyebrows trimmed, the calluses taken off their feet, and in ever increasing numbers.
Carter was surprised to see how many sportsmen - including football and rugby players - were making appointments at her salon for painful waxing sessions.
'I think that young Irish girls are into that look a lot more,' Carter said. 'The young guys are paying more attention to their looks. It has become not a big deal anymore, it is just seen as proper grooming. For young guys - in the 18-to-25 age group - this is the norm. They are really starting to give young girls a run for their money.'
Irish girls are now falling for the prettier, more stylish guys they see in bands like One Direction, The Wanted, and Jedward, Carter said. 'Our generation likes men to be men,' she continued. 'But young guys are looking at who the girls fancy and modelling themselves on that. Their fashion sense is all about skinny jeans, tight T-shirts and fitted clothes. It is a step up from what the metrosexuals were all about.'
'The 'man tan' is coming into its own,' she concluded. Pasty Irishmen beware.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Bythebay | May 09, 2012, 05:46 PM EDT
Tpical snide US comments, Irish men want to look like rock stars, ridiculous. Taking more care of appearance has been the norm for years. Pale complexion of the Celts? No such thing this side of the pond, that's a US skin cream! The pale and intersting look of Irish men of the 1970's time warp must have been those who went to the US were due to being overworked and underpaid, like most immigrants there, never got any sunshine or fresh air.
Mousemess | May 09, 2012, 03:17 PM EDT
StevenStar, Speaking of overweight, obesity in America is of practically epidemic proportions with "exploding waistlines" getting to be a worse and worse problem as years go by. All the fattening junk food crap advertized on TV commercials in the USA is certainly not helping. People are too soft and flabby here in the USA and the kids are the size of 2 or 3 kids each. People are not getting enough exercise in the USA and not paying attention to what they eat packing in all the salt, sugar, refined white starches and fat they crave. Eating too much white flour products (white bread, white pasta,etc) and too much white rice and not enough fiber from vegetables, fruit and whole grains and brown rice. Doctors in the US are pushing fiber as found in vegetables, fruit and whole grain products to help in weight control. Fortunately, this is not as bad in more highly educated parts of the US like Washington, DC. But elsewhere the obesity (hugely and morbidly overweight) is a major health problem especially in the Midwest and in the South where too many refined starches and too much grease, fat, sugar and salt and unnecessarily huge food portions are sadly the norm.
Mousemess | May 09, 2012, 02:42 PM EDT
"Fear gan fheasog mar ubh gan salann." Seanfhocal. Man without beard like egg without salt. In other words, a man without a beard is bland and boring in looks. Aontaim leis sin. I don't know about this waxing idea for men. White men are definitely at their handsomest with neatly trimmed facial and body hair. No need to waste time and money on "defurring" yourselves. And tanning salons are even MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE SUN for skin cancers for fair skinned people. We are going to have Irish guys having their faces prematurely aged and wrinkled from artificial tanning, looking like brown leather suitcases and the dermatologists will be kept busy removing potentially deadly melanoma skin cancers (black-looking spots on white skin)from those who want to be darker than their original skin color. Tanning salons are potentially skin cancer causing and especially fair-skinned people should absolutely stay away from them. Don't be embarrassed to be white, that's better than aging and damaging your face and skin at a tanning salon.
Searlit | May 09, 2012, 01:16 PM EDT
Ten or twenty years down the road, they'll be standing in line for the latest medical treatment to save their leather look faces.
STEVENSTAR | May 09, 2012, 11:37 AM EDT
'The pale and interesting look is off the menu when it comes to young Irish men now.' THE THINGS THIS RAG WILL DO TO MAKE UP A STORY .. AS AN IRISH MALE IN HIS 30s WHO'S LIVED IN ILLINOIS IN AMERICA FOR A YEAR .. IN ALL HONESTY I DONT THINK I SAW ONE ATTRACTIVE PERSON MALE OR FEMALE ... I SAW JEANS , RUNNERS, BASEBALL CAPS, OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE, COWBOY BOOTS PICK UP TRUCKS AND MULLETS YES MULLETS OF HAIR FROM THE 80s SO I THINK A STORY ON HOW AMERICAN PEOPLE DRESS AS OPPOSED TO HOW WE LOOK WOULD BE FAR MORE INTERESTING ... WHAT PEOPLE OVER HERE DONT REALISE AMERICA IS NOT NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, HOLLYWOOD OR CHICAGO .. GO INTO MIDDLE AMERICA AND YOU WILL SEE POVERTY AND THE REAL AMERICA .. WHERE I LIVED WAS EXACTLY LIKE THE MOVIE SWEET HOME ALABAMA WITH REECE WITHERSPOON ... PEOPLE STUCK IN TIME WARPS ... THE IRISH AND IRELAND ARE YEARS MORE ADVANCED THEN THE AMERICAN WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE ..
Murph46 | May 09, 2012, 11:27 AM EDT
jamieLM somehow I don't see you as getting "waxed" Ha!
jamieLM | May 09, 2012, 10:33 AM EDT
Being well-groomed is fine, but tanning puts one on the road to skin cancer and premature lines and wrinkles.
Murph46 | May 09, 2012, 10:19 AM EDT
My wife calls that look PG-for pre gay!