New York men are increasingly turning to laser hair removal to rescue themselves from hairy situations.
But we are not talking about chest hair: They’re using it on their nether regions.
Christian Karavolas, a laser specialist and owner of Romeo & Juliette Laser Hair Removal in Midtown Manhattan, said he has seen the number of male clients increase steadily since he opened his clinic in 2002 — particularly men between the ages of 24 and 45.
Now, men make up 40 percent of his client base — and many of them are interested in manscaping.
It’s called the male Brazilian — or cheekily referred to as the “brozilian” or “mankini” — and the treatment area includes the base of the penis, the shaft, the testicles and the perianal area, namely the butt crack.
According to Karavolas, there’s a myriad of reasons why men are choosing to expose their most sensitive areas to intense pulses of light. A major one, he explained, was functional.
“The reason we do the perianal area is because some guys have a lot of hair there, so when they go to the restroom, a lot of things get stuck there,” Karavolas told The Post.
“When they have no hair, they don’t have that issue.”
Karavolas added that laser hair removal is also a safer alternative to shaving or waxing, which can lead to painful ingrown hairs or cuts.
But for others, like Salvatore Saccoccio, a 34-year-old celebrity personal chef from the Lower East Side, the reason can be aesthetic.
“I think people can appreciate someone who’s well-groomed,” he told The Post.
Boris, a 44-year-old business owner from Brooklyn who didn’t want to disclose his surname, also told The Post he got the brozilian four years ago to please his wife.
“I think what it boils down to for me is that if she’s going to do it — and I like the way it looks on her — then I should do it for myself because, you know, it’s only fair. It also just makes sense,” he said.
This trend in particular is one that Andréa Young, the owner of Beam Laser Spa in Midtown Manhattan, believes has been fueled by social media.
While Young’s clinic doesn’t offer the full male Brazilian treatment, she says she’s seen an influx of male clients seeking laser hair removal on other areas, such as the chest, shoulders, back and face.
“Oftentimes they come in and they’ll pull out their iPhones and they show a picture of either a model that has what they’re looking for or somebody straight off of their social media that they may be following,” she told The Post.
But the real burning question remains: Is it painful?
Saccoccio described it as being prodded by a “hot pin.”
And the most sensitive area, according to Mike, a 40-year-old software engineer from Brooklyn who didn’t want to disclose his surname, is “the old coin purse” — or testicles.
‘Anybody who grooms their mankini area and is looking for less energy put into that, they should do this.’
It also doesn’t come cheap. Karavolas’ Romeo & Juliette Laser Hair Removal recommends six sessions, at a cost of $350 per session.
So is it worth it? Absolutely, says Saccoccio.
“Anybody who grooms their mankini area and is looking for less energy put into that, they should do this,” he said of his laser treatment.
Boris said he thinks a majority of his male peers already shave down there — so laser seems like a more convenient option, at least for him.
“I was having a conversation with my best friend a couple years ago and — in synagogue during the high holidays, during Yom Kippur, of all places and for whatever reason possessed us — we were looking around trying to figure who we think grooms down there and who doesn’t. And we came to the realization that we think that it’s gotta be, like, 70 percent of the people,” he said, adding that he doesn’t think many of them get laser.
“I would say that most men find it embarrassing, or they feel that it’s going too far, or maybe they feel like it’s just a female thing, and it’s not for them.”
While women still make up the majority of laser hair removal clients, more New York men are enthusiastically getting in on the action.
“If anyone thinks that laser hair removal is just for women, I am living proof that that is a lie,” said Brian, an attorney who had the procedure and thought a mankini “would be fun.”