Oak Park Day Spas Add Men's Grooming Services Amid Rising Male Clientele

Day spas across Oak Park are expanding their service menus to include dedicated men's grooming treatments, responding to a steady rise in male clients seeking facials, waxing, and other skincare services that have traditionally made up a small share of spa business.

Several spa owners said male clientele has grown from a negligible portion of their business to a meaningful and growing segment over the past several years, a shift they attribute partly to changing attitudes among younger men about skincare and grooming that were once viewed as primarily marketed toward women.

"Five years ago, we might have had a handful of male clients a month, almost all of them coming in because a partner booked the appointment for them," said the owner of an Oak Park day spa near the village's downtown business district. "Now we have men booking their own appointments regularly, and a lot of them are coming back on their own schedule without anyone prompting them."

Several spas have introduced treatment menus specifically formulated and marketed for men, including facials designed around typically thicker, oilier skin types and grooming services such as eyebrow shaping and back waxing that have seen particular growth in demand. Spa owners said they have also adjusted marketing materials and treatment room aesthetics to feel more welcoming to first-time male clients who may feel out of place in a traditionally female-oriented spa environment.

Industry data from national spa trade associations has shown similar trends nationally, with men now representing a meaningfully larger share of spa clientele than a decade ago. Oak Park spa owners said they expect the trend to continue and are training additional estheticians specifically in men's skincare needs to keep pace with demand.