CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Mie Kakuya of Malama salon gives reporter Tim Ryan a facial.

Pa spaaaAHH

With effort, men can set aside
their tougher tendencies to
enjoy some personalized care

---

By Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletin.com

'm sitting on a surfboard a few hundred yards off Waikiki, letting waves pass because I'm checking out my shiny fingernails.

"What're you doing?" a friend asks.

"Admiring my manicure," I say. "Look at those perfect cuticles, how clean it is under the nails, how evenly trimmed the tips are."

Steve paddles closer, and I bend my hand oh-so-gently so he can see for himself.

"They are shiny," he says.

Then I slowly feel my recently exfoliated cheeks, which are as smooth as a puppy's tummy.

"Check it out," I tell him. "No blackheads or dry skin. Wanna feel?"

By now some nearby surfers slowly paddle away from us.

"OK, what's going on with you?" Steve asks. "A crisis? And no, I do not want to touch your cheeks!"

"Your loss," I say, laughing.

A day earlier, I treated myself to five hours at Malama Salon & Spa at Al Moana Center as an early Father's Day because I'll be out of town Sunday.

I'm not a trendy guy, but my wife has been urging me to try a spa treatment for some time. "Go get pampered," she said.

I consider myself open-minded, and the idea of lying naked under a thin sheet with a woman sliding warm rocks over my back held a certain appeal.

Other men I know reel at the suggestion.

"It doesn't seem right to spend hours getting scrubbed, massaged and coated in oil, steamed and stoned -- a hot rock massage," Steve said.

Men are mostly pragmatic and resist simple pleasures. Frankly, we would rather spend $100 on a high-tech toy or other tangible item.

Massage we can rationalize because we develop sore muscles from "manly" activities. A facial is another matter. Give it a more macho name, and we might feel better about doing it.

Men usually clean their faces with a quick wash of soap and water. Forget exfoliating dead skin. Gravity takes care of that.

A manicure? I don't think so. Nails are for chewing and scratching, not polishing. Who has time to get them clean when they're just going to get dirty again from more manly activities?

But the times are a-changin'.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Mie Kakuya of Malama salon gives reporter Tim Ryan a facial.

Born in ancient times

Spas in one form or another have been around for almost 4,000 years, originating in the city of Mohenjo-Daro, India, around 2,000 B.C., patronized, ironically, by men. About 1,500 years later, soaking and steaming bathhouses became an important social center for the men of ancient Greece. The Romans followed suit.

Spas were also popular with both genders in Europe throughout the 19th century.

Although the majority of spa patrons are still women, the number of men pampering themselves is increasing. In 1987, 91 percent of spa-goers in the United States were women, and only 9 percent were men. By the late '90s, 73 percent were female and 27 percent were male. The International Spa Association recently reported a 30 percent increase in men making use of spa services in 2001 compared with 2000.

Men have never had hang-ups about getting a massage, but the crossover step for many is a facial.

"Facials used to be considered a girlie thing," Mie Kakuya tells me at Malama, "but more men are learning pampering is the way to go. We're seeing the lines blur, and people are stepping out of the old boundaries."

"We are a nation of people bent over computers," says spa team leader Jennifer Lilith. "These 24-7 businessmen need to start living in their bodies instead of their heads. Their bodies are going to start talking to them, and they'd better listen. Women have known about spas much longer. If the men are smart, they'll start to catch up."

Malama, an Aveda Lifestyle Salon Spa, offers highly personalized services, with every person and thing in place, from the decor to the post-treatment couches to the beatific staff gliding silently over glowing tile floors.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Tim Ryan indulges in a facial, which involves removal of blackheads, in the trusty hands of aesthetician Mie Kakuya at Malama salon.

On the table

Walking through the double doors, I felt like I was entering a cheery sun room. The atmosphere is central to the spa's fundamental purpose of making the tense learn to relax.

It took a minute or two to adjust my booming voice and calm my speeding pulse after showing up 15 minutes late to this little island of calm in Ala Moana Center.

I like things in packages, so I decided that the $245 "Nurturing for Him" combo would be best: massage, facial, manicure, haircut and beard trim. It lasted nearly five hours.

I was offered a cool glass of water with lemon when I arrived. In the men's changing area -- equipped with shower, steam room and locker -- I was given thick cotton pajamas and slippers before being led to an area for a foot bath and foot massage. I selected lunch from the Neiman Marcus menu.

From there I was led to a barely lit room where massage therapist Jennifer Lilith would give me three varieties of rubdowns: Hot Rocks, Lomilomi and Swedish.

She left the room while I removed my pajamas as she instructed and crawled under the sheet, lying on my stomach and placing my face on the padded cushion of the massage table while Enya played over the sound system.

After a gentle knock and with my grunt of permission, Jennifer re-entered the room and started kneading my muscles gently with oil.

The purpose of this exercise was to detoxify, remove dead skin, soothe and increase the elasticity of my skin. I could feel myself starting to doze and drool.

This went on for about 50 minutes, involving a slightly tricky interlude of turning over without dropping the sheet.

The Hot Rocks portion of the massage was incredible. Smooth basalt rocks were warmed then rubbed up and down my back until the heat dissipated.

Benefits beyond the body

The benefits of oil massage are numerous, the main lesson being what is revealed to you about your own body. The therapist's skilled hands seek and destroy ropes of muscular tension you may not be aware of, kneading them into oblivion. It's pure pleasure and over all too soon.

Jennifer left, and I lay on the table for a full five minutes before summoning my limbs into action, pulling my PJs from the hook and getting dressed. I could barely recall my name.

Back in the corridor, I collapsed on a thick, soft couch and was given a choice of water or herb tea before being led to the room where "aesthetician" Mie Kakuya would give me my first "Gentleman's Facial."

I lay on my back on the massage table. My face was exfoliated, cleaned, moisturized, steamed, covered with moist warm towels, oiled and massaged. There was nothing unmanly about it, even considering having Aveda's plant and flower essences spread over my wrinkled eyelids.

The manicure salon is bright and noisy compared with the tranquil space I had just come from. A group of women who were talking when I entered stopped when they saw me.

My manicurist looked at my fingers and asked if I cut my nails short or just bit them. That hurt.

Each hand was soaked in warm water before she trimmed the cuticles, cleaned under the nails, then polished and buffed the surfaces. My nails glistened as she asked me what color I wanted on them.

"How about no color," I said.

The last step

The haircut and beard trim -- and shampoo -- was familiar and fun thanks to stylist Blanca Mireles. The treatment also included a scalp massage that almost put me asleep a second time. I had my hands dipped in paraffin wax for smoothing, I think, then covered in a clear plastic bags to dry. I felt silly but liked it.

When Mireles finished with me, I took a steam bath with eucalyptus essence. And that was it.

At no time during the process did I feel my masculinity threatened. I must admit that for at least an hour afterward, I was in no state to pick a fight, mow a lawn or paddle a surfboard.

I'd be willing to wager that were world leaders forced to indulge in a regular course of such treatments, fewer bombs would be necessary in the course of international diplomacy.

Steve and I are thinking about getting a pedicure in a couple of weeks, but first Malama should change the name to something like "Foot Work."

Pampering dad >> Malama offers a variety of massages from $95 to $125; skin care treatments from $95 to $125; body care from $85 to $225; gift packages from $245 to $390, and other services. For more information call Malama at 988-0101, or online at www.avedahawaii.com Other Oahu day spas include: >> Paul Brown, Ward Center at 591-1881 or www.paulbrownhawaii.com >> Ampy's, 1441 Kapiolani Blvd. 946-3838>> Serenity Spa Hawaii, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, 926-2882

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