Friday, November 8, 2013

Movember, Male Grooming, "Straight Up. No Chasers"

By Laura Medina

Rock & Brews' Movember “Shave the Date”, left.  Michael Elliot's Hammer & Nails Shop, right.

There's more to November than turkey and gluttony.

Ladies first, they have Breast Cancer Awareness Month last month, October (by the way, men also suffer and die from breast cancer).

This month is Movember, Men's Prostate and Testicular Awareness Month which morphed into the generalized but no less Men's Health Awareness Month.  

Part of Men's Health Awareness Month is telling men that male hygiene is an easy and essential part of men's health.

The ultimate guy's guys, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, of KISS, beat everyone to the chase by doing a "Shave the Date" Movember fundraiser, basically a good ole fashion shave-a-thon at their super cool and chill rock-themed restaurant, Rock & Brews on
143 Main Street El Segundo, CA.

For a mere $5 drop in a bucket, guests can enjoy a luxurious, fancy, classic straight-edge razor shave with a rich, luxurious shave lather, the same type of barbershop shop shave that barbershops used to do but most can't because they can't afford those type of services, equipment, and gear.

Only the most upscale of barbershops in the most upscale neighborhoods still do those type of services.  If the average, everyday guy is mystified by the essential hygienic grooming, imagine his sticker shock at those upscale barbershops' service prices.

Again for a mere $5 per a shave and a hot towel face wrap, the average Joe at last Friday's "Shave the Date" Movember fundraiser were treated to a hundred dollar treat.

The guys were pleasantly surprised by how superior a straight-edge razor shave left their faces smoother and cleaner than their regular, daily razor blades.

Considering George from George's Barber Shop, in El Segundo, set up an impromptu barbershop in Rock & Brews' parking lot and parked right in front of the entrance,  the dudes left the fundraiser with smiles on their faces.  They also had the chance of entering a raffle contest where they can win a goody bag stuffed with Gillette Shaving stuff to him into the practice for a better shave and grooming.

This Saturday is the real opening of the one and only nail shop dedicated to Men's straight-up, no-chaser manicures and pedicures, Michael Elliot's Hammer & Nails on 8257 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles CA 90046 at http://www.hammerandnails-salon.com/

The pedicures-this scribe doesn't know but does know that back-in-the days, the fancy "Mad Men"-type upscale barbershops used to clean, trim, and cut a gent's nails with the hot towel treatment as they did to the hair.

Fast-forward to 2012, everyday clean guy, Michael Elliot and another dude were sitting in a ultra-frou frou, girly nail salon, getting their manicures for a set of straight-up, clean nails, a very basic and necessary hygiene, among girls getting bells-and-whistles embellishments.

Michael and the other guy felt very out of place and desperate.  Where can a decent guy get a decent nail place that will scrub the gunk out of his nails, from doing guy's stuff like fixing the house and car and playing sports to cleaning this nails clean enough for work and dating?

Hitting upon the epiphany that a straight-up, clean, and classic manicure, especially for men, are few and far-in-between, Michael realizes his "man"-icure shop is the spot to fill in a yawning chasm of male grooming and hygiene.

 http://www.hammerandnails-salon.com/

He named his "man"-icure salon, Hammer & Nails, a nail "shop" for guys where men can get a simple, but no less luxurious, clean set of fingernails.  Not discriminatory, Hammer & Nails is also a good place for females to get a straight-up clean set of manicures sans the ornate decoration, the frivolous nail polish, and the antsy long drying period.

Think of it as really cool and chilling nail version of an dip Jiffy Lube.  Instead of a speedy oil-change, Hammer & Nails does straight-forward manicures-what manicures used to be-where the nail technician removes the grout, cuts straight-across the nail, file and buff even while you chill in a black leather club chair, zoning out watching ESPN with headphones on.  You can even chug on a mug on the soda of your choice.

From there, the nail technician will ask you if you want a matte, clear nail polish.  Yes, you heard this scribe right-matte, clear nail polish to ensure the buff.  If you want, you can pick a nail polish from a bruisy-macho palette of black, blue, and purple.

All this under the watchful eyes of Muhammad Ali in the boxing ring, harking back to those "Mad Men" days where being masculine was being clean and groomed.

Knowing there is a big yearning for straight-up manicures for guys and no-nonsense women, Michael is open to franchising in key markets such as the Bowery/SoHo/Tri-Beca, his hometown of Philadelphia, and Atlanta...and Chicago.

Go ahead and get clean and buffed at Hammer & Nails on 8257 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles, CA 90046 and learn more at http://www.hammerandnails-salon.com/. 

Moving male grooming forward during Movember. 




 

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