Discreet grooming in Dublin

THE CLIENTELE of the Grooming Rooms in Dublin have moved way beyond the 19 per cent of men who admitted using moisturiser every week in the Irish Times/Behaviour Attitudes Men Today poll.

At the men-only barber-cum-treatment rooms, clients book in for a range of beautifying services from the 30-minute Express Facial and the Purifying Back Treatment to the Eyebrow Shape and Tint. The Georgian townhouse at 16 South William Street has been restored by John Erraught and Cian McDonald, who had seen men-only grooming operations in other countries and were confident it would work here.

The four treatment rooms are in the basement. At street level there's an old-fashioned shop-front, while on the first floor the front room, with it high ceilings and stucco work, is a waiting room complete with squashy sofas and espresso-making facilities. The back room has been cleverly partitioned to create barbering booths that can be curtained off from prying eyes.

"If a man's getting his hair dyed or his roots touched up, he might want a little privacy," says Erraught, who says discretion is key at his classy-looking and masculine-feeling establishment. Haircuts and old-fashioned hot-towel shaves are the core of the business, he adds. So far the waxing menu, which has 11 different options from full back to forearms, has been a big hit. "Guys see footballers and cyclists who wax or film stars who don't have hairy backs - it's a big influence," says Erraught, who is waiting to see whether the demand for waxing wanes now that the beach holiday season is over.