Inside The Ten Spot.
“Screw relaxation.” That’s the mantra of The Ten Spot, which is not your everyday spa. There are no whale calls whispering from the speakers or dimly lit, silent rooms. The sleek, bright and friendly shop provides a lively atmosphere, with fun conversations, movies playing on flat screens, fridges stocked with iced tea and a healthy variety of magazines. Because let’s face it, even gay men and women have a hard time finding anything worth reading in Chatelaine.
“We try and customize as much as we can,” says Angie Cummings, social media manager and woman in charge at the Leslieville location. “We have TV in our waxing rooms, so if you like to watch The Office as you get waxed, we try and make that happen.”
The Ten Spot has grown to six beauty bars across Toronto and one in Hamilton. The team members pride themselves on their attention to cleanliness, safety and quality, but it’s really the laid-back vibe that sets this salon apart — and that attracts a male crowd.
“We have men come in to have body waxing done, but we also have quite a few guys for the gents’ facial or nail services,” Cummings says. “We’re now seeing gay guys coming in as a group or a lot of men who are definitely being booked in by their wife.”
The Ten Spot’s menu includes a “gent grooming” section that focuses less on polish and more on scrubbing, exfoliation and cleaning (the Get Nailed foaming body buffer created in-house and made in Toronto does this quite nicely).
“This isn’t such a hyper-feminine space that a man is going to feel uncomfortable,” Cummings says. “We find that men like having a separate menu and seeing that services are tailored to them. They don’t have to worry about potentially having a glossy polish put on their nails . . . unless, of course, they want it.”
More info at the10spot.com
and getnailed.myshopify.com.
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