Meet the woman who manscapes Charlotte

Men’s hair removal?

Even more weird.

But the truth is, more and more men are manscaping and a lot of them get help from a professional. That’s where Barbara Van Matre comes in. She owns Nola Spa across from the Arboretum and specializes in dude-waxing.

Although Barbara waxes both men and women, she is one of the only spas in Charlotte to offer manscaping.

Even more, she sells an R-rated manscaping tutorial video (used by Charlotte Academy of Esthetics).

Before my visit to Nola Spa, I wanted to get a better idea of what my guy friends do in terms of manscaping.

After several awkward text conversations that I wish I could erase from my memory, I decided to abort my research and just go talk to Barbara.

Here’s our conversation…

Me: How long have you been waxing men? That sounds weird. How long have you been offering manscaping services?

I’ve been doing male waxing for five years. It wasn’t allowed at the spa I worked at before Nola.

Me: It wasn’t allowed? Why?

I think having a naked man in your room is intimidating to some people. But there’s nothing nice about it, you’re ripping their hair out. I see it as very medical. I think it’s kind of discriminating against guys to not offer it. They just want to look good for their partner, they should be able to do that.

Me: What services do you offer for men?

Nose, neck, stomach and chest, back, shoulders, butt cheeks, top of their feet, legs, anal area (tee-hee!) BROkini and BROzilian.

Me: What is your most popular manscaping service?

The male Brozilian. It’s my third highest selling service.

Me: How long does it take to get a Brozilian?

We book it for an hour but it usually takes 45 minutes.

Me: What are the main differences between waxing men and women?

Well first of all, it’s funnier. Most guys are super intimidated at first, but five minutes into the session we’re both laughing.

The funniest difference is that guys have trouble holding the positions I need them in to wax and some even get cramps.

Me: Would you say that Charlotte men manscape more or less than other cities?

I think manscaping is HUGE in Charlotte. There are days when I do five male Brozilians in one day. A lot of my clients, both the husband and wife come in for waxing.

Me: What should guys know before they come in for a manscaping appointment?

They should know that it’s less scary that they think. There’s no pain afterwards, some guys even go to the gym after waxing.

Me: How old is your average client?

Most are in their 40’s.

Me: Does it cost extra money if you’re super hairy?

No!

If you couldn’t already tell, Barbara is not shy about her work. She told me she thinks it’s because she grew up in New Orleans around Bourbon Street.

But not everyone in Charlotte is so open, and many spas still don’t offer hair removal services for men. But why will these spas wax my werewolf hands but not my boyfriend’s werewolf back? That doesn’t seem fair.

How much does it cost?

If you’re interested in some manscaping (or want to force your partner to do it) here are the prices at Nola…

The Modern Man Special ($148.75) – This Service Includes. back, shoulders, brozillian, butt cheeks, and 4-6 inches of upper thigh. This price is 15% off the cost of individual services.

The Ultimate Manscape Special ($166) –  Full Male Brozillian Wax, Chest Wax, Stomach Wax, Back Wax, and Butt Cheeks Wax. 15% off individual pricing. 2 hours 20 minutes.

The Platinum Manscape Special ($245.45) – This service bundle takes 15% off the individual pricing. It includes Stomach, chest, back, brozillian, butt cheeks, full legs, and underarms.