News flash to MSU men: You no longer have to hide in the closet under two blankets and a sleeping bag when you call the hair salon to make an appointment.

You’re not alone.

More and more guys are leaving their wives, girlfriends and beer-drinking buddies behind and indulging themselves with massages, facial treatments and hair styles.

Still afraid of coming out of the closet with your secret desires for pumice stones, loofahs and nail files?

Listen to Jenny Almy and let her drown the fear in rosemary mint shampoo.

As a member of the Senior Creative Team at Douglas J. Day Spa Salon, 4663 Ardmore Ave. in Okemos, she follows beauty trends and sees more and more men coming in for some special treatment.

“Men are becoming more conscious of their appearance,” Almy reassures. “You see a lot more magazines now catering to men and fashion. I think even on TV and movies, a lot of men are setting trends.

“It used to be women were the main trendsetters.”

She said guys, ranging from football-jock high schoolers to cigar-smoking seniors, come into Douglas J. looking to be pampered.

The salon even separates men and women, hoping to make both sexes feel more comfortable.

“Men are doing more as far as getting massages and getting facials - things that make them feel better as well as help their appearance,” Almy said. “The awareness has come around that it isn’t just for women.”

She said many guys are no longer content with a five-minute buzz from the local barber - even if he does tell some good stories from World War II.

As evidenced by the emerging popularity of men’s fashion magazines, Almy said today’s man demands more and is willing to pay for it - and at prices for haircuts at Douglas J. salon ranging from $23 to $57, they better be.

For James Madison College freshman Keith Treanor, cost - not fear - is the main thing holding him back from spoiling himself at a salon - he gets his hair cut at a local BoRics.

He said it’s true that fear could keep men from going to a salon - but it’s more a fear of women, not of men.

“If they were the only guys in the salon, I would say most guys would be uncomfortable,” he said. “I would prefer to not be the only male in a salon.”

But Treanor admits he has gone to a salon for a massage.

“I think it feels really good - it’s a great stress reliever,” he said. “I didn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed.

“I think if spas started advertising more, like men and women spas, then men would go for it. That’s the reason I went in one.”

But while salons and spas are seeing more and more testosterone under the dryers and in the jacuzzis, it appears that makeup is still mainly left to the women.

Deanna Laus specializes in Christian Dior cosmetics at Hudson’s in Meridian Mall, 1982 W. Grand River Ave. in Okemos. She said men rarely come to Hudson’s in search of foundation, lipstick, eyeshadow or other cosmetics.

If anything, they buy clear mascara to enhance their eyelashes or skincare products like exfoliators, moisturizers and cleansers.

Laus thinks many men stay far away from the cosmetics department “just out of fear that they’ll be considered, you know, not too straight and a lot of them feel like they probably don’t need it.”

With heavy black goth makeup, full-length gloves and fishnets, philosophy sophomore Paul Jackson said his style isn’t popular, but it’s still his.

Some of his female friends showed him the basic concepts of applying makeup when he began experimenting with cosmetics last year, after he came to MSU and escaped disapproval from his parents.

“I get few ‘looks’ anymore when I wear these things, but when I add makeup into the mix, people tend to give me more room on the sidewalks,” Jackson said. “They usually don’t bother me with annoying questions, and generally it seems they make a conscious effort to leave me alone.”

Whether the goal is to be left alone, to get a date or to just feel good, men are overcoming stigmas and fears and breaking new ground, moving with ease from the traditional male realms of the garage and the football field to the day spa and the tanning bed.

Jackson said his makeup, which he wears once or twice a week, is just another part of his appearance.

“Wondering why a guy would ever put on makeup is similar to wondering why a guy would put on a pair of Nike shoes or an Abercrombie shirt,” he said. “It’s just part of their style.”

By the way, if your style is that of a male fashion guru - longtime or newly converted -and you’re wondering what to do with your hair next time you go to the salon, professional stylist Almy says “longer hair is coming back in for men, as well as hair that is layered and kind of shattered on the ends.”

And evidently, hair isn’t the only thing that’s being shattered lately - traditional barriers between men and women are also falling and being swept into the trash like freshly cut locks.