The doctors begin trickling into 6 Salon on Washington Street in the late evening, and stay until the salon closes at midnight. As their feet are dipped in paraffin and massaged and their nails are buffed and polished, they talk about work, current events and their lives.

For its social aspect, the scene is reminiscent of those that played out for decades in barbershops across America.

But today, men are seeking more than a straight razor shave and quick haircut. They are undergoing cosmetic treatments ranging from facials to plastic surgery in an effort to improve their appearance and mental health.

The number of men who choose to spend their free time and spending money on vain pursuits is growing so quickly, the word "metrosexual" has sprung into common usage to describe them.

6 Salon owner George Nikollaj estimates 35 percent of his clients are men.

"I think before it wasn't a guy thing to pamper yourself, but now with companies coming out with products and lines for guys, they're getting into it," Nikollaj said.

Nikollaj said he caters to men by offering the traditional straight razor shave complete with hot foam and towels, but some are looking for more. They book appointments to get highlights in their hair, and show no shame in getting manicures and pedicures.

For a trauma surgeon at Sinai-Grace Hospital who's part of the 6 Salon Thursday night group, the treatments are a no-brainer.

"We shock people when we say we get our nails done," he said, "But a patient never wants to see ugly hands, and you also have to feel good about the way you look."

At Purenvie in Berkley, owner Varinder Cheney said men come in for facials, massage therapy, waxing and especially laser hair removal. Men most commonly seek removal of hair on their back, and are willing to pay the price for lasers to make it permanent.

Male clientele accounts for 50 percent of Purenvie's business some months, Cheney said. Still, they sometimes prefer to keep their metrosexuality in the closet.

"Everything is pretty private so that's one of the nice things our male customers say. Everything is done in separate rooms," Cheney said. "Men are just taking more care of themselves, even with manicures and pedicures, but they don't want anyone to know they're getting it done. We're not allowed to call them at home or send them anything."

Cheney said men also seek out chemical peels and microdermabrasion, treatments that remove a microscopic layer of skin and minimize fine lines and wrinkles.

"Even those are a necessity these days with all the pollutants in the environment. Men are getting sun damage just like women," she said.

At Rejuvenate, receptionist Meghan Wrosch reports an increase in men booking appointments for fantasy tan, an all-over sunless tanning spray applied by an aesthetician.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 600,000 men underwent nonsurgical cosmetic procedures last year, with chemical peels, botox injections, microdermabrasion, laser hair removal and collagen injections ranking in order as the top five.

More than 330,000 more men underwent cosmetic surgery, with nose reshaping, liposuction, eyelid surgery, hair transplantation, and ear surgery the procedures of choice.

In fact, men made up 21 percent of cosmetic surgery patients last year, up 3 percent from 2001, and they comprised 15 percent of all nonsurgical cosmetic procedure patients.

While many men opt to go under the knife or an aesthetician's magnifying glass, others settle for time under the hair dryer.

At David Pressley's Professional School of Cosmetology, school manager Jennifer Gawracz said men are exploring more and more options at salons and spas.

"I think more men are getting highlights and stuff like that. I work at a spa part time and men who get manicures are more professional men, doctors, business owners, husbands whose wives make them go," she said.

But Gawracz said even though men are happy to submit to pampering, they still are reluctant to work in the cosmetology field.

"I think they're still trying to overcome the barriers of being a man and being in the cosmetology field, yet they make the most money at it. Women like to go to men to get their hair cut," she said.

Metrosexual tendencies don't bode well for Ted Widgren, 85, who has owned a barbershop in downtown Royal Oak for 63 years. Once a hub of activity, his shop's traffic is just a fraction of what it was in its heyday.

Widgren said barbering is a lost art.

"It's just a bit of America going down the drain is what it is," he said.

Widgren said young men who are drawn to salons are missing out on the old-fashioned - and much less expensive - barbershop shave and haircut.

While Widgren doesn't have much sympathy for the complexities of the modern metrosexual, he admits manicured hands are neat.

"A sissified man I don't care much for. But even a man's man needs some of that care or they get pretty rough," he said.

Contact Wensdy White at 248-591-2558 or wensdy.white@dailytribune.com.