. XINHUA NEWS SERVICE REPORTS FROM THE AFRICAN CONTINENT . Men now edging out women

from nail art business t he men venturing in the nail art work in Nairobi have

taken the business higher by hawking their services

in residential areas and offering them on the streets SPECIAL REPORT BY XINHUA CORRESPONDENT Bedah Mengo

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Men in Kenya are slowly pushing women out from the nail art business, which for many years has been a ladies turf. The men are taking over the trade in the East African nation as their customers, mainly women, prefer their finger and toe nails to be manicured and pedicured by them. In the capital Nairobi , from high-end beauty spas in leafy suburbs to low-end saloons in residential areas, men are taking charge of the business that is booming as demand for nail art rises. Going by the high number of men joining the business, it is just a matter of time before they completely edge women out of the business. “I like the job. It is rewarding and well-paying. My customers also appreciate my work and they love how I massage, polish and create various artworks on their nails,” Ben Kinyua, a nail technician at a saloon in Komarock on the east of the capital said on Sunday. Kinyua is employed at the saloon by a female proprietor, who also makes women’s hair and runs a barber shop. In the saloon, he is allocated space where he conducts his business. “Most of the people I serve are women, but occasionally I find male clients who want their nails worked on. Usually, the men would have accompanied their women to the saloon thus instead of just idling, they let me work on their nails as they wait,” said Kinyua, who studied the work at a college in the capital. However, some men specifically come at the saloon to be manicured and pedicured. “But these are very few. Most men do not want to associate themselves with things like pedicure and manicure because traditionally they are feminine,” he said. He added that the men may be keeping off the saloon because it is him who does the work at the facility. Most males, he noted, would not prefer to be pedicured and manicured by fellow men. “I think it is just the way women are finding my work appealing. A man would also want to be pedicured by a woman, who they believe will do good work,” he said. At the saloon, Kinyua’s proprietor charges between 2.3 U.S. dollars and 5.7 dollars for nail art. “It depends with the kind of art one wants and the style. The normal manicure, which involves painting the nails only with a single colour of nail polish, cost 2.3 dollars. This is done on both finger and toe nails,” he said. Those who want decorations and fancy patterns pay up to 5.7 dollars or even more for the work. “Nail art is demanding work. In fact our prices are lower. Some people charge up to 29 dollars for the same work. But this is because they do more sophisticated work. I can do the same, but we do not have the equipment here,” he said. The men venturing in the nail art work in the capital Nairobi have taken the business higher by hawking their services in residential areas and offering them on the streets. At a street in Rongai on the outskirts of Nairobi , a young man sits under a makeshift shade. Conspicuously displayed at the shade on a board are the words ‘nail art’. Also on the board are the services the man is offering, which include massage, shaping of nails, filing, cuticle care and polish application and polishing. The young man identified as John charges for the services between 0.35 dollars and 1.17 dollars. “It costs 0.35 dollars to polish fingernails and apply cutex only. But if you want the same to be done on your toe nails, the price comes to 0.58 dollars,” he said while working on a client’s fingernails. That demand for his services are high was evident at the roadside beauty parlour. As he worked on the clients’ nails, two other women were sitting on a bench at his shop waiting to be served. Unlike Kinyua, however, John has never pedicured or manicured men. “I do not get male clients. Perhaps it is because of the location of my business. No man would want to come and sit here in the open and let his finger or toe nails worked on as the whole world sees. There is nothing wrong with that because I am also doing a ‘female’ job in the open but they cannot just do it. Perhaps they do not want to be the laughing stock,” said John, whose main customers are passersby. The men engaging in the trade in the capital also offer door-to- door services as competition in the business rages. Some of those who take the services to the people charge as low as 0.6 dollars for both pedicure and manicure. “There are many men who walk around offering manicure and pedicure services. I have engaged one who usually comes at my place to offer the services to me and my three daughters every fortnight. Since I engaged him, I have never gone to the saloon,” said Buru Buru resident Diana Wanjiru. Kinyua and John said they both love their work and they do not feel it is a lesser job because they are men. “It is just like any other work. This is what gives me my daily bread. I love the work and will do it forever,” said Kinyua, who hopes to start his own business. . Remember : you read it first at coastweek.com ! .