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Away From the Game: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders president/COO Josh Olerud

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Pittsburgh council seeks review after boil-water advisory

<p>At the risk of getting my Man Card revoked, shredded and incinerated, its ashes buried in some unmarked grave, let me make the following confession:</p><p>I have taken to using &#8220;product.&#8221;</p><p>You know, &#8220;product.&#8221;</p><p>The euphemistic term used by and among men to describe the various unguents (a fancier way of saying ointments, instead of my preferred synonym: &#8220;goo&#8221;) that they use on their face, body and hair.</p><p>Lest you think this is some passing fad, consider this: Spending on men&#8217;s grooming was estimated to generate $21 billion in 2016.</p><p>To put that number in context: That&#8217;s a lot of unguents.</p><p>The Independent reported that 2013 was the first year men spent more money on male-specific toiletries than on shaving products, and the market was growing.</p><p>I have contributed to those statistics but I was not always like this.</p><p>In fact, I once openly mocked those guys who spent as much time on their skin care as some do buffing their cars.</p><p>Once upon a time, my idea of a beauty treatment was spritzing on some Brut or Old Spice aftershave or Canoe cologne.</p><p>And then I&#8217;d squeeze into my Jordache jeans, and I&#8217;d be prepared to take the world by storm. (Hey! Don&#8217;t judge. It was the &#8216;80s. Everyone was doing it.)</p><p>Fast-forward decades, and there was a cable television show called &#8220;Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.&#8221;</p><p>The premise: Five openly gay men offer tips on fashion and beauty for straight guys.</p><p>I found the show entertaining but I strongly resisted the pull to become a &#8220;metrosexual.&#8221;</p><p>Go to a salon for a haircut and shave? No thanks. I&#8217;ll just go to a barber.</p><p>Dye my graying hair? Are you kidding me?</p><p>Use fancy shower gels? I&#8217;ll just stick to my bar of Irish Spring.</p><p>But over time I&#8217;ve given greater consideration to taking better care of my skin and hair. I&#8217;ve been exercising regularly for 15 years, so maybe this naturally follows?</p><p>Maybe my newfound vanity also comes from turning 52 and realizing that Yoda is the only one who looks good with wrinkles.</p><p>And then there&#8217;s the pressure of the young folks: My younger son (who is 18) and even one of my nephews (10) have so many hair products, they could open their own salon.</p><p>So, slowly I&#8217;ve been changing my habits:</p><p>Out with the bars of soap, and in with &#8220;refreshing&#8221; shower gels.</p><p>Out with mere water after I shave, and in with a soothing balm.</p><p>And most recently &#8211; gulp &#8211; I dropped 100 bucks on things like (and I swear I am not making these up): black tea age-delay eye concentrate, rose deep hydration face cream, black tea firming corset cream (with goji fruit extract!).</p><p>And, my favorite: Umbrian clay mattifying face exfoliant.</p><p>I truly am not sure what any of these things are doing for me, and maybe it&#8217;s just a placebo effect, but I do, in fact, dance around the house singing like Maria from &#8220;West Side Story&#8221;: &#8220;I feel pretty/Oh, so pretty&#8230;&#8221;</p><p>Now, what the heck did I do with my loofah?</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Christopher Mele</p><p>Mele&#8217;s Musings</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Christopher Mele is married and dad of two sons and two stepchildren. His childhood in the Bronx defined his friendships, which endure today. A career newsman, writer and editor, the Lords Valley resident is glad to share stories and insights about the challenges that the modern-day middle-aged guy faces. Reach Chris at seaosprey22@gmail.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mele’s Musings: It’s OK to take manscaping to the next level