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Sunbed sales rise for groomed men

4:55pm Thursday 9th July 2009

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The modern man has turned to tanning, waxing and skimpy shorts, inspired by "style icons" including spoof fashion journalist Bruno, according to eBay.

Sales of "metrosexual" products including fake tan, wax strips and short shorts are all up on last year, the online auction site said.

The number of men buying sunbeds and lamps is up 20%, with 7,500 more sun beds bought in the past 12 months than the year before.

Fake tan sales have increased 16%, with 40,000 extra bottles bought through the auction site.

New Real Madrid signing Cristiano Ronaldo first boosted the trade in tiny shorts when he was pictured in a skin-tight pair last month.

And Sacha Baron Cohen creation Bruno, who favours either the sparkly gold or black leather variety, appears to have added to the trend.

Sales of short shorts on eBay are up 250% on last year and 3,330 pairs have been sold in the last seven days alone.

In the past three months British men have spent £30,447 on waxing strips, with more than 4,000 waxing kits bought on the site.

Julia Hutton-Potts, of eBay, said: "If it's hot in the news, then it's hot on eBay, and the current male pampering and preening trend is very apparent on the site."

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