By JASON ASHLEY WRIGHT World Scene Writer
Published: 7/17/2012 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 7/17/2012 7:52 AM
Richard Maloof’s mom used to cut his hair.
A lovely woman, to be sure, but she apparently wasn’t the world’s best stylist.
“It was a really bad hair cut,” he said. “Kids kind of made fun of me.”
Having had enough complaints, Mom took Maloof to an actual salon.
“And from the moment my head hit that shampoo bowl, I was hooked,” said Maloof, who’s been a self-professed “metrosexual” ever since.
Moreover, Maloof is a style and grooming expert who recently wrote “Detailed: The Complete Man’s Guide to Personal Grooming” ($12.95, Bush Publishing & Associates).
In six straight-forward chapters, Maloof weaves funny anecdotes from his childhood and young adult years with awesome insight into men’s grooming. Without being preachy, he hits on topics like skin and hair care and how guys can easily incorporate a routine into their lifestyles – all the while focusing on self-confidence, which is key.
“I just think it’s in our face so much now, everywhere we look,” said Maloof during a recent phone interview. “Guys are like, ‘I need to do something.’ ”
Born in Staten Island, N.Y., Maloof was very much interested in style and personal grooming, at least since that fateful shampoo bowl incident. That’s when he started blow-drying his hair.
By sixth grade, he had a subscription to GQ. By seventh, he was wearing Polo and Obsession colognes. When he started experiencing acne breakouts, he focused on skin care.
Buddies would give him a hard time, calling him “pretty boy” or “GQ.” But behind closed doors, those same guys would hit him up for style advice or what to do for their own skin issues.
“I was like, ‘Wow, guys want to know,’ ” said Maloof, whose first career was advertising, in which he discerned even more how much image mattered – and how much of a struggle it was for some guys to formulate and use a grooming regimen.
In 2010, he started writing a book. At the same time, he was asking himself what he was passionate about, and he decided it was time for a change. As his book progressed, he realized he wanted to go into image consulting.
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