Calling beauty and personal grooming “effeminate” is so passé (and sexist, for that matter). No longer is it “un-manly” for a man to care about the state of his hair, skin and nails. No longer is there a stigma attached to men who take the time to have clean, trimmed and well-maintained nails or visit the salon regularly to try out the latest cuts, colors and styles. Finally! Men can take pride in caring about how they look. Insert sigh of relief here.
A recent study from Euromonitor International and analyzed by Irina Barbalova has brought to light many pivotal insights about men’s grooming:
- Revenue in the male grooming category has grown 6% annually on average since 2006.
- Toiletries are making up a continually larger portion of male grooming product sales, and they’re expected to take over the proportion shaving makes up by 2013.
- It goes from hair, skin and nails all the way to physique with fortified drinks and dietary supplements.
- International male grooming habits are not the same in every country. For example, Asian men tend to appreciate skin products more, Brazilian men appreciate deodorants and scents, and so on.
Now let’s take this a step further and break down even more gender stereotypes. Men’s beauty doesn’t have to stop with a nice haircut, trimmed nails and some moisturizer to keep his skin supple. For example, I know a guy who wears foundation. He decided that if women can use makeup products to enhance our appearances and give the illusion of flawless skin, why shouldn’t he be allowed to do the same? Now there’s even an all-new line of “male polish” in varying man-approved shades of varnish and pant from Evolution Man. And we say more power to them. Everyone should get to enjoy great-looking nails – not just gals.
It’s not just about the grooming products men are buying, either. It is more and more acceptable for men to go to the spa, enjoy facials from their estheticians, get manicures and pedicures and take advantage of all the beauty services available to them. For those men who aren’t quite comfortable visiting the salon and spa yet, they can still take advantage of the truly enjoyable experience of a traditional razor shave and hot towel at a barbershop (it totally counts).
As for this trend of men caring more and more about beauty and grooming, whether it be to please potential mates or look great in the workplace, all we can say is… it’s about time.
