Not very long ago it was women who had all the fun and fancies when it came to personal care products. So I suppose it is a male conspiracy to get even and started demanding their share of fun in the grooming product line. The age-old limelight enjoyed by the fairer sex soon budged the male way.
Just two decades back men thought it beneath their dignity to involve themselves in anything remotely feminine and so naturally women ruled the roost in the fashion industry, as they were pretty much unchallenged. These days, however, we see more male designers making it big and enjoying status in what was considered a female realm.
The industry seems to have come to a full circle. Ditto is the case with beauty and cosmetic products industry as well. Gone are the days when boys found it insulting to touch the creams and use lotions when shaving creams were only used by the affluent class and men’s salons were nothing more than barber shops. Now the adjectives and phrases like “Macho”, “Rough & Tough”, and “Tall Dark Handsome” are obsolete. The modern day man has donned the “Metrosexual” avatar and is on a constant hunt for products and options which can enhance his looks and his overall veneer.
“Specially For Men” is nowadays a common tag on all kind of products right from “fairness creams” to “Spa kits” from “deodorants” to “hair color” to “body lotions”
Fact of the matter
Most of the personal care products consists of “antioxidants” , “peptides” and “retinoid’ which can be suited for a female skin types as they cater to the male skin types. Thus the brands have little work left to do, that too only in the intensity of usage of the above mentioned chemicals and differential packaging for the men and women products. As the thickness and softness of the male and female skin types vary a lot, the products for men consist of higher concentration of chemicals whereas female skin types are way too fragile and petite to handle high dosage of chemicals. Female creams and body products are made keeping the sensitivity of their skin type under purview but male products needs to be strong keeping in mind the fact that the presence of “androgens” in their body.
Current Trends
- Girls now expect their partners to be as conscious about their appearance as they are and guys also want to complement their spouses in every possible way.
- The male icons are either movie stars or sports personalities who are the brand ambassadors of these men’s grooming product lines.
- Overfilling of female brands in the market during the early 2000 resulted in the saturation of the cosmetics and grooming industry for women, leading the companies look for other greener pastures which were easily discovered in the men’s market.
- Attention from the opposite sex has always been the need and necessity among the teenagers and because of this, the demand for products like deodorants/colognes/hair gel among guys has seen exponential growth in the market.
- We all have grown watching the commercial advertisements for female personnel care products, but in the recent past the advertisements for deodorants have 90% of the time only focused on men. Body and face creams have become as popular in men as they have always been amongst women.
- Commercialization have reached the remotest village where salons are opened “Just for Men” with facilities like facials, spa treatment, skin cure available easily.
Pros and Cons
A recent study proved that the all male product line captures approximately 45% of the total personal care market and the momentum and pace is on a rise since its inception. However, as there are always two sides of the coin, where on one hand these products give out the promise of sophistication and an unfair advantage over those who do not use it, the general tendency among few men is to overdo the cosmetic bit and suffer some rather nasty consequences. Over usage of hair gels leads to hair damage to a level beyond control, similarly skin creams most of the times do not show any recognizable effects as they promise or endorse. This understanding what suits his body is as essential for a guy as it is for a girl. There is no disgrace in one’s “I am a man” image if you go to a dermatologist and understand your skin tones so that you can chose the correct product for yourself. Teenage guys should be made aware about the ill effects of using the wrong kind of products, as this is the market segment which cosmetics companies find easiest to attract.
So for all the guys and girls who want to put their best foot forward next time do not stand and select the product for the brand ambassador or the brand value it has but choose the one which suits your body type the best!
