Beauty industry site Cosmetics Business has released a report that looks into the top emerging trends in male grooming.
Specifically looking at the UK, the report found that “As more men look for male-specific products, innovation that combines multiple benefits as well as specialist solutions tailored to men’s problem-solving nature are becoming more common in skin care, hair care and deodorants.”
Here are the top three emerging male grooming trends to watch out for:
Beard care
Last year saw a large increase in the demand for beard and moustache care, with IRI Infoscan insight retail director, Chloe Humphreys-Page, saying “While the segment for beard oils is still relatively small, it has grown in value by 253% over the past year.
“Retailers and brand owners would do well to focus yet more attention on the male facial hair grooming market as the beard looks set to stay for a little while yet.”
The news also comes as it’s reported that over two million fewer razors and blades were sold last year compared with 2015.
Glowing skin
Premium male skin care is emerging at an ever-increasing rate, with the likes of La Mer pushing for its products to be seen as not solely for women’s skin concerns but also men’s. Further, L’Oréal-owned Biotherme Homme signed David Beckham as its global ambassador in a push to normalise men using skincare.
While male skincare is discovering a new-found growth in western countries, it’s nothing new to many East Asian countries. 53 per cent of China’s facial skincare spend comes from men (South China Morning Post, 2017), and 36 per cent of Korean men in their 20s use a BB cream (Mintel Korean In-Cosmetics Asia Report, 2015).
Growing hair routine
According to Mintel’s Men’s Haircare UK report, published in March of this year, the value of the male hair category is on the rise.
Simultaneously growing alongside the trends of long hair and the ‘man bun’, product launches are growing more advanced to draw men away from unisex products and back towards men’s haircare designed for their own needs.
Cosmetics Business notes, however, that the emerging challenge for brands (and retailers) is to encourage men to carry out a multi-step hair routine. Mintel’s beauty and personal care category director Lucy Cornford explains in the report that brands should focus on helping young men to establish a hair routine earlier in life — this could help prevent hair loss and damage in the long term.
Ultimately, Mintel notes that “instead of telling them about a specific product’s benefits, show men how their current behaviours could impact their future appearance.”
