It’s no secret that the modern man is more concerned with his appearance than previous generations, with women now having to fight for equal mirror rights in the bathroom. The increasing awareness about having a proper grooming routine has seen a global growth in sales for the men’s beauty market. A study by market researcher Canadean found that men’s grooming patterns in 10 of the world’s biggest markets, including the US, China, Russia, India, the UK and Brazil, accounts for approximately 47 per cent of the volume of health and beauty product purchases.
The future is set to see men’s toiletries be one of the best performing categories, with Euromonitor forecasting a growth of over $3 billion between 2011 and 2016. Men have shown an increased interest in general in looking after themselves,” says Dermatology Institute of Victoria associate professor and Neutrogena spokesperson Greg Goodman. It used to be that a man would only do anything if their partner complained enough about their appearance. Now men are into skincare, general grooming and looking after their faces as well as their bodies.”
founder Larisa Alexander believes that marketers from multinational brands have been instrumental in developing and driving the growth of this segment for years, with consumers now responding. But men’s products are in no way restricted to the bigger brands nor male-specific brands, with men’s grooming infiltrating many company’s offerings. The male grooming industry is definitely growing in the range and diversity of brands,” says Alexander.
Products driving the growth
Men’s grooming tools such as electric shavers, trimmers and home hair clippers are among the largest dollar growth drivers in the overall personal care industry, with facial skin care also growing at a fast pace, according to a study by NPD. Euromonitor agrees that skincare is on the way up, predicting that it will be the most dynamic segment in men’s grooming. The market researcher also points to deodorants as a strong performer, forecasting that 31 per cent of men’s grooming value growth in 2016 will come from this product category.
Not just a shaving cream
In the past, a tub of cream for a man would typically be associated with a shaving cream. Now you are just as likely to see them in possession of a moisturising cream, as skincare becomes more popular. Men, like women, are now looking for specialist products to improve their appearance. Products such as moisturisers, cleansers and scrubs that perhaps were not the primary products men were using before are now growing in popularity,” says Palmer's national brand manager Lisa-Marie Ennis. facecare and shower senior brand manager Sacha Mayberry adds, Dry, flaky skin or irritated skin from shaving is certainly skin that no man wants to have and so men value products that work to fix these issues in a no-fuss, no-nonsense way.”
New research from Mintel shows that as many as 7 per cent of men now admit to spending a lot of time on their facial skin routine, with 42 per cent using a facial moisturiser. Key concern areas driving the male skincare market are moisturising and protecting against hyper-sensitivity, anti-ageing and combating tired or dull-looking skin, according to Mayberry. Men have also been found to be becoming more adventurous with the products they are using, with Mintel discovering that 22 per cent are using a facial cleanser, 23 per cent use lip balm, and 7 per cent use eye creams and gels.
A product of many talents
Another popular trend for male skincare found by Euromonitor is that products are becoming multi-functional - delivering extra benefits such as anti-ageing, oil control and self-tanning. We decided to launch a range of 3-in-1 shower gels as men have a preference for no-fuss and simple products that fulfil their needs. By combining hair, face and body products into one, we are assisting them in time-saving and making the shower process shorter and simpler,” says Mayberry.
Male-dedicated products
Male and female skin have different properties, so it makes sense that men have products specifically targeted towards their needs. Whilst they may have used female products in the past, there is now a much wider and more sophisticated range of products suited to men and their particular needs so they don’t need to use female products anymore,” says Ennis.
Compared to women, male skin is approximately 25 per cent thicker due to having a very high dermal density, has higher amounts of collagen, is more acidic, highly vascularised, and weakened by shaving. Men know that they have different skin to women, but a lot of the products aimed towards men are not really developed with male needs in mind. The brands that are developing products for men are doing well to provide targeted products that allow men to carry out a regular routine step-by-step (i.e. pre- and post-shave as well as other skincare maintenance),” says Maybery.
What’s on the horizon
While it’s a trend that is yet to take off in Australia and New Zealand, this year has seen an increase in the number of men trying their hand at make-up. Despite men’s interest in cosmetics starting to gain momentum, males remain discrete with their use of it. The main purpose of males using make-up is to cover up imperfections rather than to highlight features. The use of make-up is beginning to be accepted among men as a tool for them to look and feel more youthful,” explains US Southwest Skin and Cancer Institute founder Dr. Robin Fleck. For example, they use concealer to cover up dark circles.” So girls, watch out, you might have to soon start making a his and hers section of the make-up cabinet as well as the skincare one.
New and hero men’s products
Below bd highlights some of the best-selling and new-to-market male grooming products:
Bread & Butter Skincare Daily Body Moisturiser
(Dermalogica Close Shave Oil - New Zealand)
Espresso Anti Fatigue Roll-on Eye Gel
(Ermenegildo Zegna Parfums Uomo EDT - New Zealand)
endota spa gift voucher - bloke
Florame For Men Eye Contour Cream
(Goldwell Dualsenses Mens Hair & Body Shampoo - New Zealand)
(Head & Shoulders Total Care 3in1 - New Zealand)
(Lab Series Pro LS All-In-One Face Treatment - New Zealand)
(Neutrogena Men’s Cooling Cleansing Gel - New Zealand)
(NIVEA For Men Cool Kick 3-in-1 Shower Gel - New Zealand)
Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Men Body & Face Lotion ()
Philips Lumea For Men
Phytomer Age Maitrise Wrinkles and Firming Cream
()
River Veda Men's Vital Moisturizer (River Veda Men's Vital Moisturizer - New Zealand)
Men Cleansing Foam (Shiseido Men Cleansing Foam - New Zealand)
Sorbet Sauve (New Zealand)
The Body Shop For Men Maca Root Eye Serum ()
VS for Men Deluxe Clipper Set