Personal Care Snapshot: Men’s Grooming

Main Man

Men’s attitudes towards their appearance, specifically skin care products for men and personal grooming, are rapidly changing as traditional values evolve and gender roles blend. The significant convergence of masculine and feminine ideals has created a shift, whereby men no longer associate beauty rituals with femininity. Rather, they view them as an essential component of healthy living.

This change in perspective has heavily impacted the landscape of the men’s personal care market. Since 2012, beauty and personal care launches expressly targeted at men have shown a global increase of 70%.

The market has simply exploded. In 2014, total sales for the men’s personal care market in the US alone topped $4.1 billion, up 6.7% from 2012 and up 19% from 2009. These numbers have made it one of the fastest growing segments in the beauty industry.

Man in the Mirror

Skin care products for men are the fastest growing category in personal care with an 8.6% jump in sales in 2014. Body washes, the largest sector in personal cleansing products, was also the fastest growing segment in the category at +5.8% in 2014.

Male consumers’ increasing desire to have a greater variety of brands from which to choose, as well as their interest in more issue-specific skin cleansing/care products, has driven sales in this segment. Other factors positively influencing sales revenue include male consumers’ affinity for 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 body washes, in addition to product innovation in the form of cleansing oils.

Self-Made Man

Men have begun adopting the same grooming habits as women, and in doing so, have started to seek out many of the same ingredients and benefit-oriented products as their female counterparts. The natural and anti-aging segments, in particular, have garnered greater attention within the male personal grooming market.

In addition, men prefer to employ fewer individual products, thus energizing the market for multifunctional, multi-benefit product lines.

Feel Like A New Man

Both millennials and baby boomers added to the sales growth of skin care products for men in 2014. Baby boomers are on a quest for the fountain of youth, seeking anti-aging products that turn back the hands of time and help them compete with the younger generations.

Meanwhile, the younger Millennials, otherwise known as Generation Y, desire products that will delay the signs of aging.

Every Man for Himself

In 2013, more than 3 in 4 (76%) of Millennial men said they felt that the pressure to “look good” has increased and 73% of those surveyed thought that men today face the same amount of pressure as women in these respects. Furthermore, the indisputable influence of social media and the demands of a competitive job market have evoked this group’s burgeoning interest in beauty and personal grooming.

Although men’s grooming habits are beginning to parallel those of women, men want products that are targeted specifically to them. They shy away from those traditionally designed for women.

As a result, the modern man is trading up and willing to pay a higher premium for skin care products for men and other grooming products tailored particularly for his needs and his lifestyle.

This trend is expected to continue with sales predicted to grow to $4.6 billion by 2019.