Men’s grooming is one of the fastest growing sectors in the beauty business with men now spending an estimated $10 billion on grooming products and beauty treatments every year.
And now they have their own anti-ageing arsenal on the high street thanks to popular brands like Dermalogica, Yves Saint Laurent, Nip+Fab and L’Oreal developing men-only beauty ranges.
One such product is the Manotox from Nip+Fab’s Nip+Man range, a plumping, firming moisturizer that claims to give “amazing anti-ageing results without surgery”.
According to the company, the secret of the new product’s success is an ingredient called “liftonin”, which is believed to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Also in the mix is another new substance called gransil, which claims to help to smoothe the skin, and includes a cocktail of sea minerals to give the complexion a fresher look.
According to a survey conducted by OnePoll, 25% of men now have beauty treatments such as facials, massages and manicures more than once a fortnight, while the average man now spends between 40 and 60 minutes getting ready to go out.
The phenomenon has also led to a rise in waxing, with a third of men admitting to “manscaping” – removing hair from their groin area.
Escentual founder and male grooming expert, Rakesh Aggarwal, said: “Men are definitely more aware of how to look after their skin and appearance than they were even five years ago.
“Women aren’t the only ones that want to copy their favorite celebrities – with men like Matthew McConaughey, Josh Hartnett and Justin Timberlake having fronted male beauty campaigns, men are feeling the pressure to look groomed and it is now acceptable to admit to making an effort to look good.”
The male beauty boom has also spread into the surgery sector, with more men than ever now willing to go under the knife in a quest for the perfect face and body.
According to the American Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, men had almost 800,000 cosmetic procedures in 2012, or 9% of the total.
Particularly popular among male clients are procedures to provide them with the square jaws seen on macho A-listers such as Jon Hamm, Michal Fassbender and Daniel Craig.
“There’s less of a desire now for a conventionally beautiful white-bread face,” Dr. Steven Teitelbaum, an associate professor of plastic surgery at UCLA School of Medicine, told Details magazine.
“People are embracing strong features like ethnic, nontraditional noses.”
