According to Euromonitor the global market for male grooming products is projected to exceed a value of US$60 billion by 2020, significant growth from its current level of $47 billion.
The four largest markets are (in order of increasing size) Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America and Western Europe. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing territory benefiting from a significant contribution from South Korea, a country where over 35% of males in their twenties use moisturiser and where the use of BB and CC creams is already mainstream (see the Iope brand Air Cushion products for men).2 Despite the widespread trend for facial hair, which has had obvious effects on the shaving market, sales for male toiletries, in particular facial skin care, have seen impressive growth and this has helped to support continued positive year on year growth in this sector. More mature males, many with a high level of disposable income, have begun to embrace the use of personal care products, driven by the rise of well-groomed celebrities and a relaxing of traditional macho attitudes to product use. Millennial males are already skin care savvy and are becoming a demanding audience for innovation in products and also for a male twist on colour cosmetics, due in part to the blogger and YouTuber society. Despite this continued growth the male market only accounts for around 11% of total beauty sales, indicating there is still some work to be done on increasing the number of males who are engaging with our industry. Here we round up some of the latest product launches for men, needs and trends for the market and how future trends will influence what the product offer will look like going forward.
Sensitivity
There are well documented differences in skin physiology between genders predominantly due to hormonal effects caused by, e.g. ,androgen levels.2 To summarise, male skin has a tendency to be thicker than female skin, male skin has increased vascularity and sebum levels, a lower pH and a tendency for wrinkling in the forehead region, as opposed to the crow’s feet region for women. Trans Epidermal Water Loss levels (TEWL) are lower in men and hydration levels are often higher. Possibly the most important factor to consider when developing male specific products is the increased sebum levels, the products need to be very light and serum-like to avoid feeling tacky and heavy when applied.3
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