Male grooming is on growing trend in HK
“Whether we like it or not, in our culture, men are judged by our looks, and looking the best you can is a show of respect to those around you.”-Tom Ford
Tom Ford has launched its first men’s grooming line last year.
We can definitely see a growing trend of men’s grooming during the last decade. Bathroom cabinets of some men now are chockablock with facial cleansers, moisturizers, serum, anti-agers and masks – all designed specially for men, besides basic shampoo and shaving cream. Men’s bathroom routine has been “revoloutionized”.
Mr. Daniel Yeung, around 30 years old, changed his job from a property management personnel to a male beauty consultant working for Mary Kay, one of the largest direct-selling cosmetic company, a year ago.
After years of working outdoor, Daniel found his skin has become rough. And the growth of age makes him inevitably wrinkly. Therefore, he started to apply skin cares. At the same time, he developed his interest in beauty industry.
Statistics shows sales of male skin care boomed. It seems more and more men are paying more attention to their appearance to be looking good. In United Kingdom, there’s even a website that only sells male cosmetics. It’s believed the trend is related to men’s self-confidence and the desire to be a charming metrosexual with great taste.
This attitude about grooming spreads across Asia. Grooming for men is a daily practice in Korea, Singapore and in affluent class in China. Even in conservative China, more men have the thought to brush up themselves.
A research report by Hong Kong Trade Development Council this year has mentioned estimates by Euromonitor whhich show the market of male skin care products expanded by 15.4% in 2013. Another report by Hong Kong Trade Development Council last year focusing on Hong Kong cosmetics industry also mentioned a substantial rise in demand of male cosmetics and skincare products. Shanghai has more than 4,000 men’s clubs offering grooming services. Shiseido Hong Kong also set up Shiseido Men’s Club in 2005 and Shiseido has since then been promoting its newborn Shiseido Men product line and holding seminars for male grooming.
As the captain of university’s basketball team, Charlie Zuo isn’t the stereotype athletic boy-sweaty, smelly and slovenly. On the contrast, he pays much attention to personal grooming like daily facial cleaning and skin caring. He also stressed using anti-perspirant sprayer is a must-do before playing basketball. “Stay well-groomed, if you want a girlfriend,” Charlie said.
In the coming future, the industry is expected to develop a further market segmentation of men’s grooming products. In skin care, products can be segmentated not only for different skin types but also for different age. A potential strong demand of anti-agers can be forseen as the extension of life expectancy and worldwide aging population. Though the number of products of men line will still be much less than the women’s, the gap between is obviously narrowing.
The public are open-minded to this new trend, which is actually breakthrough from the traditional social culture. Though it’s a global trend, Hong Kong is mainly influenced by the rising popularity of Korean and Japanese pop stars who always wear significant makeups on the stage, and also many male cosmeticians in Taiwan who are popular for sharing tips about applying makeups on TV shows. The following are professional views of beauty consultants from Mary Kay.
The routine of daily skin care is same with women’s, starting from cleanser, then toner and last lotion. But relatively few men will wear makeups unless they hang out at night. Sunblock with whitening effect or coloured foundation primer are usually used by men to brighten their skins. Concealer is a must-have as men also have acne. Eyebrow pencil and eyeliner will be applied for some special occasions.
It’s believed that male grooming now is one of the most opportunity-rich categories in beauty industry and the market will keep expanding rapidly in the whole world and will not be saturated in a short time.
