Are my 3 guy roommates actually spending less on shampoo?
I wasn’t sure, so I donned my lab coat.
By Iana Robitaille
The problem
It seems like every time I run out of one beauty or personal care item — shampoo, conditioner, shave gel, body wash, mascara — I run out of all of them at once. Last week was one of those times. I made a mental checklist of everything I needed; did the quick math; tried to formulate a dream scenario in which I came out of this without throwing down at least $50. But when I lamented the high price of womanhood (can you say Pink Tax?) to my three guy roommates, they had little sympathy. In fact, they insisted that certain men’s products — many, perhaps — were much more expensive than those marketed toward women. It was 3-against-1, and I had nothing but the Internet and its cold, hard facts to back me up, so I quickly flipped open my computer and crunched some numbers.
The hypothesis
I was pretty confident that women (me) spend more money, on average, than their male counterparts (the three dudes I live with) on personal care products.
The methods + materials
Using Amazon as my source, I worked with as many controlled variables as possible: brand, added features, seller. I also focused on things typical to both men and women, so my list does not include cosmetics, special hair products, or feminine hygiene products. Once I had recorded the listed retail price of each item, I divided by its given unit of measurement — refill blades, single disposable razors, or ounces — to determine its “per-unit” price (sometimes the products compared were sold in a different number of units). Adding up these unit prices provided me with a more digestible total value for each group. Finally, I imagined a roommate and I going to the store and buying just one of each product: one 6-pack of razor blade refills, one 12-pack of disposable razors, one can of shave gel, one stick of deodorant, one bottle of shampoo, one bottle of body wash, and one bar of soap. Those totals are reflected at the bottom of the table.
The data
The analysis
Look at those totals! I was right! It is impossible to buy all of this stuff for $50 or less! But hold up, let’s dig a little deeper into these results…
I’ll admit that I was surprised by some of the higher-cost men’s products. Disposable razors, for example, have always been something I took for granted as cheaper for men to buy. The same goes for body wash. I was downright bashful about this one; one of my roommates had insisted that men’s was more costly. That’s why, he explained, many guys just buy soap instead. (Aha! Cheaper for them than for ladies.) On the other hand, men’s deodorant was much cheaper across the board. How’s a girl supposed to stay fresh at work when she has to hustle extra hard to keep up?
Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that these numbers represent only a small percentage of the options available on the pharmacy shelf. Everybody has their own personal care priorities, and we’ve all got our methods for saving a few bucks. As for me, men’s shaving cream gets the job done just fine— but I’ll stick with my Secret Outlast.
The conclusion
Though the totals calculated do support my initial hypothesis, the real takeaway here is that plenty of women’s products actually cost the same or even less than men’s. Still, many women opt for pricier brands anyway — and let’s not forget the additional money spent on makeup and hair.
The next question to ask, then, is why many women (myself included!) are willing to dish out so much cash on grooming and personal care. It could be as simple as self-esteem: look good, feel good. But an increasing amount of research suggests that a woman’s beauty regimen may be a large determinant of her professional, and therefore financial, success. Hmm…this is starting to sound like a Catch-22. And, I think, a topic for a longer post.
What do you think? Are these findings consistent with your own personal care preferences and experiences?
