Anti-ageing cosmetics for men

Frank Sinatra gets to grips with grooming, 1965

Its packaging is monochrome and minimalist. Stamped on its side are a list of promises – the appearance of fine lines will be improved, the skin will be smoothed, facial tone and texture will be revitalised. So far, so expected from a miracle-promising anti-ageing cream. Bar one thing. This beauty product is for men.

The Anti-Ageing Formula from US men’s skincare brand Menscience ($58/£37) is just one of a new raft of lotions and potions claiming to take years off the male visage. Joining it on the grooming counter is M Lab’s Anti-Ageing Treatment Serum (£250), Clinique’s Age Defense Hydrator (£25.50) and Clarins’ Line Control Balm (£37) – all age-defying creams destined specifically for the male consumer.

Yet, according to the market research firm Mintel, only 20 per cent of men follow some kind of skincare routine. So why is the grooming industry so keen to explore anti-ageing products?

Matthew Malin, co-founder of skincare brand Malin & Goetz, whose Renewal Cream ($90) is one of its best-selling products, says: “Men are increasingly concerned about the signs of ageing, and when they do start using basic products they rapidly upgrade. They won’t ever be in the market for £800 creams but they will spend £50 on a specialist product now and that’s an extraordinary move on from just a few years ago.”

Tim Shawe, a sales executive from London, says, “Anti-ageing products are, I admit, not something I’d ever have worried about the need to use until they became available. And now, suddenly, I’m seeing the wrinkles. If they get rid of just a few, then it’s probably worth the investment.”

According to Tom Mammone, Clinique’s executive director of skin biology, “The anti-ageing market for men looks set to be every bit as big as it is for women”; while data research company Euromonitor predicts a growth of 18 per cent in the market for men’s anti-ageing products over the next two years across Europe.

As interest in male facial skincare has grown, there has been a knock-on effect for male body skincare. This has resulted in an array of weird and wonderful body products, including Sigma’s Abdominal Skin Toning Cream (“Banish love handles, rediscover abs, and reduce waist size significantly” it promises, courtesy of its slimming formula) and Lab Rescue’s Ab Rescue, a body sculpting gel formula for “better-looking abs”.

Rhodri Ferrier, managing director of Bulldog, the British male skincare and grooming brand, admits that he was initially suspicious about entering the new market. “We spent ages pondering whether to enter this new anti-ageing category for men precisely because there is so much pseudoscientific nonsense around it of the kind that men, new to skincare, are especially suspicious of,” Ferrier says. “But the fact is that men are increasingly tuned into the idea of living healthier lives in general. Hollywood idols such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt aren’t trying to look young but they do know how to look their best.”

Some brands have taken a more direct marketing approach to combat scepticism. Asim Akhtar, founder of men’s skincare brand Kyoku, concedes that men see through creams that claim to make them look like an 18-year-old again.

“They won’t be blinded by science,” Akhtar says. “But men are very problem-solution oriented and signs of ageing are clearly identifiable problems. Since they often tend to be keen gym-goers, they also understand that it can take time to see benefits.”

Men’s products, in comparison to women’s, go for unfussy presentation, fragrancing is minimal and even the language employed on packaging and advertising is tougher and more direct. “You have to focus on the explicit benefit of the product rather than discussing ingredients,” explains Federico Sanchez, chief executive of MenScience. “You have to use simple language, action verbs, to tell men what the product actually does. You can’t go calling it ‘Fountain of Youth’.”

There’s a sense that these male products are not about pampering (as they sometimes are for women) but about competitiveness. According to Mammone, the increase in the grooming sector is one result of peer pressure. “Men are concerned about ageing too now, especially among western societies where that regard for older men is less prevalent,” he says. “Here you don’t look distinguished, you just look less virile. That still has an impact in the workplace.”

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Details

www.meetthebulldog.com

www.clinique.co.uk

www.kyokuformen.com

www.malinandgoetz.com

www.menscience.com

www.labseries.com