Grooming, depression and cancer: Men’s care segment aids holistic health through hygiene routines

21 Dec 2021 --- Men’s care products are on the rise, with the COVID-19 lockdown accelerating consumer demand for various forms of self-grooming products as barbershops and other high street retail outlets close temporarily around the world.

Product manufacturers and marketers have used this period to design new self-care kits and educational tools that can help male consumers take personal care into their own hands. 

PersonalCareInsights explores some of the most salient NPD, discoveries and trends arising over the past two years. 

The boom in e-commerce, along with growing awareness among men of the importance of personal care routines and increased interest in physical appearance, has led some researchers to predict the men’s personal care market size will reach a value of US$75.8 billion by 2027. 

Skin care standards soaring 
This year, US-based skincare company Only Skin unveiled a series of kits designed to make skincare accessible and cost-effective for men. The kits address male consumers who struggle to piece together effective dermatology routines that are affordable. 

Only Skin provides preassembled skin care kits for men.Greg Willsey, the founder of Only Skin, says the brand was born from his personal need for a skincare routine that is impactful and easy to work into a busy schedule. 

“We recognize skin is skin, but we developed Only Skin with men who are less experienced with skincare in mind. It reflects my own personal journey with my skincare routine and what I saw as a lack of suitable clean products marketed to men,” he says. 

The company’s products include the Essential Kit, Standard Kit and Premium Kit. The range includes ingredients like niacinamide, squalene, lactic acid and peptides. 

Recently, PersonalCareInsights spoke with Douglas Jones, the sales and marketing manager of BioCell Technology, who described how male consumers are increasingly looking for in-home solutions to their “beauty from within” routines – particularly with biocell collagen products. 

“Consumers can see the benefits. Just by taking one gram per day, you can see reductions in fine line wrinkles and improvements in overall skin appearance – just in one serving.” 

Convenience kits 
The concept of selling pre-assembled kits for the convenience of consumers who are uninformed and time-constrained has catered to the boom in e-commerce that has arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Men seeking packaged solutions for any area of self-care, be it skin, hair or mental well-being, can order box sets of products fulfilling different needs.

Innova Market Insights highlighted the boom in e-commerce by pegging “Home Delivery Haven,” a top trend for 2021, noting the growth in home delivery also creates opportunities for enhanced brand recognition and product experience through fit-for-purpose packaging.H.I.M.-istry was founded to cater to a critical lack of men’s skincare products.

A similar brand line, Lumin, also provides skin management products for men in preprepared sets. The company’s portfolios include anti-aging, youth management and anti-fatigue sets. 

Men’s “underserved” arena 
Besides a lack of information and accessibility in men’s skin care products, some industry players are also decrying a general absence of male grooming products on the market. This year, Darnell Henderson founded H.I.M.-istry Naturals, an organic skincare business aimed at addressing this issue. 

In November, the company announced a new partnership with department store Nordstrom to introduce its complete line of natural men’s grooming products in US retail locations and online. 

Henderson says he was frustrated with finding quality products for the skin issues he developed while serving in the US Navy. As a result of daily shaving and the rigorous physical and mental demands of military life, his skin was frequently irritated and inflamed.

In response, Henderson spent several years working with a team of chemists who understood his vision and helped him develop the H.I.M.-istry product line.

The company currently offers approximately 30 “spa-quality” products focused on men’s needs for skincare, shave care, beard care and body care, all made with natural and certified organic ingredients.

Neutraceutical products aimed at improving mood are on the rise to tackle male depressionMental health monitoring 
A major aspect of men’s self-care, which has become increasingly recognized over the past decade, are mental health issues. 

Almost two-thirds of all suicides globally are committed by men, according to a 2016 study by the Lancet. This is also reflected in depression rates; 9% of US men suffer daily feelings of depression, around a third take medication for depression and men over the age of 85 have the highest suicide rate on Earth, according to the American Psychological Association.

Due to these issues and the falling stigma around addressing them, a tide of nutraceutical and home remedies targeted at aiding mental states has hit the market. This was also recognized by Innova Market Insights, who named “Mood: The Next Occasion” as a top trend for 2021. 

Dietary supplements like Fonterra’s NZMP Milk Phospholipids 70, which is rich in natural milk phospholipids, a component of milk proven to support mood and cognitive performance under stress, are specifically designed to aid stress and anxiety. 

Tackling cancer through hair care 
US company Manscaped is tackling men’s care issues with a two-pronged approach. The outlet offers a range of grooming products, mainly centered on hair care, and uses its platform to promote awareness and prevention of testicular cancer. 

Its campaign, We Save Balls, was launched in partnership with US non-profit the Testicular Cancer Society in 2020. Being the most common form of cancer in men aged 15-35, Manscaped says its line of shaving, deodorant and body wash products are part of a wider cause to save lives through early detection. 

Manscaped founder and CEO Paul Tran remarks: “Our bigger purpose is not only to empower men but to speak to the importance of proper hygiene and testicular health. Early detection and treatment of testicular cancer, when it is nearly 100% curable, is crucial.” 

By Louis Gore-Langton