From lashes and brows to hair, skin, beard, and more, men’s grooming products have never been better… or more essential.
The trend is undeniable, and it’s reshaping the cosmetics industry. Once just a small portion of overall sales (less than 1% worldwide), men’s products have grown into a more than $60 billion a year juggernaut. And that’s not even counting the latest wave of gender-neutral products.
It all makes sense. First, advances in skincare have shattered the myth that men’s skin is so very different from women’s. It’s not. Men’s skin is thicker by about 20 percent and with 40 percent more oil, on average. But dry skin, wrinkles, and blemishes require the same attention and the same solutions for both sexes.
Next, more time spent at home over the past two years gave many people the opportunity to take better care of their hair, skin, and nails. Cosmetics sales soared, mostly online, as men and women joined the stay-at-home self-care movement. Many men in particular spent more time than ever crafting a new, cleaner look… everything from reshaping their brows and beards to applying thickeners and pomades to restyle their hair.
Finally, the constant presence of videoconferencing and social media has made all of us want to look our best, no matter our gender. Looking good helps us feel good, too.
Men, Take a Tip from Women… Start with Your Eyes
The eyes… the mirror of the soul and all that. Turns out Shakespeare’s adage is truer than true. Women know this, and so should you.
Start with your brows. If yours are wild and untamed, begin by having a pro trim your brows into shape. Sure, you can get rid of a few rogue hairs on your own, but beyond that, shaping is best left to a professional. And if you have a unibrow, you REALLY should consider the full salon treatment, including threading or waxing.
Now you have a template to follow… perfect. To keep the new, clean style, do daily and weekly maintenance. All it takes is a few minutes.
- After cleansing your face and brows with an oil-free cleanser, use RevitaBrow® Advanced to strengthen, hydrate, and condition. A swipe or two each evening will give your brows all they need to look and feel soft, strong, and striking. It’s a no-brainer. And while women around the world swear by RevitaBrow® Advanced, a growing number of its fans are men. Let’s say the secret is out.
- Trim the wild hairs, but be conservative. Here’s how. First, using a small comb or brow brush, comb brow hairs downward. Trim each extra-long hair one at a time. (Whatever you do… don’t cut all the hairs at once and in a straight line.) Next, comb brows upward and repeat, one hair at a time. Finally, using a pair of precision tweezers, pluck the rogue hairs growing outside the borders of your brows, top and bottom.
- Finally, use a brow gel to tame unruly hairs and help brows stay in place and in shape. Think of the gel as a sort of pomade for your brows… only better.
Now, Let’s Talk About Hair
Healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp. Full stop. That’s why the body wash and shampoo-in-one stuff won’t cut it. Not by a long shot.
The fuller, more dramatic styles popular in 2022 require clean, healthy, hydrated hair that’s looks thick enough to hold its shape.
If your hair is fine or thinning, here’s what you can do, should do, as part of your weekly hair care regimen.
- Spend a little more on a “real” shampoo…it’s worth it. Avoid sulfate detergents; healthy hair needs gentle cleansing. Shampoos containing natural exfoliants (willow bark, for example) can clear away dead skin cells on the scalp without stripping the natural oils needed to maintain healthy, hydrated hair. (If you’re seeing flakes, your scalp is too dry!) For thicker-looking and fuller-feeling hair, try a thickening shampoo.
- As for conditioner, it should contain plant-based proteins (like flax) and oils (like jojoba) to protect hair from breakage. Look for ingredients that help with thinning hair, like loquat leaf. Biotin is another good one, since it helps support hair volume and strength, resulting in thicker-looking, fuller-bodied hair.
- After washing and conditioning your hair, apply Volume Enhancing Foam by massaging a few pumps directly into your scalp and the roots of your hair. This lightweight, easy to use foam is made with powerful BioPeptin Complex® to boost hair’s vitality. In a four-week consumer study with 33 participants using the foam, 97 percent said their fine hair felt fuller and 94 percent said their thinning hair looked thicker, healthier and nourished.
With your great-looking hair, find the right stylist, use a bit of water-based pomade (it washes out of your hair easier than oil-based products), and get ready for the rave reviews.
