He’s got the looks

Men’s skincare products have never been so good so why not treat the man in your life to something better than a pair of socks this Father’s Day , asks Sarah-Jane Corfield-Smith

Men’s grooming used to be a bit of an afterthought for a lot of brands. And when they did turn their hand to it, ranges consisted of a token moisturiser, maybe some sort of shaving cream and an exfoliator at a push. Those days are long gone. And rightly so. Not only because men deserve, and are demanding, more than that on their bathroom shelves but also because savvy brands have realised how much men are prepared to pay for their skincare.

The global male grooming market is projected to reach $60.7 billion by 2020. And this increase in spend is down to a very important shift: Men need no encouragement. They are shopping for themselves and by themselves. And with this rise in interest has come expansion of lines, more money being spent on research and development on men specific products and better products, tailored for men’s unique needs. And unique they are.

In the past some beauty experts have argued that there is no need for men or women tailored products. We all have the same skin, that functions in the same way and therefore we should just need ‘products’; a one size fits all mentality with no gender specifics. However, with more in-depth research into the differences in male and female skins, most people in the know would agree that what men need from a skincare product is quite different to those of women. Lets start with facial hair, for example. This is not something that most women have to deal with, but for guys it’s a daily maintenance issue. On the annoying side of having to deal with beards and moustaches are the issues of keeping skin shave rash-free, trying to avoid ingrown hairs and the skin getting clogged up. Plus shaving disturbs the skin’s protective barrier leaving it more vulnerable to pollution, dirt and UV rays. Cue a whole host of products that every man automatically needs.

However, there’s a silver lining in facial hair terms and that is that beard hair follicles give the skin a very rigid and solid structure preventing it from sagging and dropping like women’s and keeping wrinkles at bay for longer. Shaving regularly also exfoliates the skin which makes it look younger; plumper cells are encouraged to the surface leading to a healthy, glowing complexion.

Next, there is the physicality of the skin. Men, quite literally, have thicker skin than women. In fact it is 25 per cent thicker than women’s. Also, it contains more collagen than women’s skin and this is all thanks to the presence of testosterone. Because of the skin’s thickness, products need to be able to penetrate more efficiently but also need to contain some seriously hard-working actives. For whilst wrinkles are kept at bay until later in life, men’s natural collagen reserves decline far more quickly than women’s so sagging can occur earlier.

Then there is the quality of the skin. The other male hormone, androgen, can play havoc as it makes the skin create more sebum. And more sebum means high risk of blackheads, breakouts and clogged pores. This means men’s exfoliators need to be more effective and moisturisers tend to have more of a mattifying focus.

So now that we know why men need their own, specially formulated products, we wanted to show you some of the best out there. And whilst we know that the men in your life are more than capable of buying their own grooming products these days, Father’s Day is the perfect time to keep them stocked up until their next shopping trip.

Since men’s skin is thicker than women’s, products need to be able to penetrate more efficiently and need to contain some seriously hard-working actives