AGEING MEANS UPPING THE GROOMING REGIME
Stephen Doig says men’s grooming is not only for millennials – just ask David Beckham
Tin partnership with L’oreal. And while men’s grooming brands are growing like knotweed, this one is notable not solely for the A-list frontman but for the fact that fellow is a man of a certain age – 42, to be precise.
“I think as you get older you do want to look after yourself a bit more”, says Beckham. Annoyingly, the crinkles around his eyes and the few lines on his forehead only serve to make him more handsome up close, but it also points to a shift in how men’s grooming is perceived. These pages have previously looked at how the men’s grooming industry has gone into orbit; a recent study by Euromonitor estimated that it would grow from $47billion last year to $60billion by 2020. And what’s clear is that – despite their need for beard oils to maintain those hipster facial tresses and beautifully coiffed man buns – it’s not just millennials who are investing in their bathroom cabinets. Celebrities from Gordon Ramsay to James Nesbitt have extolled the virtues of hair follicle treatment, as unlikely to accept their receding hairlines as most men in their 40s and 50s are unwilling to accept that they must hang up the trainers and jeans in favour of slip-ons and corduroy. Whole pockets of the men’s grooming industry have sprung up to cater to the man who doesn’t want to admit defeat in the face of encroaching baldness.
Similarly, after a recent study of what men have to be grateful for cited the silver foxiness of grey hair (I cling to this vague hope as my own segues into snowy shades), a host of products work to make the most of grey locks, rather than attempt to eradicate them; shampoos and sculpting products designed not to further strip out the colour, or oxidise so that they add a nicotine yellow stain to grey strands.
You might not want to go as far as the world of cosmetics for men (although you’re more than welcome), but a few adjustments to your ablutions will help you age like a fine wine, rather than a flat Babycham.