Male grooming refers to men paying attention to fashion and enhancing their own appearance. This interest has become increasingly apparent in popular culture.

Background and history

By location

According to

Statista Statista (styled in all lower case) is a German online platform that specializes in data gathering and visualization. In addition to publicly available third-party data, Statista also provides exclusive data via the platform, which is collect ...

, by 2024 the global male grooming market is estimated to be worth about US $81.2 billion.

Korea

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

has become a center of

cosmetics Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...

use by men due to "appearance competition", where men wear makeup to compete in tight job markets. The

Korean wave The Korean Wave, or ''hallyu'' (; ), is a cultural phenomenon in which the global popularity of South Korean popular culture has dramatically risen since the 1990s. Worldwide interest in Korean culture has been led primarily by the spread of K-p ...

cultural phenomenon, which includes

K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...

, has also strongly influenced male grooming. As pop idols in their 20s and so-called "flower boys" have grown in popularity, the perception of men's makeup has changed. While it was once common for men who wore makeup to be associated with

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

s or

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

in western cultures,

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

male idols, although they are boyish in appearance, otherwise project masculinity. Men are encouraged to copy the makeup of Korean male idols. In fashion and beauty magazines overseas, there are many articles on skin care and makeup tutorials inspired by Korean pop stars.

China

The "woman-like man" has become a new trend in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, where a growing number of young men are interested in makeup. The number of internet broadcasters and beauty

bloggers A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

who produce makeup videos for men has increased rapidly. Accordingly, the men's cosmetics industry has grown rapidly in China. According to

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

market-research firm

, the size of the men's cosmetics industry in China reached 201.3 billion yuan as of May 2018. Chinese e-commerce company

JD.com JD.com, Inc., also known as JINGDONG (), formerly called 360buy,
, Retrieved 3 December 2013

said that the sales of beauty products for men has more than doubled since 2015. Mask packs,

BB cream BB cream is a marketing term that stands for blemish balm, blemish base, beblesh balm, and in Western markets, beauty balm, beauty blend... Products marketed as BB creams are generally designed to serve as a foundation, moisturizer, and sunscreen ...

, and

lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetics, cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick ...

are popular products.

United States

Men's grooming has grown substantially in the US and is projected to grow over the next decade.

Hair care

Hair styling

Barber shops A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

are also one of the places that can assist modern grooming men. Barbers are licensed professionals who are trained to cut, shave, and style head hair and beards. Male grooming products—including pomades, shave products, powder, beard oil, and shampoo and conditioners—can be purchased at barbershop. Interest in eyebrow trimming and eyebrow makeup has also increased, and sales of eyebrow beauty tools have increased in the last few years.

Body grooming

The grooming of male bodily hair has a long history in human culture for both cultural, aesthetic, sexual and practical purposes (see: History of male body grooming). From the ancient Egyptians and Greeks up until modern times, the trimming or removing of body hair has been particularly popular among athletes, for whom it can provide a slight competitive edge in activities such as wrestling, running, swimming, and more recently, cycling (see: Reasons for grooming). In recent decades, male bodily hair removal and trimming, as distinct from head hair grooming activities, has seen a revival for aesthetic and sexual purposes. This rising prevalence has led to the coining of the term 'manscaping' as a specific neologism to describe the practice. The term is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the words '

man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

' and '

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

', and its first known use was in 2003.

Skin care

Men's cosmetics products—

toner Toner may refer to: * Toner (printing), a powder mixture used in laser printers and photocopiers * Toner (skin care), a water-based lotion, tonic, or wash designed to cleanse the skin in preparation for other skincare products * Hair toner, produ ...

s, fragrances, and

lotion Lotion is a low-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to the skin. By contrast, creams and gels have higher viscosity, typically due to lower water content. Lotions are applied to external skin with bare hands, a brush, a clea ...

s—have gained a foothold in the mainstream market. In addition, cosmetics that can be used by either men or women have become popular. The

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n men's cosmetics market has steadily grown from 733 billion won, in 2010, to 1.23 trillion won, in 2016, and to 1.23 trillion won (''c.'' US $1.1 bn), in 2018. About 75% of Korean men use cosmetics more than once a week, according to global data from overseas market research institutions, which indicates that the percentage of men who use cosmetics in Korea is higher than that of other countries. According to a recent survey by

Mintel Mintel Group Ltd is a global, privately owned market research firm based in London, UK. Mintel databases, analysis, and forecasts are accessible to subscribing clients, those who purchase standalone reports, and to students in participating ...

, a global market research firm, 70% of 1,000

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

men use

sunscreen Sunscreen, also known as sunblock, sun lotion or sun cream, is a photoprotection, photoprotective topical product for the Human skin, skin that helps protect against sunburn and prevent skin cancer. Sunscreens come as lotions, sprays, gels, fo ...

, and 67% of men use cosmetics for their facial skin.

is used to heighten skin tone. Men's BB cream is characterized by its delicate and natural persistence. This covers skin defects, but does not look like one is wearing makeup.

Eyebrow pencil Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or created syn ...

is used to sculpt the eyes by accentuating the contour of the brows and define the brows for a natural look. Men with sparse or thin brows use eyebrow pencil for fuller-looking brows.

Lip balm Lip balm or lip salve is a wax-like substance applied to the lips to moisturize and relieve chapped or dry lips, angular cheilitis, stomatitis, or cold sores. Lip balm often contains beeswax or carnauba wax, camphor, cetyl alcohol, lanolin, par ...

is a beauty item that is easily available to men who don't wear makeup. Colored lip balm is popular because it is used not only for moisturizing but also to help with skin tone. Colored lip balm is suitable for men who prefer a natural look because it can brighten lips with color that compliments natural skin tone, but more subtly than

or tint.

Cosmetic surgery

Men are willing to go to the operating room to make a favorable impression.

Botox

Men with small wrinkles on their faces, such as around the eyes and mouth, are seeking

Botox Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin (commonly called botox), is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum'' and related species. It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endi ...

treatments, such as what women get. Middle-aged men get Botox surgery for skin regeneration and wrinkle removal in the hope of securing a new job.

Eyebrow tattoo

The eyebrows play a big role in facial expression to the extent that they are called "the roof of the face". Over 100,000 years, the role of eyebrows has become more important as the size of human faces has become smaller and the facial lines have become smoother. Dark eyebrows on a small face make other people more aware of facial expressions. Recently, there has been a trend of men tattooing their eyebrows. The process of a permanent eyebrow tattoo involves designing the eyebrows and filling with pigment.

Contouring injection surgery

Male contouring injection surgery removes fat from the face and creates clearly defined facial features.

Waxing and laser procedures

Men are having laser treatments for permanent removal of facial and body hair.

Influence in society

Increasing importance of personal appearance

When asked "What do you think are the criteria for a nice man?", in a survey conducted by the

Korea National Statistical Office Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, "look and fashion" accounted for 22.7%, followed by character, economy, and values. When asked "What do you think of a well-dressed man?", 37.2% thought "cool" and 30.1% said "I want to try". In addition, there is the phenomenon of men valuing appearance over ability. People are undergoing cosmetic surgery to make favorable impressions during interviews. As a result of the perception that a change in facial shape improves first impressions, facial contouring surgery is becoming popular across industries.

Corporate strategy

There has been a growth in corporate gifting to align with the demand for men's grooming products. Men with sharp features are finding opportunities in conventional advertising. Both men and women have changed their perception of men looking after their appearance in relation to being competitive in the job market and in marrying.

References

{{Authority control Cosmetics Men's fashion Hygiene