Study Shows Men Spend Just as Much as Women on Skincare Products

But what exactly are men spending it on?

Image via iStock/PeopleImages

Image via iStock/PeopleImages

Hold up. Everything you thought you knew about gender and beauty stereotypes is wrong. According to this study, men and women are spending the same amount of money when it comes to beauty products. But how can this be? Men are supposed to be ambivalent towards skincare and things that are typically classified as “feminine”… right? What are they doing? What, exactly, are they using? We’ve hit up the estheticians of Philly’s most renowned spas to finally debunk the mysterious beauty habits of men and really break down the best in men’s skincare.

  • First things first, men are getting just as many expensive products and treatments as women. Esthetician Joanna Kula of Rescue Spa in Rittenhouse sees her male customers routinely buying the Biologique Recherche P50 exfoliating toner and Clarisonic facial cleansing brushes. The P50 toning lotion ranges from $27 for a travel size bottle (y’all!) and $94 for a full 8 oz. Clarisonic currently has men skincare kits on their website for $219, which goes to show that men will definitely cough up some dough when it comes to beauty.
  • More and more men are looking to laser hair removal for the answer to their extensive daily shaving woes. Maureen Smith, medical esthetician of Joseph Anthony Retreat Spa and Salon in Glen Mills, treats many men with laser hair removal around the jawline to help them lessen experiences of irritation and ingrown hairs. In addition to preventative laser removal, she advises that men should “make sure that skin is prepared before shaving. This includes softening the hair follicles [with a good face moisturizer] before shaving and exfoliating everyday to prevent ingrowns.”
  • Exfoliators are a man’s best friend. Especially when they shave everyday. Whether it be a chemical exfoliator such as Kula’s pick, the Biologique Recherche lotion, or a mechanical one (a scrub or cleansing brush will do), daily exfoliation is key to getting a perfect shave with minimal irritation. The exfoliating lotion is meant to rebalance and rehydrate the skin, leaving your face looking good with no dryness or irritation.
  • If nothing else, Smith urges her male customers to wear sunscreen this summer. Not quite groundbreaking, she admits, but you’d be surprised just how many men don’t grab a tube when they hit the beach. “Men claim that it’s greasy and that they don’t like the feeling,” she says. Not good enough. One in five Americans will develop skin cancer at some point in their lives, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Men, take Ms. Smith’s advice on this one — it’s just not worth the risk.
  • Both estheticians complain that men don’t take enough care while doing their skincare routine — and the study agrees. 40 percent of men spend five minutes or less on their beauty routine. Resist the urge to do all skincare in the shower, it’s just not as precise. “Most men have almost no knowledge of skincare,” Kula sighs. “They just slather on whatever bar soap they use on their body directly to their face because they don’t know any better!” She says things are improving, though. Men are coming in for Rescue’s classic facial ($110), which includes an individualized skin assessment and corresponding treatment, so at least men are leaving Kula’s care a little more knowledgeable than before.

While men still have quite a lot to learn about the ins and outs of the beauty industry (let’s keep them far away from jewel toned hair though), it’s nice to see them making an effort to learn about men’s skincare. And it’s also nice to see a study that proves that men care about beauty just as much as women do. Now if only they’d just get rid of the tampon tax.