Some Men Are Starting to See That Beauty Is Skin Deep

Men. Go figure.

They obsess about their cars, workouts and hometown sports team.

But when it comes to their face or body, they tend to be far less fussy. Ask them about their favorite grooming product and they might say Irish Spring soap. Even cosmetics companies know that most men, given the choice, would wash their hair and bodies with the same product.

But a few brave men are beginning to take special care of their skin, using products especially designed for males. And why not? Men are subject to the same damage from the sun, stress and aging as women.

And in a man’s world, appearances are becoming more and more important. Newer men’s magazines, such as Details and Detour, have joined traditional ones such as GQ in focusing on men’s fashion and grooming. Even health publications, such as Men’s Health, are reporting on how to look--as well as feel--better.

“More men are comfortable coming into the cosmetics department and asking about skin care,” says Alexandra Elliott, corporate spokeswoman for Neiman Marcus in Dallas. “Also, they seem quite educated about what their needs are and what they are looking for.”

That was not the case in 1987 when Aramis launched its Lab Series, which has now become one of the most successful male skin-care lines, according to industry analysts. In the last two years, Lab Series sales have increased 15% each year, says Pamela Baxter, senior vice president and general manager of Aramis.

“It’s only [been in] the last five years we can get men to use treatment,” she says. The Lab Series core customer group is 18 to 39 years old. “We know that the young male customer is much more open to using skin treatment than their fathers or grandfathers were.”

“We see more and more men making the decision,” adds Baxter. Ten years ago, 80% of its [Lab Series] purchasers were women buying for men. These days, she figures that at least 60% of the product’s purchasers are men buying the products for themselves.

Men accounted for only 2% of the $1.5 billion spent on prestige skin-care products in 1998, according to NPD BeautyTrends in Port Washington, N.Y. Still that’s $30 million, enough for cosmetics companies and retailers to take notice.

Nordstrom, for example, has launched its own men’s skin-care line--Callaway Golf--marketed for “golfers.” At Barneys New York in Beverly Hills, the most popular men’s line is the unisex, moderately priced Kiehl’s.

Another popular item at Barneys is from a French company named Nickel. It’s a moisturizer called Morning-After Rescue, made with caffeine and cucumber. “We’ve sold out of this several times,” says Jason Weisenfeld, spokesman for Barneys.

The brave males who understand the need to care for their skin still act like men. Their products must be efficient, having two or three uses. Most men’s lines make a body and hair wash in one. Aramis, for example, sells a Lift-Off Power Wash for the hair and body. Men, explains Baxter, want one bottle to throw into their gym bag. In contrast, women “want one for our hair and one for our face and one for our bodies. We say, ‘How many bottles can you sell me to put into my gym bag?’ ”

Men also want products with simple names and clinical packaging. For example, Aramis’ Lab Series is sold in clear bottles, white canisters or tubes.

Michele Probst, a Nashville-based makeup artist, is so confident of the changes in men’s interest in skin care that her cosmetics company, Menaji, is introducing eye gels and concealer--not for makeup but to mask flaws such as shaving nicks and broken capillaries. “We try not to use the ‘makeup’ word. That’s the ‘M-word,’ ” says Probst, whose products are sold at Bachrach’s men’s store in Topanga Canyon.

Generally skin-care products are a harder sell to men than women. But once men are hooked, they keep coming back--to the same products, even though most are $12 and up. “Men are so brand loyal and technique loyal,” says Probst. They learn to shave at an early age and usually stay true to that method, even if it means throwing alcohol--which stings the skin--on their faces afterward.

That loyalty, however, does help cosmetics makers in one way. “If you sell a man a product and he likes it, he’s not out there looking for something else,” says Aramis’ Baxter. “You don’t have to spend a lot of money trying to keep him.”

Women, she says, like to try various brands and, even if they like something, have to be resold on the product’s use after a while.

As for makeup, Baxter says, “Do I think in my wildest dreams that men are going to use a concealer or foundation in my lifetime? I don’t think so.”