The distance between men and skincare

We live in a society where skincare is the lifeline of some women while there are some men who shower only once every blue moon, and both are normalised. Even though men and women experience similar skin conditions, it appears that skincare becomes somewhat more reserved for one sex than the other. At least, that is what seems to be the problem in Indonesia.

Unlike makeup that is mostly for aesthetic purposes, skincare is related more to skin health and hygiene. Let’s not talk about the advanced types of skincare, such as retinol or vitamin C, but about the basics, such as keeping your skin clean and healthy: to cleanse, moisturise and protect.

“To be honest, I never use any skincare. I even use hand and body lotion rarely, once every five months.” When questioned about the reason, Fauzan said that what is holding him back is the idea that skincare is reserved for women, even though he was dealing with an acne-prone skin condition. “A lot of Indonesians are close-minded. I was like that too, but when I reviewed my (skin) condition, apparently a lot of men are using skincare (for that problem) too.”

Fauzan is not alone. Noel had pretty much the same view when it comes to the word “skincare.” “The thing is, it is mostly girls who are using skincare,” he mused. “If men are using (skincare), they will be considered effeminate.”

This seems to be a popular view among many Indonesian men. It is a fact that the skincare industry in Indonesia focuses mostly on their female clientele, and there are reasons for that. First, the market is big since the female demography means half of the population. Two, beauty standards for women don’t discriminate. Everybody got to have a taste.

However, according to brands, that kind of perspective has never been the case. “They are just uneducated about skincare,” Kristanty Wulandari, the representative from HAUM (@haumskincare), shared the brand’s perspective. She said the key to skincare is to do the basics, at the very least, which are to cleanse, moisturise and protect. “Skincare is not about being pretty or handsome, it’s about hygiene and health. Even now, it has become a part of self-love.”

Skincare has somehow been made so distanced from men that many of them appear to have no idea what to do with it. There might be a perspective that skincare would beautify your look, but there is a missing link in understanding how skincare may do that, which is by maintaining the wellness of the skin. Like women, men are facing all sorts of skin conditions too, but they are distanced from the correct solution and information.

“As a brand, we feel responsible to educate them,” Kristanty added. HAUM tried to educate their market as well as they could. They started from explaining what their products do and how to benefit from them. It then sparked questions and more discussions HAUM is pleased to have with their target. Of course, as customers, it would be easier for them to be aware of how important skincare is if they ingest the right information. Putting these information online means that they would be easier to access, and the easier the access, the faster the results will be.

“In our recent research, it appeared that there’s an increase in male customers, but they are still looking for very manly products,” said Ratu Ommaya, the PR and community representative from The Body Shop (@thebodyshopindo). She added that the original objective of the brand was to provide skincare and cosmetics for everyone, regardless of skin colour and sex. This is reflected in the design of most of their products, which are mostly neutral.

However, ever since the brand started making products labeled “for men,” they did notice a growing number of male customers coming into their stores. “Back then, their mothers/wives/girlfriends did the skincare shopping for them, but now they come to our stores by themselves.” Not only they come and shop for themselves, they also to purchase other products not labeled “for men.” Some even started to ask for advice and recommendations from the beauty care assistants.

HAUM shares this experience as well. “We never really told our customers to do all the skincare routines we provide, but we are often amazed that some male customers would come to us with knowledge about skincare.” Some do care and are aware of how important this is for their wellness, while others can be educated.

These findings inspired TFR to conduct our own small survey regarding men’s views on skincare, and the result pretty much echoed what the brands saw. 61% of respondents, men in the 14-to-49 age group, are aware that the purpose of skincare is to maintain the cleanliness and the health of the skin. Even though many still consider skincare to be focusing on the visuals of the skin, we find a new hope in most responses.

About 48.4% of respondents have skin conditions, while 45.2% stated that they don’t have any skin condition and 6.4% are not sure if they have any skin condition. This shows that there might have been better awareness of skincare among specific age group than we initially thought. Also, 74.2% of respondents are using any form of skincare. However, the proportion of respondents who deem skin health to be important stands at a staggering rate of 90.3%. This shows the possibility of a misconception of skin health and skincare among men.

It is important to understand that skincare is never about beautifying one’s looks. That’s what makeups and cosmetic products are for. Skincare is all about skin wellness and hygiene; it’s about health, and that message doesn’t seem to reach a small group of men. At least, not yet. In the long run, maintaining healthy skin means maintaining life quality and everyone deserves to have a quality life.

Read part 2 - Skincare for men: Science-based or marketing ploy?