Male Cosmetics are Cosmetics!

By Timia Cobb
Web Content Contributor 

Men for years have been coerced to meet the societal pressures of being “manly.” Men felt as if  they had to meet the standards of being masculine and disregard anything that was perceived as feminine behavior. However, somewhere down the line having good hygiene, pampering yourself and simply being clean was deemed as feminine. 

Having good hygiene and using various amounts of products or resources to achieve good hygiene is a simple human necessity. This odd gender norm that men shouldn’t overly care about their odor, hair, nails, skin etc. is highly inaccurate. 

For the men who think pampering and grooming is “girly”,  you should know that the amount of time you spend trying to find the perfect outfit or get the perfect cut at the barber shop is contributing to having good hygiene.

Men using cosmetics shouldn’t be seen as bizarre or weird but should be normalized. Cosmetic lines attributed to men are a thing and should be taken advantage of.  

There’s nothing wrong with men wearing makeup, celebrities do it and half of the Korean pop industry does it as well. K-pop is a great example of men breaking away from societal constructs when it comes to make-up. 

There are numerous Korean male artists who choose to wear makeup and them choosing to wear it doesn’t alter their appearance of being maly or amazingly talented artist. Male artist in Korea have had such an influence on Korean culture that it has almost become the norm for men to wear simple makeup such as concealer on a regular basis. 

Cosmetic companies are pushing for men to be more open to trying makeup because it’s a huge industry that anyone can use regardless of gender/sex. Makeup is used to hide blemishes or enhance features, there isn’t a protocol that says only certain people can use it. 

Menaji is a male cosmetics and skincare brand that advocates for better male hygiene care. Menaji sells various makeup products like skin treatments such as tinted SPF moisturizers and face masques. While also having numerous options for body scrubs and shaving aids. 

Menaji sells their brand using a sleek and serious aura. The cosmetic company also has a blog that talks about important issues that young men might not know. The blog discusses the best acne products for young men, male fashion, guides to wearing makeup, advice on daily skin regimens and more.

For hair & beard care, Shea Moisture just launched its new line targeted to male consumers. The line features items such as shave butter, beard detangler and a hair wave pomade. The line generally focus on the hair textures of African-American men but its shaving, facial and body products can be used by any race.

The best thing about Shea Moisture is the brand is sold at most local stores like Walmart and all their products leave out harmful ingredients such as mineral oil and petroleum.

Buying hygiene products are important, but making sure to accurately use the products is even more important. Men aren’t given as many opportunities to learn about good hygiene as women, this can result in the overuse of products. What I mean by this is  how men are taught to only wash their face and hair.

Some men never learn that the overuse of shampoo can dry out the hair and not all products are supposed to be used daily on the face. This is why learning about good hygiene and what is or isn’t good for the skin should be taught to everyone.

The negative stigma of teaching men to not care about having healthy skin and hair is ridiculous. Men might grow up and suffer from bad acne or self image issues because no one taught them how to correctly take care of themselves.

Men reaching out to learn more about skin and hair care is important. For men to learn now that it’s OK to want to take care or pamper themselves means that the next generation will have wonderful men to look up to.

Featured image by Nathan T. Baker via Creative Commons.