FASHION + BEAUTY
La Touche Beauty
Focus on Male Grooming
This month , Touchell Thaddeus , salon owner at La Touche Beauty , Lindfield , has chosen to focus on exploring the rise of the male grooming industry . “ It was predicted that 2016 would be the ultimate year for male grooming and it definitely seems to be looking that way , as one-third of men admit to spending at least 30 minutes a day on their personal appearance , and 29 percent admit to touching up their looks throughout the day ,” says Touchell . “ With 52 percent of male consumers considering their appearance to be either important or very important , the male grooming market is certainly one that ’ s rapidly evolving .”
Male grooming - what is it ? As a term , ' male grooming ' is relatively new to our vocabularies . A few years ago , it was introduced by clever marketing people who wanted to open up the profitable ( but then very feminine ) beauty industry to the other half of the population .
“ I believe it is safe to say the word ' grooming ' was carefully selected for its own connotations : dogs are ' groomed ', chimps ' groom ' each other - it sounds uncomplicated enough to attract even the most burly biker groups and pub goers ,” says Touchell Thaddeus , salon owner at La Touche Beauty , Lindfield . “ If it had been called the ' male pampering ' industry , I am certain the financial forecasts probably wouldn ' t be quite as impressive as they currently are at an expected value of £ 54.2 billion worldwide - an incredible increase of £ 41.5 billion from 2007 .”
Today , people speak of the ' metrosexual man ': the suave , sleeklooking guy who ' s just as happy downing lager at the rugby club as he is choosing a gift for his mother ’ s birthday . In tabloid articles , the
' metrosexual ' is often described as the ' new breed of man ' - a brand new phenomenon storming the modern western world . This happens to be a complete myth .
“ The truth is that men have traditionally been plucking , waxing , moisturising and styling themselves pretty much since the inception of time ,” adds Touchell . “ Historians reckon ancient Egyptian men spent hours every day removing every single hair from their bodies , applying blossom perfume to their skin and even drawing dark kohl eye-liner around their eyes in a bid to enhance their appearances .”
“ When it comes to male grooming habits , there ’ s definitely been a shift in attitude over the years ,” says Touchell . “ Gone are the days when men would just roll out of bed , hop into the shower , and be out the door in five minutes . Now , they participate in a skin care routine that would probably give the average female a run for her money . For today ’ s men , it ’ s apparent that there is an interest to look good , and to ultimately feel good about themselves and why shouldn ’ t they ?”
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