New head shaving gel targets bald men

 

Texas-based cosmetics company, Bold For Men www.boldformen.com, has announced the December launch of Bold For Men’s Dry Shave Gel, designed for use on dry skin, targeting the fast-growing niche male-grooming market.

The company states that the non-foaming shaving gel formula is targeting a major gap in the male head shaving market, avoiding the use of common skin irritant ingredients, alcohol, menthol, mint or camphor.

Suggesting that the product is the first high-end grooming product to be marketed for head shaving men, the company put its performance down to the use of natural antiseptics and anti-irritants, Avena Sativa, Kernal Oil, Clove Leaf Oil, Ginger Root Oil, and Manuka Oil.

Abe Minkara, a spokesperson for Bold For Men, told CosmeticsDesign that ‘as a head-shaver, I have tried every shaving product on the market from the common $4-$6 foams and gels to the recently popular high-end $15-$30 products, of which none meet the special needs of head-shavers.

Thus the idea was born to formulate and create a skincare line, especially designed for head-shaving men'.

Minkara suggested that the product was created as a dry shave gel as a way of gaining a ‘closer and smoother shave', whilst also reducing the risk of irritation, with the transparent gel allowing the consumer more visibility when shaving.

Aimed at the premier end of male cosmetics, the company is launching the product in male grooming boutiques, salons and spas across the US.

Packaged Facts, a publishing division of MarketResearch.com, has suggested that male grooming product sales will hit $10 billion by 2008 as men become increasingly adventurous in their personal care routines.

Referring to these figures Minkara stated that ‘If we conservatively assume that only 1 per cent of the men's consumer market are head-shavers, that will still represent a $100 million market niche'.

The use of male niche products has risen from a value of $26.3 bn in 2005 to $29.7 in 2005, revealing the increasing importance that male grooming products currently have in the cosmetics industry.

Many market-leading companies have targeted the growing male consumer market early on; with LOreal launching its comprehensive men's skin care and personal care range, Men's Experts, on the global market towards the end of 2004.

Likewise increasingly sophisticated products that have traditionally catered to female vanities are being marketed to men with manufacturers like Biersdorf and Shiseido launching products such as anti-wrinkle creams, bronzing products and toning gels.

A previous Datamonitor survey has shown that 73 per cent of European and US men said that spending time in front of the mirror was ‘important' or ‘very important', compared to 72 per cent of women with the same response. Thus suggesting the male grooming market looks set to continue seeing massive growth.