Permanently Beautiful

Dove is chipping away at America’s idealistic views about beauty, doing its part to show that each of us is beautiful in our own way. Dove used the Super Bowl to tackle stereotypes about men’s grooming. Using the tag line “Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin,” Dove used buff athletic men to portray moisturizing and skin care as a healthy way for a man to nurture his body.

For centuries men took a bare bones approach to grooming. A shower and a shave was the male standard. In the 1800s, male grooming products were introduced at upscale barbershops and men’s clubs, but were sneered at by the Joe on the street. With the exception of hair pomades which faded in and out of style and were considered more of a necessity than a matter of vanity, male toiletries comprised an extremely thin market through the 1950s. The 1960s sexual revolution heralded a turning point in male grooming standards. By the 1960s men’s toiletries had become a fast growing market, although selection was still limited to basics like shaving cream, hair gel and aftershave.

It wasn’t until 2000 that male fragrances exploded onto the cosmetics market, opening the door to skin care and other grooming products designed specifically for men. Today most men take as much care in their appearance as women and many turn to permanent cosmetics to enhance their appearance, camouflage scars or correct flawed features. To find out more about male permanent cosmetics, visit our permanent makeup site for men.