Men skin care
External Influence
Culture
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. A person’s perception of beauty is strongly guided by his or her own learned cultural norms and stereotypes (Guo, 2011). Therefore, people living within a given culture have similar opinion on certain attributes of beauty and may disagree with the perception of beauty across different cultures. For instance, the characteristics of ideal male beauty in the Western societies not only include being tall, dark and handsome but also being tough, aggressive, and muscular (Khanzada, 2013). According to Guo, roughness and sun tanned male figure was idealized as one of the common criteria for masculinity. Therefore, health conscious Western men may prefer purchasing self-tanning product as it will offer a tanned look without having exposure to harmful UV rays. On the other hand, Asian societies have a strong preference for lighter complexions as tanned skin is a symbol of working class (Sebastion, 2002). For example, Japanese female favor cute, smooth-skinned, faired look and slender androgynous men (Hays, 2009). Therefore, in order to obtain beautiful skin, Asian men would prefer purchasing skin lotions, whitening agents and anti-aging beauty creams. Hence, different products are assigned with different level of priorities as cultural values have a major influence on the consumer’s attitudes and behaviors (Guo, 2011).
Other than that, the perception of men towards personal physical beautification is evolving. Traditionally, beauty was seen as a feminine property and the use of skin care product to enhance their physical appearance might be seen as a threat for their masculinity (Souiden & Diagne, 2009). Therefore, as traditional men paid little attention to appearance, shaving cream and deodorant are the only grooming products used (Guo, 2011). Besides, men’s salons were treated for hair cutting or merely shaving (Khan & Tabassum, 2012). However, as people are increasingly influenced by an open-minded
Culture
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. A person’s perception of beauty is strongly guided by his or her own learned cultural norms and stereotypes (Guo, 2011). Therefore, people living within a given culture have similar opinion on certain attributes of beauty and may disagree with the perception of beauty across different cultures. For instance, the characteristics of ideal male beauty in the Western societies not only include being tall, dark and handsome but also being tough, aggressive, and muscular (Khanzada, 2013). According to Guo, roughness and sun tanned male figure was idealized as one of the common criteria for masculinity. Therefore, health conscious Western men may prefer purchasing self-tanning product as it will offer a tanned look without having exposure to harmful UV rays. On the other hand, Asian societies have a strong preference for lighter complexions as tanned skin is a symbol of working class (Sebastion, 2002). For example, Japanese female favor cute, smooth-skinned, faired look and slender androgynous men (Hays, 2009). Therefore, in order to obtain beautiful skin, Asian men would prefer purchasing skin lotions, whitening agents and anti-aging beauty creams. Hence, different products are assigned with different level of priorities as cultural values have a major influence on the consumer’s attitudes and behaviors (Guo, 2011).
Other than that, the perception of men towards personal physical beautification is evolving. Traditionally, beauty was seen as a feminine property and the use of skin care product to enhance their physical appearance might be seen as a threat for their masculinity (Souiden & Diagne, 2009). Therefore, as traditional men paid little attention to appearance, shaving cream and deodorant are the only grooming products used (Guo, 2011). Besides, men’s salons were treated for hair cutting or merely shaving (Khan & Tabassum, 2012). However, as people are increasingly influenced by an open-minded