Metrosexual Soap
Who put the metro in sexual, anyway? Researchers tell us that the “metrosexual” movement started about a decade ago and was followed by the “retrosexual” and “menaissance” tail trends. But have things changed to a point where men really have shifted their personal grooming focus to compete with the tendencies and time-honoured traditions of the fairer sex? Well, the short answers are maybe and maybe not. But the market has taken advantage considerably, as it is wont to do when a trend gets the attention of popular culture. And whether the shift is real or imagined, there are definitely hygiene products out there reflective of a distinct change in male attitude.
For openers, there’s soap and soap-related products and byproducts. Perhaps some market research whiz decided that men wanted all their hygiene needs covered by one product only, in stark contrast with women, who often require dozens of shifting and evolving products (or so it seems to men who respond to market research polls). Back in the 1980s, perhaps the biggest shift in male hygiene products was the emergence of “bathing gel”, which was touted as a victory over hand soap in the male hygiene derby. Bathing gel actually managed to remain on the market as a strong competitor to soap for both male and female needs, but when follow-up moisturizer continued to tank at the male box office, somewhere along the line someone hit on the idea of combining the two. The result were products with names like “Ultimate Clean”, which was marketed as a moisturizer and body soap in ONE BOTTLE!
The jury is out on the success of such soap products, but it seems a cinch that marketers will continue to cook up ways to attract more testosterone to ring up the pharmacy cash registers. But as with any trend and its subsequent fallout, there are signs of desperation, which in the male hygiene business are manifested in the form of somewhat tricky and delicate products that address previously taboo male hygiene issues: these include creams for Male Genital Odors (MGOs) and strategically shaped soaps that really may not need to be seen to be believed.
An over-the-counter cream for removing MGOs appeared on the market in the past few years and was even brought onto a talk show by an American celebrity, who did not appear to relish promoting the cream in the way he appeared to poke fun at its intended use for men. Another somewhat offbeat product is a perforated soap that arrives with a set of instructions for male-only use. It has been touted on the internet as the answer to men “lazy about their personal grooming”, indicating the innovative marketing tactic of appealing to women to buy a male hygiene product out of disgust and concern for their male partners. All the same, it’s should be a consolation that no matter how crazy the products get, being clean should always be a trend that never goes away – for everyone.