There’s a collective sigh of relief among women. Finally, they are not the vainer of the two sex. A study found out that men are actually more vain than women. Sure, women tend to take more time putting on makeup. After all, trimming one’s eyebrows and contouring the face really take much time. How many times have a significant other (or brothers) shouted at women to get ready early? How many times have they complained about the time women spend in the bathroom?
Do you know that men actually spend more time showering, shaving, and picking their outfits? You will notice it in small doses. Your significant other looking at the mirror before going to bed. Think about it. How many times have they obsessed about the perfect outfit for a job interview or a big meeting or a client dinner? Women tend to know what they need to wear for these events. They already have that in mind when they plan to go anywhere.
This isn’t the same with men since they decide at the last minute. Do you know that men take 13 minutes to pick out an outfit as opposed to women who take 10 minutes? Here’s another thing: one out of three men, according to the survey, text or call a friend to ask for their suggestion. You would often notice that with the way they spend on their grooming kits, too, or when they start asking what is hair replacement? Since when did your partner start caring about his increasing baldness? You thought he doesn’t mind?
Male Grooming Market
It used to be that the beauty industry is so focused on women that they forget men need grooming products, too. That’s been a thing of the past in the last decade as the male grooming market boomed alongside social media such as Instagram. As it turned out, men want to talk about their grooming and hygiene, too. This is evident in the number of male blogs you can find on YouTube that don’t talk about cars and guns. Yes, they talk about grooming, hygiene, and fashion.
This is why male grooming has become a trend in recent years. In general, society looked down on these topics in the past. It’s not often you hear your father or grandfather talk about outfits and such. But look at your closet now. You have coats for different seasons. You have pants that hug your legs tightly, and yes, you do care about how you look. That’s a far cry from men in the past who roll out of bed and put on the first pair of pants he can grab.
Appearance and Success
Men apparently equate appearance with success. In different surveys, women said they value relationships and financial independence over their appearance. Those two make them happy. It’s not the same with men who ranked success as the most important factor in their happiness. And next to that success is appearance. For men, when they are financially successful, they also dress the part. Money, in short, gives them confidence.
Just think about a friend from high school who used not to shower every day. Now that he’s working at the stock market, he attends reunions and dinners in his suit. It’s like shouting, “Hey guys, I made it! I’m successful!” For men, their success should be reflected in the way they dress. So, don’t be surprised if you see the progression of your partner’s interest in how he looks vis-à-vis every promotion he gets at work.
Celebrities and Influencers
Oh yes, how can you not think about celebrities and social media influencers? If anything, they are to thank (or blame?) for the interest that men have now in the way they look. So long are the runway models who don’t seem real to average joes. Today, celebrities and influencers are on social media, making caring about one’s look cooler than ever.
They take grooming seriously. And not only because they are endorsing certain brands and products. Men actually do care about how they present themselves in public now more than ever. So whether it’s spending more time shaving or showering more than two times a day, it looks like men care more about their looks now.
Is anyone else surprised? While men are not vain in the traditional sense that women are—in terms of putting on makeup and plucking their eyebrows—they think more about their looks when they want to impress someone such as a colleague, an office crush, or a client. The lines between appearance and competency tend to blur with men. Women, on the other hand, are always out to prove they are more than their good looks.
