Inclusive makeup: Older Japanese men look to cosmetics to boost business

27 May 2024 --- Older Japanese men are dipping into cosmetics and skin care as a reaction to increased concerns over their appearance to clients and customers in business practices. 

Reports reveal that Japanese men aged 40 and above are becoming more conscious about how they appear in video and online meetings, which has become more common due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to Japanese marketing research firm Intage, the men’s care market grew about 1.7 times from 2017 to 43.3 billion yen (US$276 million) in 2023.

Gender-neutral rise
Gender-neutral makeup and skin care have been on the rise in recent years, with men in younger generations embracing beauty rituals despite societal conceptions that they are only for women. 

Data from Innova Market Insights suggests a substantial increase in demand for gender-neutral beauty products globally. The market researcher ranked “Blurring the Gender Lines” as the seventh of this year’s top ten global beauty trends.

Japanese are becoming increasingly interested in makeup and skin care.Twenty-seven percent of male consumers globally say they have increased makeup use compared to a year ago.

Nikkei Asia reports that Gen Z men in Japan spend about 20% more a month on cosmetics than the country’s overall population. Top-selling products for these men cost over 2,000 yen (US$12.75), which is higher than the cost spent by women. 

Intage data reveals that the cosmetics market declined in Japan in 2020 due to the pandemic, and the men’s cosmetics segment recorded a 4% increase.

According to a survey conducted by the health advocacy group Environmental Working Group, men have had a nearly twofold increase in the use of personal care products since their last study in 2004.

The data indicates that men now incorporate 11 personal care products into their daily routine, compared to six in 2004. Younger men are more inclined to use personal care products, suggesting that as they age, the market will continue to grow, becoming “even more significant and impossible to overlook.”

Additionally, a Hot Pepper Beauty Academy survey shows that spending on makeup such as foundation and eye shadow among 15-to-19-year-old males was about 40% higher than the average for all ages, owing to purchases by these early adopters.

Shiseido enters men’s makeup market
Last year, Shiseido hair and makeup artist Tadashi Harada, who is 50 years old, supervised a men’s makeup seminar, “Men’s Beauty Up Course [Advanced].” The artist demonstrated how “anyone can easily implement natural makeup that brings out their own charm.”

Sales of the brand rose approximately 60% after the commercial promoting men’s care was aired, according to the company.

Shiseido says it provides information and in-store proposals to pursue “personal beauty” regardless of gender and men’s grooming and skin care seminars to meet the “ever-increasing” demand for men’s makeup. 

According to Innova Market Insights, more than half of global consumers say they think it is important that beauty products are gender-neutral. Overall, Innova Market Insights data shows a 74% growth in using the term “gender neutral” in Personal Care & Beauty from 2019 to 2023.

By Sabine Waldeck