Bold & Beautiful

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: Vikram Chaudhary sweats out in the gym next to his office three evenings a week and avoids junk food like the plague. The 27-year-old journalist also follows a well-planned regimen for his skin: he washes his face first thing in the morning and again before retiring for the night with a deep-pore soap-free cleanser, and never ventures out without a dab of sunscreen on his face, neck and arms. And come what may,

he will not skip his aroma-scalp-massage and ion-cleanse-footbath scheduled for Saturdays. “First appearance matters a lot—both in your personal and professional lives,” says the New Delhi

resident. “I just don’t want to lose out in the rat race.”

Chaudhary is echoing what most men seem to feel today: There is simply more pressure on them to look good.

And as men become more particular about how they look, sales of male grooming products pick up in India even as new lines of products queue up on shop shelves. Ever heard of an anti-fatigue moisturising lotion? Yes, L’Oreal Men Expert offers you just that for about Rs 600. And if you are worried about your wrinkles, Clarins for Men has an answer in

Total Wrinkle Control that will set you back by Rs 2,350.

Of course, the overall size of the market is still very small—at close to Rs 100 crore it represents just about 5% of the total skincare market in India (which is about Rs 2,000 crore). But it is growing fast

and the scope for companies to pitch their products is enormous. Look how Hindustan Unilever (HUL) fought back with Fair & Lovely Menz Active last year, when it saw Emami tap into the growing market for men’s fairness creams with

its Fair & Handsome.

In fact, Emami had taken a cue from HUL’s own Fair & Lovely to launch its product in the first place. Research showed at almost 30-40% of the users of Fair & Lovely, which is a women’s fairness cream, were men. It made ample sense

for Emami to step in with an exclusive men’s product.

Emami and HUL’s Menz Active in a sense galvanised other players—among them Nivea and Elder Healthcare—into action. “There are players such as CavinKare, for instance, who have a formidable women’s range. Foraying into the men’s market is the logical next