It’s only in recent months that I’ve started to come to terms with the fact that men, just like women, are allowed to take care of their skin. I probably had a similar view to a lot of blokes – that skincare was for girls, like The Sanctuary’s skin care products,  and men were too manly to need to take care of their skin. Obviously I now realise that this is completely ridiculous and, having started working within the grooming and beauty industry, I can see that there’s a massive demand for skincare that’s specifically developed for men.

To be honest, before I joined Mankind I didn’t have a clue that half of the current skincare brands existed. But simple marketing logic tells me that there’s no supply without demand. From my limited experience I’ve spotted a number of popular men’s skincare brands, including Lab Series, Anthony Logistics, Biotherm, Kiehl’s and Ren (to name just a few).

The future is definitely bright for men in terms of looking after our skin and actually feeling comfortable talking about it. I still struggle with my close friends when I tell them that I exfoliate and moisturise. You should see their faces when I tell them that I blow dry and straighten my hair every morning before work. I think it’s going to be a tough challenge to get some of these lads to open up to the brave new world of men’s skincare, but it’s going to happen. It’s inevitable, and eventually everyone will have joined the club!