Skincare products are well-established amongst female consumers. The market for male skincare products is far more recent and little research has been undertaken on this emerging sector. The practice of men using what was traditionally a product almost solely aimed at women poses some interesting questions about changing gendered identities and practices. Themes emerged from a series of interviews with respondents and key informants from industry about men’s use of skincare products. Based on our findings, we explore the importance of age as a factor in terms of men’s willingness to engage with this form of consumption. Our research showed that men are not comfortable talking with others about their grooming practices. We argue that men’s skincare consumption is an invisible form of consumption. As our findings show, men do not tend to speak openly about whether or not they use moisturiser and other facial skin care products. We concur with Hakim’s (2016) analysis about the pressure for men to continually improve their bodies in order to try to obtain market advantage in a cut-throat neoliberal context. However, with the case of skin care products, men may introspectively gaze in the mirror in contemplation of their improved appearance gained from using facial skincare products but they want this consumption to remain invisible to others. This invisible consumption could be viewed as an indication of wider uncertainty about masculinity in late modernity and the continuing trend for men to feel that there are certain aspects of their life that they feel they should keep to themselves.

护肤品在女性消费者中很受欢迎。男性护肤品市场是较新的，对这个新兴领域的研究很少。男性使用传统上几乎完全针对女性的产品的做法提出了一些关于改变性别认同和做法的有趣问题。主题来自对受访者和行业主要知情人的一系列关于男性使用护肤品的采访。根据我们的研究结果，我们探讨了年龄作为男性参与这种消费形式意愿的一个因素的重要性。我们的研究表明，男性不愿意与他人谈论他们的美容习惯。我们认为，男性护肤品消费是一种无形的消费形式。正如我们的研究结果所示，男性不倾向于公开谈论他们是否使用保湿霜和其他面部护肤产品。我们同意 Hakim (2016) 的分析，即男性面临不断改善身体的压力，以试图在残酷的新自由主义背景下获得市场优势。然而，就护肤品而言，男性可能会内省地凝视镜子，以考虑使用面部护肤品获得的改善外观，但他们希望这种消费对其他人保持隐形。这种无形的消费可以被视为现代晚期男性气质的更广泛不确定性的迹象，以及男性认为他们认为应该保留自己生活的某些方面的持续趋势。