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24 September 2015 | beautystorebusiness.com Skincare Spotlight interviewed 200 and compiled her find- ings in her book, Les Hommes, ce qui les rend beaux (Men—what makes them beautiful). The book is published in only French, and discusses much more than "skin-deep beauty." Yet some findings directly apply to how to retail grooming products to men. Here are the highlights: Insight #1: Men love to talk about their beauty and their appearance—and are happy that someone is finally engaging in this conversation. Suggestion For Retailers: Don't assume that your male customers are shy and wish to be left alone. Interact with them. Ask them questions about their grooming habits and concerns as well as the products they currently use. Insight #2: All men find themselves beautiful, at least until their 50s. Not gorgeous, but definitely attractive. Suggestion For Retailers: Adapt your marketing language. Whereas mar- keting beauty to women involves creating the feeling that a product will make them look more attractive, younger, less wrin- kled, thinner (all comparative adjectives that play on our feelings of insecurity), attract male consumers by talking about maintenance. They don't need an antiag- ing moisturizer to become more attractive (they are already gorgeous!), but rather they need a facial to maintain their polished looks and sex appeal. Insight #3: Whether women find them beautiful or not is not important to men until their 50s (the one excep- tion being that it is typically essential to them that their mothers find them attractive); instead, they are above all else beautiful for themselves, and for other men (this seems to be true as much of straight men as it is of gay men). Suggestion For Retailers: Emphasize the importance of looking good at work (such as in court, on TV, in a business meeting). Link grooming to success in the workplace, power and influence. Insight #4: Around their 50s men finally do become anxious about their physical appearance—weight gain, flab- biness and loss of hair; then the opinion of women about their appearance and beauty becomes essential to their con- fidence and well-being. Specifically, hair becomes increasingly important: loss of hair is associated with loss of virility and loss of control; shaving one's head (i.e., deliberate baldness) enables men to take back control over their bodies and their virility. Suggestion For Retailers: Make sure that your product selection includes haircare SKUs in addition to skin care. FINAL THOUGHTS: YOU CAN DO IT! Creating an atmosphere and ambience that caters to the male beauty consumer is a wise investment. Men are the most loyal of consumers. Once they find a product they like, they will keep coming back for it—like clockwork. ■ Ada S. Polla is the president and CEO of Alchimie Forever. She is the co-creator of her family's Swiss-based skincare line, which she launched in the United States in 2004. Her skincare knowledge and business skills have yielded double-digit annual-revenue growth for the brand. She holds an MBA from Georgetown University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University. Whereas marketing beauty to women involves creating the feeling that a product will make them look more attractive and younger, attract male consumers by talking about maintenance. Salon proven, two part formula cuts down blow dry time for faster, stress-free styling while light conditioners provide silky smooth, frizz-free hair all day long! ™ 6 Piece Counter Display Cuts Blow Dry Time in Half! w u t s B l o w T i m e ! For more details or for a distributor near you visit six9haircare.com or call 800 555-8895.