Beyond Soap and Water: The Men’s Grooming Boom Is Only Getting Started
From looksmaxxing to luxury serums, men are rebuilding their routines from the ground up.
Pitti Uomo and Paris Men’s Fashion Week just wrapped during one of the hottest summers Europe has seen in years, and the heat was doing more than making headlines. At the Maison Kitsuné SS27 “Urban Glide” presentation, the first model opened the show by misting his face with thermal water spray, a moment we flagged last week as a signal worth watching. It was a small gesture with a larger implication. Men are moving well past soap-and-water, trading in the bare minimum for something closer to a full skincare ritual. The industry is growing fast enough to confirm this is not a moment. It is only getting started.
Market Boom, Cultural Shift
According to Fortune Business Insights, the global men’s grooming market will surpass $85 billion by 2032. NielsenIQ data show men’s personal care sales in the U.S. grew 4.2 percent in 2025, outpacing total beauty’s 3.3 percent growth. Hair growth, hair spray, and skin exfoliants each grew at 15-plus-percent clips. Circana reports that men’s prestige fragrance sales rose 5 percent over the last twelve months, now accounting for 32 percent of the market.
The cultural story behind those numbers runs deeper. WWD has noted that internet-native young men have driven a surge of grooming interest, while older consumers have approached it from a longevity angle, building more considered routines around prevention and maintenance. Nearly 68 percent of Gen Z men now use facial skincare, a number that would have seemed unthinkable a decade ago.
