Because they're worth it? Sales of lotions and potions for men soar 190%

SALES in men's grooming products are booming by up to 190 per cent in a drive led by women trying to stop their other halves from stealing their moisturisers and face scrubs.

Too ashamed to confess to their metrosexual vanity, men apparently prefer to raid their partners make-up boxes for expensive products to keep their complexions clear.

New research, revealed yesterday by market analysts, shows women now buy half of all male grooming products.

Recent years have seen a surge in sales of moisturiser, face scrub and eye cream designed for the new breed of metrosexual man. The trend has had a major impact on sales with male grooming becoming one of the fastest-growing areas of the UK's massive health and beauty sector.

Market analysts Kantar Wordpanel said in the last year alone, sales of male grooming products across all UK retailers rocketed by 22m, swelling the market to 592m.

Beauty expert Karen Larkin of Solace Spa said she was not surprised by the increase. "We often get female customers coming in to buy products for their husbands," she said.

"Some tell us they are now having to buy twice as much because their husbands and boyfriends are pinching their products in the shower.

"Modern man is changing. Men are starting to look after their skin more and there's more products on the market just for them.

"In fact, about 40 per cent of our customers are men. Most come in looking for facials and massages rather than manicures and pedicures, but we do a lot of body waxing as well.

"We had one customer come in recently for a full body wax – it took about three hours to do."

The male market took off about ten years ago, but it was the rise of the sportsman that really created the boom.

Professional footballers such as David Beckham began advertising products previously seen as the reserve of women's beauty cabinets and their supporters followed suit. These sportsmen made it acceptable for an entire generation of men to present a preened, exfoliated, moisturised and well-groomed self.

So great is the demand that supermarkets have had to expand their range by hundreds of products. For example, Tesco now carries 340 male grooming products. Top-selling items include moisturiser, hair colourant, deep-cleaning facewash and shave balm.

Male-grooming buyer for Tesco Richard Lucas said: "There is a great irony that the driving factor behind the huge growth in the male-grooming market is coming from women.

"Many have simply had enough of their deodorants, hair care products, moisturisers, anti-ageing creams and other items being borrowed by their boyfriends or husbands.

"It is no longer considered effeminate for men to keep their skin soft and wrinkle-free or to look after their hair.

"Many men are being encouraged by their wives or girlfriends to keep looking younger for longer."

Kantar Wordpanel carried out the countrywide research in 25,000 households across the UK.

The male beauty products that showed the highest rises were all for men's faces – adding to the impression the British man is keener than ever to look good.