You see more and more of care for men, whether in supermarkets, specialized stores, on television, on the Internet, or on men's fashion advice sites (although we don't talk about it much). .
But often, the same thoughts come up:
- It's too expensive, I'm paying for marketing!
- Too many brands: I don't know what to choose!
- When should I seek care?
- Care is for women!
Benjamin Brunschwig, responsible for product development at Biotherm Homme , answers all the questions you don't dare ask an expert in an institute. You will see, it is also very educational! (that's why they introduced him to us, from okcowboy)
What's funny is Biotherm's approach to facial care for men. They do not hesitate to educate us with a program by levels: beginner/intermediate/expert (that reminds you of something, right?).
But we're not here to talk about Biotherm!
Because in this interview, you will learn how to take care of your skin:
- Choosing the right cosmetic product for men
- What differentiates products for men and women?
- How does diet affect our skin?
- How to take care of your skin?
- How to read and understand a label?
- How do we develop a product?
- What are the steps (to follow) when shaving?
- The essentials to have at home?
The video was shot in a café, because with a glass of pastis, it's warmer. Please excuse the background noise. To get in the mood, you can do like us, we won’t blame you 😉
“Magneto Serge”
Note from Benoit : sorry for the poster on the left, but I assure you that we had nothing to do with it and that we couldn't have done otherwise...
Transcript of the interview with Benjamin Brunschwig
I'm going to start a little with a personal vision which is a comparison that is perhaps a little caricatured but at least speaks for itself. I often say that selling skincare to men is like selling cars to women. That is to say, women don't necessarily know much about automotive technology or the latest innovations. It's not really a topic of discussion between them but they love driving since the pleasure of driving is universal. And guys and cream are the same. We may not know much about the ingredients, the textures, how we use them. It's not necessarily a topic of discussion between friends at the bar. But we love having soft and healthy skin because that's a pleasure that is universal.
I am 30 years old. I have been working in cosmetics for 6 years. I haven't always worked in men's cosmetics. I have worked for men's and women's consumer brands before. I worked a little in England for small niche brands like Khiel's and I have been working for Biotherm Homme for 4 years now selling skincare to men.
Why this attraction to cosmetics?
Because in cosmetics, there is also hygiene. So, having clean skin and clean hair, then feeling good about yourself, having the self-esteem to move forward in life, I think it's quite healthy and important. This is a segment I am comfortable with. And then, we realize that when we work in beauty, we are extremely lucky because it opens a door to creativity and sensoriality. There you go, it’s a nice area.
What is your view on the men's cosmetics market?
Today, the men's cosmetics market has been saying every year for 15 years that this is the year it will explode. In the end, it was neither true nor false. It has progressed a little each year for 15 years. It's true that at the beginning, it was very niche on people who are either very well off, or the gay community too, more sensitive people who were more used to taking care of themselves and who had less taboo regarding that. And then, it gradually opens up to everyone. There are some notable facts. Recently, mass market brands are starting to do mass advertising on TV. And that, obviously, changes mentalities and advances habits. I believe that throughout time, the guy has always dipped his fingers in the pot of cream of his campaign and he immediately said to himself: this is not for me. But that's normal since we don't have the same skin and we don't always need the same products. But we have all had tight skin at some point, whether man or woman. We've all had blackheads, slightly open edges, redness, excessively oily skin. In short, I believe that skin problems do not only affect women. So, there is no reason why only they can resolve these problems.
What is a good product?
So, we started talking about it a little earlier. People said: men's skin is different. So already, a good product for men. It is a product that is suitable. Above all, it's textures that are not greasy, not sticky, not shiny and then with a fragrance that guys like a little more than something that smells like roses. First of all, it's a basic. And then, the quality of the product, I'll tell you it's like for women, for now, it's the concentration of active ingredients, the choice of active ingredients, the conservation systems that are chosen; and so there, the same rules only apply to women. But what makes a good product for men? It is a product that is easy to use, quick to use with a suitable texture. To be brief, I will say this.
Can we survive without cosmetic products?
I think we can live and survive with tight skin, blackheads, and spots. Obviously. The car is not essential, you can get around by walking. So, it is above all a hygiene issue to have clean and healthy skin. Then, a comfort issue of having comfortable skin which does not feel tight when you have very dry skin, which does not shine if you have very oily skin. We don't have lots of itchy pimples if we ever have acne or things like that. So, comfort. And then it's self-esteem. Good face could do, it's how we like ourselves in the mirror when we leave in the morning because we like our shirt, we like our sweater, we like our pants, how they fall on our pumps, well, we do our hair before going out. Well I think the appearance of our skin is in the same way. So it's neither more futile nor less futile, but it's very pleasant.
25 years ago, cosmetic products for men appeared, why?
What happened when women were emancipated? It's a bit the same question because why shouldn't women have access to everything that men do and why shouldn't men have access to everything that women do? Working on men's care is also interesting because it's sociological. We study the evolution of masculinity. And the evolution of masculinity, just like the evolution of femininity, masculinity is much richer. It is much less one-sided, it is much less solely in physical strength, responsibilities, power. It is also in sensitivity, in self-care, of course. And so to perhaps be more clear, there is a cross-evolution. That is to say, the woman has evolved more from the inside to the outside, that is to say from the home to the outside of the home to obviously occupy a progression, from public progressions to have public and societal roles. Man, on the other hand, has learned to go from the outside to the inside. That is to say, to no longer only be active outside the home but also active inside. I think it's obvious if I tell you today that there are guys who vacuum and wash the dishes. And well, he learned to turn towards his interiority. There, I took the example of the home but we also have the example of ourselves.
Women a long time ago were the caricature of people in life, who talk to each other, who talk about their feelings and men don't talk about it, that is to say they whisper if you talk about your wounds, of his most intimate desires, etc. But the woman did not have this only for herself, the man also now has the right to talk about his sensitivity and therefore also has the right to take care of himself, his body, his hair, his health at the same time. title. This isn't just some woody, caveman type that braves the odds and is completely stainless. Simplicity, pedagogy, as few words as possible.
How to educate men?
When we looked at our respective sites, we saw that we had exactly the same approach by saying beginner, intermediate, advanced. There's no shame in saying I don't know anything about clothes or skincare. And so we've already told them that. And besides, we see it on our site, we have a lot of clicks on the “I don’t know anything about it” box. And so there, we simply explain to them that there are different approaches depending on Europe and Asia, we can talk about it later, but in Europe, we build it around shaving. It is very simple. The problems with shaving are the problems with sensitive skin. It's redness, tightness, microcuts, the feeling of heating, razor burn. And to avoid this, it is extremely important to clean your skin before shaving with hot water with a suitable product which will soften the hairs, remove blackheads, remove impurities, all of which are safeguards for good glide. razor. We remove all this before shaving. We always shave in the direction of the hair and wash with hot water. We rinse everything at the end with very cold water and simply moisturize it so that the skin copes better with this daily method of shaving.
So, we have this pedagogy around something that they know well which is shaving, which is virile, which is masculine, we don't take any risks. So that’s already how we tell them how to use the treatment and why. And then, how do you choose your moisturizer based on your skin. If your skin is just a little dry, take a moisturizer. If you have oily skin, take a moisturizer suitable for oily skin with for example silica, or mineral perlite which will absorb excess sebum and excess perspiration. If we tend to have signs of fatigue, we will take things with ginseng, magnesium, vitamins, rather a boost that wakes you up and keeps you awake. If we have fine lines and deep wrinkles, we will take textures that are a little more suitable with suitable ingredients which are ingredients that should be the same as for women's cosmetics.
And how do we keep it simple? Already, just the name of the products, well we have our moisturizer called Aquapower. It's quite easy. Another anti-fatigue called High Recharge. Our first sign of age , it's called Age Fitness, there it is, it's written on it. It says what it does, it does what it says. So there are other brands that are good too. But there you have it, having clear products that do what they say, that say what they do, it's a first step with few words for the guy to simply choose in fact.
When should you question your skin?
Well, it's already starting to show in the mirror even if the guy has long been used to going out with peeling skin, dyschromia, a lack of uniformity or pimples, things. But at a certain point, when you want to have more beautiful skin and your skin is not as beautiful as it should, when you have more clinical problems we will say, really pimples , acne, big burns because it is so dry, discomfort when it pulls, it pulls, you must not stay in such a situation. Just put on a moisturizer and it will feel much better. So, I would say that as with the first question, why? It’s hygiene, comfort and aesthetics. Well at what time? When we feel that we have disgusting skin, when we feel that we have tightness and a lot of discomfort, and then when we want to have prettier skin than the neighbor.
What are the cosmetic essentials?
Basic moisturizing cleanser. Cleanse your skin with a treatment suitable for your face. That is to say, the skin on the face is not the same as that on the body. Unlike that of the body, it is exposed all the time to open air, pollution, smoke, oxidation and UV rays. It's so important. So, cleaning it with appropriate care is very important, then adapted to your needs. Once again if you have oily skin, dry skin, aging skin, don't use the same cleansers but it's quite simple. It's a simple cleanser. Shampoo for the hair, shower gel for the body and facial cleanser for the face. And then when that's done, a suitable moisturizer, is it a basic moisturizer, is it an anti-fatigue moisturizer, is it an anti- age, is this a moisturizer for oily skin. Then, we adapt it according to your skin. But that’s it quite simply. And always, always guys, a treatment is applied to clean skin. That's important. It's like, I don't know, it's like changing your car without removing the oil from before. So, there you go, it’s always on clean skin.
To go further, what would you recommend?
So, a little further, the stage just after is the eye contour, with roll-ons, beads which are pleasant because it's decongestant, it massages. And then the skin around the eyes is a little thinner. There are formulas that can be a little more adapted with treatment around the eyes. Then, there are very suitable after-shave treatments if you really have difficulties, ingrown hairs, things like that. And then obviously, there are creams that can be tinted if you want to hide any flaws or look a little more tanned. Obviously, there is that. Then, going further, that is to say that at the beginning, we will take a basic entry-level moisturizer, then we will test textures that are a little more advanced, a little more technical, gels. where something happens when you apply it, a sensation. Then here we are, we will discover the must of the must. So. You can drive a Twingo, then you can drive a BM. They're still cars but the experience is not the same.
What is the difference between selective treatment and large area treatment?
I will say, there is a real difference in formula between a mass market, supermarket treatment and what we find without the selective in terms of texture, fragrance, concentration of active ingredients.
How can diet affect the appearance of our skin?
I think we've all experienced it. When you spend a week drinking, eating burgers, you have disgusting skin because the fats, the alcohol, the smoke, smoking cigarettes and then exposing yourself more to the sun, that's it, all that together, I know that it will be. Kinda the question, it's not just the food. But yes obviously, that is to say if we only eat organic vegetables, or intact vitamins and we eat things without fat, without coloring, and of course the skin suffers.
Blackheads, how to avoid them?
We can avoid this quite easily in line with what we said just before. Start by cleansing your skin daily. That is to say, every time we take a shower, we take the opportunity to clean our face, but not with shower gel but with a cleanser suitable for oily skin or for blackheads. In cleansers, we have two large families, we have the classic cleansers we will say and then there are the scrubs or the scrubs or the exfoliants. That's the same thing.
If there is sand in it?
That's it, exactly. Microbeads. It can be lots of things. In large areas, microbeads are often tiny little pieces of plastic that sand down a little, simply erase. And then, in the most advanced treatments, we find other ingredients. So that already, the scrubs, it's not every day because it's still a little more aggressive, abrasive, so twice a week a scrub and the rest of the time, a facial cleanser, that will already help you a lot. And then, moisturize with the appropriate care, it's not very complicated after all.
Great. Thank you very much Benjamin and see you soon on the blog
THANKS. Bye.
