O Bello !
O Bello!
As summer arrives in full swing us Italians, like everyone, become aware
of our pallid skins and slightly neglected physiques. My colleagues are
heading off for a quick sunlamp and body wax tidy up before hitting the
beach – but not my women colleagues, it’s the boys who are making the
appointments at the beauty clinics.
My father, who is nearly 70, is renowned for his impeccably groomed
‘do that never has a hair out of place and is the result of careful
daily attention. While this is not uncommon for a man of his generation
what is particular about Italian men’s grooming is that it is not uncommon
to see young men whose body care routines stretch to carefully shaped
eyebrows, hairless chests and
immaculately tinted and tousled hair.
In Italy appearance is not everything but it is very very important. Ex
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi admits to having a face lift and hair transplants and at the
age of 69 he looks a little over 50. According to last year Eurispes
Research Institute statistics, each Italian family spends an average of 325 Euro per month on
body care, one third of which is on mens’ beauty products. The Italian men’s
beauty market is skyrocketing. Today the Italian men spend 280 million Euro
per year on being beautiful and this will double by 2015.
A leading personal products company recently released statistics showing
that Italians spend over 70 minutes a day on body care and personal hygiene.
The part of the body we spend most time on is our hair – an average of 15
minutes a day to wash and style, and a further 6 combing, while we spend 9
minutes on teeth, 3 minutes on eyes and eyebrows, and 7 minutes respectively
on our faces and legs. Clearly a top down approach.
So get grooming guys and I’ll see you at the spa.