Teen Boys' Primping Products Debut
Star Tribune>> The teenage American boy, it seems, is the new darling of the health and beauty industry. Just last month, three former Procter & Gamble employees launched a new line of grooming products aimed at boys ages 9 to 16. Industry experts estimate the grooming market for the nation's 22 million teen and "tween" boys is worth $2.1 billion a year, and growing.
All this goes to show what parents and sisters have long suspected: Boys, despite appearances, care about how they look. In fact, their biggest concern is their appearance, according to Teen Research Unlimited (TRU), an Illinois-based marketing research firm that specializes in teenagers. Men, as a group, are spending more time in front of mirrors than before, too, contributing to a culture in which teenage boys can openly embrace primping.
"Twenty years ago, if you spent a great deal of time or attention as a boy on grooming, you would possibly be opening yourself up to any number of aspersions on your masculinity. That's really not something you see anymore," said Rob Callender, TRU's senior trends manager. Media images of clean-shaven men with smooth skin, groomed eyebrows and highlighted hair also influence appearance-conscious youth.
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