Do you believe in gender-neutrality? There is nothing hidden in the fact that we are taught to recognize specific colours, toys, products as feminine and others masculine.
Think of the products like black, grey-coloured, pine-scented deodorants versus pastel-coloured, flowery smelled or dark navy coloured razors versus the pink ones. A product is a product, it’s the packaging which is making it gender-specific. What is wrong if I like pine-scented perfumes. I remember one advertisement of fairness cream ( thinking about it is making me laugh) where a group of boys were teasing a boy for using girls’ fairness cream and then introduced him to the new fairness cream for boys’ only.
First of all, I do not believe in the concept of fairness/darkness what I believe is in healthy skin. Instead of thinking the skin as either male or female, the essential factors to consider while putting effective skincare are skin type (normal, sensitive, oily, dry, or a combination) and your concern area like blemishes, dark spots etc. Given the fact that the male skin is generally thicker compared to the female, the American Academy of Dermatology has assured that the basics of our daily skincare regime should be the same regardless of the gender. If you don’t your skin type yet, check out my post here to know your skin type in 5 simple steps.
As we are becoming progressive, gender neutrality is also getting the needed attention. For a long time, women have ruled the make-up segment. Still, as more and more men entering female-dominated spaces like cooking, cleaning, fashion, it is quite predictable that beauty is also getting gender-neutral with time. To break down gender-specific beauty, a lot of beauty brands are coming forward with many gender-neutral beauty products. The past few years have witnessed a sharp increase in gender-neutral beauty products with unisex packaging. You can find products ranging from perfumes, BB cream, colour correctors to lip balms.
Makeup artist Jessica Blackler founded Jecca when she realized the lack of resources offered to the trans community. The company’s slogan, #MakeupHasNoGender, defines its goal of providing full-coverage, high-end products for people of all genders. Some of the major brands that are serving gender-neutral products in India are Super Smelly, WOW Skincare, MCaffeine. Let’s go ahead and find out some of their products
Skincare
Gender stereotypes for men are much narrower. Society has a habit of keeping men in their gender lane and any time they start to do something that’s is remotely associated with women, they’re perceived as high maintenance and weak
Dr Elizabeth Haines, professor, department of psychology, William Paterson University
Facepack and facemasks
Moisturizer
Suncreen
Essential oils
Hair Shampoo
Hair Oil
Face concealer and color corrector
Night Gel
Under eye cream
Body polishing oil
Lip balms
Deodorants and perfumes
Brands are going beyond an ROI-based initiative and striving to be part of a larger purpose. It feels really good to see numerous brands finally rolling out products that can be used by everyone irrespective of their gender
Dipali Mathur Dayal, Co-Founder of Super Smelly
The future of beauty is gender fluid. The line between the different sections is getting blurred and the beauty trend is shifting from exclusive to inclusive. I hope to see many more brands coming up in future in the Indian market with innovative products. Till then, go ahead and give it a shot to one of product from the above list which you can share with your brother/sister, GF/BF or friends.
Let me know what is your take on this new beauty revolution in the comments section or here.
