Words: Zak Maoui
Gone are the days of using a bar of soap in the shower and a simple supermarket shelf face wash. At the front and centre of the big boom in self care that came as a result of the pandemic is personal grooming. Guys are all about honing in on the way they look, and in turn what products they put on their faces and bodies, and what treatments they're using. And of course, big businesses are constantly innovating the ways in which people can do this. Where once a 3-in-1 product was the order of the day, now it's all about slick gadgets that get you a better jawline, masks that de-wrinkle your face and products do good for your skin and do better for the planet.
The grooming industry is an ever changing place and so we've gather the grooming trends we reckon will be the top hitters in 2024.
Face sculpting
TikTok is heavy with guys boasting their new jawlines thanks to an injection of dermal filler, but it really needn't be that intrusive. Nay. We get it. Guys want a good jawline. It's a signifier of old school handsomeness. And while getting dermal filler pumped into your jaw is an easy route, these days you can get a better jawline from the comfort of your home at a price that won't break the bank.
The facial experts down at FaceGym (the place that everyone from Noah Beck and Bella Hadid to Selena Gomez head for sculpted faces) have dropped a new tool that'll get you a chiselled jawline. The Multi-Sculpt has six different edges that help you lift, contour and reduce facial tension, releasing blockages in the muscles and aiding lymphatic drainage to de-puff the skin and sharpen your jawline. Our advice? Use for ten minutes before bed each night.
111Skin Wrinkle Erasing Patches
And just like dermal fillers in the jaw, we're predicting an increase in the amount of guys reaching for at-home fixes for fine lines and wrinkles. And 111Skin is ahead of the game. At the tail end of 2023 the skincare brand, which is headed up by world-renowned Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Dr Yannis Alexandrides and CEO Eva Alexandridis, launched its Wrinkle Erasing Patches. Much like its famous face masks, they come in easy to apply peel off packets, and serve up instant results.
Each needle-free Wrinkle Erasing Retinol Patch precisely targets expression lines through innovative micro-cone technology that is clinically proven to give double the absorption speed and depth of active ingredients than topical skincare. In short, your simple anti-ageing serum isn't really cutting it anymore. The patches come with tiny needle-like structures (they don't hurt) which dissolve upon contact with skin’s moisture to deliver a potent blend of retinol, vitamin C and 111Skin's own Peptide complex. Apply once a week to areas of concern and you'll thank us later.
LED face masks
LED face masks aren't really new, and if you have any form of social media you would've seen the world's most famous people sharing their own selfies in them over the past few years. But have you actually settled down in front of your latest Netflix binge fix and put one on? No? Well, now might be the time.
Nobody wants to age. No one wants to go under the knife either. And most people want to prevent ageing before it's begun. An LED mask can help. They are used by the world's most established facialists, and now you can easily get one at home. Our favourite? Dr Dennis Gross' DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro. It's a powerful tool that we've found ourselves slipping on each Sunday evening for a little R&R. It really does it all. This powerful light therapy device is designed for the full face and features a combination of 100 LED lights in red mode and 60 LED lights in blue mode. But what does that mean? Well, they that work together to help boost collagen production, improve skin density, even out your skin tone, and clear acne. Oh, and of course, it irons out fine lines, wrinkles and decreases ageing sun spots for a clear, younger-looking complexion.
Sustainable planet-friendly skincare
There are thousands of beauty and grooming brands out there. Hundreds of thousands of products. New ones everyday. The choice is pretty daunting. But, while they boast excellent things for your skin, are they really that good for the planet? Well, truth of the matter is, most of them aren't. And in today's world, whereby Gen Z is giving up buying clothes an focusing on being more circular with its fashion, eyes are on the grooming industry to be a bit more planet-friendly. And so we're predicting a massive boom in the amount of people reaching for the products that are actually eco-friendly. The best of the best? Haeckels.
The Margate-based brand "exists as an amplifier of the natural world and as a community problem solver," as it says on its site. At the centre of every product is vitamin-heavy, anti-bacterial, skin rebuilding and anti-inflammatory seaweed, handpicked from beaches in Margate. No machinery used. Minimal electricity. Haeckels is easily one of the most sustainable brands on the planet. Products arrive in packaging derived from mycelium, which is a living breathing product which Haeckels grows itself. It's an environmentally-friendly material that performs like plastic but is in fact made by mushrooms. And this is likely the future of beauty packaging.
Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen
By now you ought to be slapping sunscreen on your face and neck each and every day. But if you're not, take this as your cue to start doing so. There's no better anti-ageing prevention than sunscreen. And it isn't just for summer, as most guys still seem to think is the case. Sunscreen doesn't just prevent you from burning, but it's an essential combative product against wrinkles, sun spots and an overall skin sag.
Sun damage is one of the biggest players in ageing, and it's high time you realised it. UV rays, whether it's in peak summer or the depths of January, are at play out there and they're wreaking havoc on your skin. They penetrate your dermis, decrease collagen levels, and quite simply make you look older. SPF50 is you best mate here. 2024 is all about saving your face, and sunscreen is a very good place to start.
At-home tanning
Sun beds are out. Sitting in the sun is out. It's the 101 of looking young. But if you want a tan, then you can still get one. And the easiest way is to invest in a little at-home tanning lotion. Sounds daunting? We get it. You don't want to look like Hulk Hogan, or Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen-White and Harris Dickinson in the Iron Claw. But seriously, here us out. Self-tanning drops are the new way to avoid sun damage, but still have a radiant and healthy glow. The sort of Saint Tropez kiss sported by those at the famous Les Caves Du Roy.
Tan-Luxe’s The Face Illuminating Self-Tan Drops are easy to use, and won't leave you looking patchy, too tanned or just like you've been down to The Tanning Shop for a quick once over by a spray gun. Mix one to two drops of the serum, which is enriched with hydrating raspberry seed oil, vitamin E and aloe vera, into your moisturiser and you'll get a little glow that'll look like you've spent your weekend on the Côte d'Azur.
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