From boys to men: Guys get into hair coloring act

Drug Store News, Oct 16, 2000

NEW YORK -- Move over ladies. Now it's the boys' turn to spike it, dye it and bleach it. Teen guys between ages 12 and 17 represent the latest craze in hair dying, buying such brands as Clairol's XtremeFX and L'Oreal's Feria for Men, which features young, trendy guys on its boxes.

Hair coloring has been traditionally a female fetish, but according to Taylor Cousens of the Geppetto Group, a New York-based teen advertising and marketing agency, that tradition is fading.

"Teens are in a search for their own identity, and to find it they experiment with different clothes and hair styles. They're trying out different personas," she explained.

In February of last year, L'Oreal launched Feria for Men, a do-it-yourself hair dye for the fashion-forward male age 18 to 34. In most stores, Feria for Men is located in the same aisle as women's hair dyes. These four SKUs alone--Cherry Cola, Bleach Blonding, Gothic and Camel--earned $10 million last year, according to the Geppetto Group. Based on Feria for Men's success, L'Oreal introduced Casting ColorSpa for Men in March.

ColorSpa is targeted toward men ages 25 to 49 who want to cover gray hair rather than make a radical fashion statement. Olivier Ceccarelli, vice president of marketing for L'Oreal hair color, called ColorSpa "a logical extension of Feria for Men."

Merchandised in the men's grooming section, L'Oreal expects ColorSpa to reach $13 million in sales its first year.

"But this is not a one-minute trend. It's really a change in beauty and hair coloring for men, and it's here to stay," Ceccarelli argued, adding that hair dying among teen boys reflects a global attitude toward life. L'Oreal is considering releasing additional shades of Feria for Men sometime next year.

One facet of this craze is something called "tipping"--when guys dye only the tips of their hair a different color. Cousens said this is easier and costs less. She also reported seeing a lot of blonde and red looks. "The surfer, relaxed, confident look is pretty hot right now."

Marketers are catering more and more to teen guys, perhaps because of the strong influence from such pop icons as rapper Eminem or the boy band N'Sync, who often sport spiked, funky hair styles with fun colors.

According to A.C.Nielsen data provided by Geppetto, the sale of home hair coloring kits for both men and women has increased 50 percent within the last five years, while hair color has seen a 12 percent increase from March 1999 to March 2000.

Clairol reported that men's home hair color products are producing $135 million in annual sales. L'Oreal noted that men's home hair color sales have increased more than 50 percent in the last five years and 20 percent in the last year.

Clairol's XtremeFX is a bleaching tool kit for younger guys available in SKUs with names such as smoldering orange, hot red, penetrating purple and blue denim.

Clairol also offers Natural Instincts for Men, a hair dye for covering gray. In 1998, Revlon launched ColorStay Naturals for Men for covering gray hair.

But teen guys are not just dipping their fingers into hair dye. They're also trying out body washes such as Tommy Hilfiger's newest brand called Juiced Up. One company, American Crew, offers a complete grooming line exclusively for men, including Essential Shave Oil and Herbal Shave Cream. Even some Abercrombie & Fitch locations now have a section for soap and lotion, both for men and women.