Boys, men are latest entrants into color craze

Drug Store News, Jan 15, 2001

Last October, Drug Store News reported that teen boys represent the latest craze in hair dying, experimenting with such brands as Clairol's XtremeFX and L'Oreal's Feria for Men. Now it seems that older guys aren't afraid to experiment with their hair either, according to retailers.

The men's hair color category is taking center stage again this year, according to Kathy Steirly, vice president of beauty merchandising for Eckerd. "[Men's hair color] continues to explode this year," she said, adding that it's no longer considered taboo for guys to color their hair.

Moreover, men aren't necessarily coloring their hair to hide the gray--many are just having fun with color. "Young guys are getting into the bleach blonde look and creating more styles and they're doing it for fun," said Steirly.

L'Oreal will be coming out with two new shades of Feria for Men this March. Black leather, a jet black shade, and brick, a reddish brown shade, will retail for $9.95 each.

Eckerd is not the only chain reporting a color fetish in the men's hair category. Kristen Heinz, category manager for cosmetics and beauty at Kerr Drug, agreed that men's hair coloring will continue to see growth this year.

Why are more mature men so anxious to color their hair?

Heinz says it's mainly because of "their interest in youthfulness and partly because it has become acceptable for them to color [their hair]." These guys aren't going for off the-edge, wacky colors like their younger counterparts, she said, but are leaning toward natural shades, a trend Drug Store News is also reporting for this year's makeup looks (for more, see story page 53).

"The colors [for hair] are more natural now," Heinz said. "They're not the old orange tones on gray that original Grecian Formula did."