Facial Grooming for Men...Need help...

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Hi there …im quite new to this forum, though ive always been a great fan of this blog…I am a Product Design Student in my Final Yr. Currenlty have been assigned to work on Facial Grooming System for Men.I would like to present u guys my proposal/brief and would really appreciate ur valuable remarks and comments. (Its a Summary though!)

Male Aesthetics: Facial Grooming System for Men

Introduction:

the concept of modern grooming has a different meaning to it. The modern human being aims to be flawless in all means be it in looking good or being abreast with the latest information. An informed person with contemporary values and likeness is better received. People are now image conscious.

Background:

The modern man wants to look good. He has a self-concept of aesthetics. Even if he doesn’t wash his face, shave or groom his hair, he advocates some sort of aesthetics or beauty. The determinants of Masculinity and beauty are critically bound in opposition to each other. But this thin line between Masculinity and beauty has given birth to the -Metrosexual culture.

The modern man though has a self-concept about looking good; he still requires products that can fulfill his eternal quest, his personal choices or professional demands. Also he needs to meet the cultural expectation of a groomed man.

Beauty in man’s world is a different ball game. He does not pursue beauty in a daring way. Although, Facial sculpting in men has existed for a quite a while in time, it is has survived as a very individualistic act and primarily has existed as, iterations on the Moustache and beard areas.

Abstract:

The aim is to define, research, and question the contemporary lifestyle issues prevalent in the world today. With the available knowledge, technology and material collection at the present, the intend is to create a product that can tackle, aid and improve lifestyle issue, particularly focusing Male Aesthetics: Facial Grooming System for Men. The objective is to design a product which can attend to the Male facial grooming issues from shaving to skin care and image creation.

The brief:

· Design and develop a product that can address the issues of contemporary lifestyle focusing on facial grooming.
· A product, which either adds to or helps in adding a better image and personality. It should aim at building confidence and self-concept.
· It may be for both indoor and outdoor use.
· It should completely define the modern citizen, and fit into his lifestyle seamlessly if not add credit to the existing condition.
· Help men in addressing issues related to facial skin scare.
· It can explore new materials available and manufacturing processes
· Use of technology can be variable.

Target Audience: (Proposed)

  1. The Contemporary ordinary man:
    He can be the normal teenage young male next door or a father of school going child, or a man abreast with contemporary values and out look. He may be urban or semi urban but who believes in 21st century ideologies.
    Age (15-40)

  2. The Metrosexual:

The typical Metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis — because that’s where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference. Particular professions, such as modeling, waiting tables, media, pop music and, nowadays, sport, seem to attract them.
Age (17-40)

  1. Teenagers:

They are often the neglected. They are media-saturated, multitaskers and are quite Internet savvy. Hence, they too are abreast with the latest of the latest.
Age (14-19 )

Problem solving areas:

· Shaving
· Face cleansing/care
· Facial hair styling
· Stress
· Work life
· No time concept

Key pointers:

· Media saturation.
· Technology
· Cleverness
· Fashion
· Movies
· The Marlboro Man
· What Girls looking for in men?
· Sexy = Simple


Above i have mentioned quite a summarized verision of my brief , jus wanted to put in the essential points. soon i shall post some concept development skectches…

what i believe is that, Shaving is a very personalised activity and its more about the experience than the functionality. Im also along the way looking at competitors and parellel products , and one of my primary aim would be to come up with a differentiating edge. Also , im looking at issues from a broader spectrum, yet to narrow them down to niche areas.

Looking forward for critique, help, support and guidance.
thanking u all.

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I will be frank, I hate shaving! I also hate facial hair on myself. So naturally I have a dilemma due to the irritations that come with shaving, such as razor burn, bumps caused by ingrown hairs, etc. I use Gillette’s Fusion Turbo Mach5 razor. In my personal opinion I believe they are using some poor quality metal for their blades. They seem to become dull extremely fast. I have used all the new razors on the market like the Mach3, the Mach3 POWER with the so called electical pulse which is supposed to raise the hair before the blade approches it to cut it closer. I also shave every other day due to the rash or irritation that I get from shaving. I could shave on a daily basis but my face and neck become irritated even more when I do so. I use the sensitive shaving gels from NIVEA and the new one, I believe it’s Gillette’s, with the ads of the men talking and holding the product while the women that can’t keep their hands off the men’s recently shaved faces. I have also researched www.shaving.com now www.schick.com for tips on shaving, which I my opinion are full of bologna.

I hope this helps with your research.

Good luck!

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Sorry about the multiple posts. My browser was acting funny this morning.

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If you get ingrown hairs, absolutely stay away from the shavers that claim to raise the hair to cut close, that’s the invitation to ingrowns. I just use regular clippers you’d use for your hair at the lowest setting to shave with, so it’s never skin close but close enough. Lucky for me my hair isn’t extremely thick so it’s not bad.

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skinny, you must not have to work in a professional setting. I’m required to keep a clean appearance. Plus my fiancee loves a fresh close shave.

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It stays close enough to pass, it’s just not baby-bottom close. But definitely not a George Michael either. Regular hair clippers do the job for me while staying away from ingrowns. You’d only be able to tell I don’t razor shave if you touched my face, but visibly there’s no difference.
One friend of mine, no matter how close he shaved he always looked like he had stubble. Light skinned with thick coarse dark hair, bad combo. Haven’t found anything to give him the skin look short of makeup. So for some I guess it doesn’t matter. My facial hair grows slow enough I can cut once a week.
I’ve plucked all of my facial hair before but I don’t know too many people willing to do that. It doesn’t hurt as much as you’d think, just right under the nose is a pain. You’d still have bump problems though if you don’t actually get at the root and the hair breaks beneath the skin level

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funny, i was jsut thinking about this yesterday while i was shaving.

i shave both my head and face, but certainly not every day. if i wasnt so laxy, id do it every other day, but usually end up shaving only once or twice a week.

for me however, contrary to others posting here, im actually looking for a solution that would give that look of stubble. not only to avoid razor burn, but actually for the aesthetic appearance. i find that a day or so of growth helps give good facila shading and definition, and a more attactive aesthetic.

normally, if i have anything important (date, interview, etc.) ill be sure to shave 1-2 days ahead so i have the look i like. closer than what i think an electric trimmer could give, but not completely clean.

hope this helps.

R

ps. if anyone knows any products that can do this, id be very interested. i use a gilette Mach 3 turbo razor now for both my head and face, and was thinking there must be some sort of attachment out there that would increase the distance from the blades to the skin to get the desired effect.

pps. yes, i work in professional environment. i hardly think in this day and age a little stubble is unprofessional.

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You’re definitely looking for a regular pair of electric clippers if you want to have that control over how much hair you want to keep.
This hair style called a fade where it’s long on top and fades down to bald skin on the bottom is done with with one electric clipper and blade guards for where the hair is really long. But the raw blade adjusts from skin close on up to 1/32" so you can control exactly how long you want the hair to be up to 1/2" long. After 1/2" you’re looking at scissors, etc. Look for brands like Wahl, Oster, Remington, etc. You can get a good pair for $30 at walmart or a beauty supply store in the hood, they’ll have a lot to choose from and if you treat them well will last you years. I’m still using a pair that I bought in 92 and they still run exactly the same as the first day.

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more about the experience than the functionality.

do you actually shave?!?!?

wtf, shaving is all about

  • not cutting yourself up
  • getting a close clean shave
  • comfort of the shave

what are you calling “experience” if it isn’t the function??

comfort, lack of discomfort, is functional. avoiding pain is a good fucntion for a product to have.

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I use an electric shaver every other day, otherwise i get really bad razor burn.

i cant use any razor on the market because my face looks like ground beef when i do.

i have learned to stay away from all the mass market shaving products like Gillette, and nevia, they all contain alcohol, and that makes things worse

J

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Back to the review of the Brief…

I have a problem with the section of your brief entitled:“Introduction” and “Target Audience: (Proposed)”

I feel like you completely made up everything in these sections off of the top of your head. You cannot design a product or an “experience” for a stereotype or an end-user that you just imagined.

You really need to go out and meet some real people, or at least base this off of some research that was created by a credible source. The problem with most products on the market today revolves around the fact that designers never took the time to truly understand who their end users and what their exeriences and preferences are…

My advice is to make sure that your really know who the end users of razors are…my gut feeling is that your idea of the “metrosexual and Contemporary Ordinary man” are completely baseless…

Sorry for being harsh…hope it helps some…