What Is the Pink Tax, and Why Is Skincare for Women and Men Different?
Photo: Diego Cervo/Shutterstock
If you’ve ever walked down the personal care aisle and noticed the price difference between women’s and men’s products, you’re not alone. It’s called the pink tax, a form of price discrimination based on the gender of the target customer. According to Huffington Post, that translates higher prices on everything from razors and self-care travel kits to kids clothing and even helmets — all because they’re marketed toward women and girls.
Which brings us to women’s and men’s skin care. As WebMD notes, women pay more than men for skincare products like moisturizer, while CNN reports that the beauty industry (of which women are the primary consumers) is on track to hit $150 billion by 2024.
First, let me be clear about what I mean by women vs. men. Typically, I don’t differentiate between trans women and people who are born female (and the same goes for men and people born male). For the purpose of comparing product formulations, I am referring to each gender based on estrogen and testosterone — for example, if you’re a trans man, you are likely taking testosterone which affects your skin texture and sebum production, to name a few changes.
Now that we have that out of the way, below are the reasons why skincare is often formulated differently for men and women.
Collagen Density: Men’s skin has more collagen density and tends to be 25% thicker than women’s skin.
Texture: The collagen density also produces a texture that makes men’s skin rougher and tougher.
Pore size: Men tend to have larger pores and produce more sebum because of thicker collagen density. The sebum remains the same throughout life and does not change.
More Problem-Prone: The collagen density in men’s skin also makes them prone to more skin issues such as acne breakouts, clogged pores, blackheads, and seborrhea dermatitis.
Aging: When men mature, their facial wrinkling tends to be deeper than women’s due to subcutaneous fat loss.
Want more? Read more about my top men’s makeup picks as well as one of my favorite skincare brands formulated for men of color.