Societal norms reinforced by media in all its various guises have created an idea of the perfect female form. The net result is decades of pressure for women to look a certain way.
There are countless psychological studies that have examined the impact of these pressures, ranging a from a lack of self-confidence through eating disorders to clinical depression. The effects can be debilitating in the extreme and, with the relentless rise of social media, can affect girls from a very young age.
Less talked about is the effect of the media on male mental health. However, a survey last year found that almost 40% of men aged 18-40 feel pressure to have a ‘perfect body,’ and half say social media, celebrity culture and mass media are the main sources of these ideals.
The complexity for men is their – generally speaking – inability or unwillingness to open up to others about how they are feeling. The same survey found that only a fifth of the 2,000 respondents did not feel comfortable talking to people about these kinds of issues. The mental load therefore becomes exponentially larger and is perhaps one of the reasons why suicide is the number cause of death among younger men.
It's time for men to take a leaf out of the female playbook and start to talk more about body positivity. The strides taken by women in removing stigma about how they look – and the impact on the media and advertisers – should be a source of inspiration for men, and a goal for how to deal with pressures induced by ‘fitstergrammers’ and the like.
I’ve always felt that looking good helps you feel better about yourself and that’s why I set up Cosmos Care – to help men feel great about themselves by looking the best they possibly can.
The idea came to me as I looked in the bathroom mirror one day and noticed dark circles under my eyes that would do a sixty-year old proud. Frankly, I’ve always had them and it didn’t matter how many slices of cucumber I used or the hours of sleep I managed.
The solution for me is skin cream with a ‘hint of tint.’ I can cover up my dark circles and it immediately gives my confidence a major boost.
That’s why our first product, due out in a couple of months, will be moisturiser with the smallest hint of tint. It’s designed to cover up those minor blemishes that we all get from time-to-time, helping men increase their self-confidence by looking their very best.
