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Nearly half of men are cutting their hair at home

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Posted at 2:22 PM, May 12, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-12 16:23:09-04

A growing number of men and women are skipping the salon or barbershop.

45% percent of men are cutting their hair at home, according to research firm Attest.

21% of women are doing the same.

"Men are getting more haircuts themselves because it's cheaper, they can, and they've learned how over the last two years," said Jeremy King, CEO of Attest.

King said he's one of them.

"I could get some clippers for about $20 from Amazon, which is already about $10 than one haircut," King said. "That lasted me for five haircuts during lockdown at various times. And my wife did a pretty good job with some minor instructional videos."

The haircut trend is reflective of a broader shift toward a quicker, more D.I.Y. style of grooming.

76% percent of people are spending less than 30 minutes on their morning routine.

"The last few years have given us these tectonic shifts in consumption behavior," King said. "People tend to have a limited amount of time and a limited number of slots where they can think about beauty and grooming products."

There is one notable exception to this rule.

Researchers say there is a group of people, mostly millennial men and women, who are spending more than $100 a month on beauty products.

This group is "Highly Invested in Beauty and Grooming," or HIBAGs for short.

"These groups are throwing off worries about higher prices, economic uncertainty and inflation," King said. "But what's interesting is we start to pick up takeaways for brands here. How to win these HIBAGs, and how things you learn from them can be applied to broader markets."

Social media 'influencers' are one of the least important factors in the decision-making process.

The research from Attest shows people value the opportunity to sample products.

They are also looking for a clean message.

"Consumers are looking for brands that promote clean beauty, rather than sustainable beauty, which is an interesting distinction," King said. "More than half of Americans say that a brand's use of natural or clean ingredients is a big consideration when making purchasing decisions. By contrast, only 26% take a brand's environmental credentials into account."

Sustainability experts warn that some deceptive marketers are already using these tactics to "greenwash" their products.

Some ingredients to avoid, according to conservationists, include sulfates and triclosan, which are sometimes found in toothpaste or body wash.