Men’s Grooming Statistics – 42% Of Men Shave Their Body Hair Only Once a Month or Never

COVID-19 made a significant impact on everyone’s lives and among the things that changed significantly are men’s grooming habits, particularly the way they keep their facial hair.

With many businesses that shut down, most of those that remained open had their employees working from home. It is why personal grooming is not as important for most men as it was before the pandemic.

Despite that, we still got curious about how much men’s grooming habits have changed and in what way. Therefore, we pooled together many men to find the answers to our questions and the results were quite profound.

Why and How We Performed This Survey

Did men change their grooming habits due to the global pandemic? Why did a lot of men these days let their beards grow? Were they the ones who left their beards to grow out naturally before? Those were some questions we asked a pool of 1000 men about their grooming habits and we feel that the answers they shared are reflective of most of the population.

We utilized a company that provides web-based surveys to ensure that we have a large enough sample of men with facial hair from diverse backgrounds. Our goal was to get the most accurate data possible.  

Stratification

As mentioned earlier, to get the most accurate data possible, the survey did not target just one ethnicity, age group, financial background, etc. We pooled a very diverse group of men with facial hair and we asked them how their grooming habits changed due to the Coronavirus. We then examined the differences in opinions based on their:

• Age
• Type of Community
• Location
• Basic Income
• Relationship Status

Working Situation and Monthly Earnings During COVID

We asked the poll respondents about their working situation during the pandemic and the results are as follows:

Work-From-Home

Working from home is the top answer from the poll, coming from 32.9% of the respondents.

Working, But With Social Distancing

Coming at a very close second place is working with social distancing at 32.6%.

No Change at All

At the third spot, garnering 27.8% of the survey, respondents said that their work conditions did not change at all. The only thing that changed is the need to wear masks as a requirement.

Laid Off

Unfortunately, 6.7% of the men polled were laid off from their previous jobs due to COVID-19.

Did Your Monthly Earnings Decrease During the Pandemic

When asked if their monthly earnings dipped in the past year, a rather large chunk of the surveyed men responded that they were fortunate enough not to experience any changes in their financial condition. However, one should not exempt from the fact that 10% of the men surveyed still had their monthly income dropped by as much as 60%.

Conclusion of the Total Population

Most of the respondents work in the IT and finance sectors, making it possible for them to work from home. On the other hand, the second largest group work in the trade and health sectors requires the employees to be on site.

Shaving Habits

We also posed a couple of statements regarding facial hair grooming habits and asked the participants if they agree with them or not.

“Since the outbreak, I have found new ways to keep my shaving style”

80.9% of the survey participants agreed, while 19.1% disagreed. It seems that a lot of men found that they can easily maintain their facial hair at home using commercial products.

“I now have more time to change my style/appearance”

81.9% percent agreed, while 18.1% disagrees with this statement. Being on lockdown does have its benefits, and one of them is not needing to rush out the door to beat the morning traffic. This gives them plenty of time to experiment with different facial hairstyles.

“I have been encouraged to try different shaving styles by others”

Although a significant number chose to stick with what is familiar (32.8%), most of those surveyed (67.2%) were more open to suggestions regarding shaving styles.

“I do not find shaving my hair/beard on my own enjoyable”

This statement got an almost even split down the middle, with 49.2% agreeing and 50.8% disagreeing.

“The current situation did not impact my shaving regimen”

67.6% of the poll participants agree that COVID-19 did not affect their shaving regimen at all, while 32.4% said that it had a significant effect on their grooming.

Conclusion of the Total Population

According to the data collected, the current situation with COVID-19 did not affect most men’s shaving habits too much. It is mainly because most of them already shave at home, with only the minority opting to go to the barbers.

How Often Did You Shave/Style Your Beard Before vs During COVID-19

We asked the participants to share how often they groomed their facial hair (mustache, beards, goatees, etc.) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Did the change in the work environment affect their grooming habits in any way?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we discovered that most men would shave or style their facial hair at least once a week, garnering almost 80% of the survey’s participants. This indicates how men used to put a lot more attention on their grooming since they need to interact with other people while at work.

During the pandemic, the number of men who said that they groom their facial hair at least once a week dropped by almost 15%, while the number of men who shave/style their beards once a month jumped to 30%.

It is not surprising to see the number of men who frequently shave and style their facial hair not to drop that much because it is easier to do than cutting and styling hair. However, there is still quite a dip in the numbers showing how frequently they would shave and/or style their facial hair.

Conclusion of the Total Population

The pandemic did not seem to affect men’s shaving habits that much since most of them already shave at home. However, there seems to be a bit of a dip in frequency during COVID, seemingly due to the men not needing to go out quite as often, and when they do, they have to wear a mask anyway.

How Often Did You Shave Your Body Hair Before vs During COVID

Manscaping usually involves shaving the chest area, with some men also going as far as shaving their pubic region. About manscaping, there is a huge shift in frequency between the pre-COVID period and the current day. For your information, almost 20% of the survey participants said they have never tried manscaping, and they do not intend to do so in the foreseeable future.

When asked about their manscaping habits before the pandemic, more than 50% say that they do it on average about twice a week; some would even do it daily. On the other hand, almost 30% of the men said they do it monthly, usually one to two times per month.

When COVID-19 hit the country and the government put many communities on lockdown and advising people to stay in their homes, it caused an almost polar shift to men’s manscaping habits. This time, more than 55% of the respondents said that they shave their bodies one to three times a month. On the other hand, 35% of the men said that they manscape their bodies at least once a week.

It seems to show that more men no longer need to have their bodies manscaped since they do not need to leave their homes as often as they used to, seeing as most of the respondents also work from home, and the ones that do work in trade jobs where regular manscaping is not as beneficial as they thought it was.

Conclusion of the Total Population

Men no longer felt that they needed to shave their bodies quite as often as they did before the pandemic, at least among those who used to do it. There was a steep drop in the number of men who availed of manscaping during the pandemic. It is mainly because they no longer feel the need to since they do not get out quite often.

How Often Did You Cut Your Hair Before vs During COVID

Understandably, most men have their own facial hair grooming regimen at home, but haircuts are a whole different matter. With COVID-19 effectively shutting down most barbershops and hair salons, men found it hard to keep their hair styled the way they liked, but they found ways to manage.

We asked the survey participants how often they would get their hair cut and styled before the pandemic hit, and almost 70% of them said that they got haircuts at least once a month. Some even went to the barber’s three times monthly and more than a quarter of the men surveyed even had their hair cut twice a week on average.

When asked how often they got haircuts during the COVID-19 pandemic, we were surprised to find that there was not much difference. They still managed to get their hair cut and styled with relatively the same frequency as before the pandemic, only going down a couple of percentage points in certain areas.

Does this mean that men’s hair grooming habits remained completely unchanged by the pandemic? Not necessarily, as more men right now are cutting their own hair, more on this later.

It was surprising that men’s hair grooming habits remained almost the same going into the pandemic period. Many still manage to get their haircuts at least once a month in some way.

Conclusion of the Total Population

Although there is not much of a change in the frequency that men get haircuts, the truth is that more men are still cutting their own hair at home.

Where Did You Shave/Style Your Beard Before vs During COVID

Pre-COVID-19

Almost ¾ of the participants of the survey said that they were comfortable with grooming their own facial at home rather than going to the barber. The rest prefer hiring the services of a professional to do the task.

During COVID-19

The number of men who prefer to groom their beards at home grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, going up to 83%, while the remainder either found ways to get to a barber or they did not shave at all.

Conclusion of the Total Population

Before the pandemic, most men were already shaving/styling their beards at home, and even more, started doing it too after the pandemic hit. It is mainly due to the lack of accessible barbershops.

Where Did You Cut Hair Before vs During COVID

Pre-COVID-19

It was quite surprising that men were almost equally divided between getting their haircuts at home and the barbershop. You can see that with the 47.1% of the men surveyed who said that they are fine with getting their hair cut at home, while the rest opt for barbershops.

During COVID-19

However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, more men became more open to getting DIY haircuts (67.4%) rather than driving far in their search for an open barbershop. The indefinite closing of most barbershops is due to the lockdown and pandemic, making them somewhat inaccessible.

Conclusion of the Total Population

Due to the pandemic shutting down most barbershops or limiting their capacities, more men have started giving themselves haircuts at home.

Who Cuts Your Hair at Home

For those who cut their hair at home, we asked the men if they did it themselves or if they had help.

A large bulk of the participants, roughly 40%, said that they prefer to cut their own hair in front of a mirror. On the other hand, more than 30% of the participants said they had help from their spouses. Then, almost 15% of the respondents said they hired a private hairdresser to make house calls.

Thanks to online video tutorials, quite many men learned how to cut their own hair and shave/style their facial hair. This is the primary reason why more men are willing to cut their own hair at home.

Where Will You Shave a Beard After COVID

We also asked what they would prefer to do when it comes to facial hair grooming once the pandemic blows over, and it seems like the statistics would most likely return to what it was pre-COVID-19.

Conclusion of the  Total Population

Although there was a slight uptick in the number of men who shave/style their beards at home, it seemed that a good percentage of them would shift back to going to their barbers. Most likely, they are the ones who have spent years growing their beards and would not want to mess it up.

Where Will You Cut Hair After COVID

Now, when asked what they would do when the pandemic is over, it seemed like men’s preferences returned to normal, with more people going back to their regular barbers.

Conclusion of the Total Population

Just like with beard shaving/styling, men are more likely to go back to their barbers for their regular haircuts, especially the ones who have their hair re-done every week or so.

Beard Oil Use

With most men choosing to let their beard grow through the pandemic, the so-called “quarantine beard,” we posed the question regarding beard oil use. Seeing as quality beard oils do not come cheap, with the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affecting men’s incomes, would they still be willing to spend on the product?

Before anything else, we asked the men participating in the survey how much their monthly income decreased during this pandemic. Only 36.6% said that there is no significant change in their earnings. On the other hand, it is also unfortunate that more than 20% of the people lost up to 60% of their usual monthly income.

How Often Do You Use Beard Oil

When asked about their frequency of beard oil use, most of the men in the survey, around 35% of them, surprisingly responded that they had not used beard oil before. They either keep their beards short or do not let their beards grow out without using any products other than shampoo.

Another surprising thing about the gathered data is that less than 6% of the surveyed men use beard oil as intended, which is several times a day. More men think it is alright to use beard oil once a week (34.7%).

We also found that most men do not know how much good beard oil costs because the survey also found that a huge chunk of the participants is unwilling to pay more than $10 for a 30oz bottle. A good quality beard oil costs anywhere between $10 to $40 a bottle on average.

Conclusion of the Total Population

Not that many men use beard oils, and those who do are not even using them as instructed. Some of them even use this product only once a week. It seems that not that many men who grow beards use any product at all.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant effect on men’s grooming habits, especially when we talk about getting haircuts. With the pandemic shutting down most barbershops, more men had to either get all their grooming at home or drive a long way to find a barbershop that could accommodate them. The majority, however, choose the former considering the convenience provided by just staying at home and grooming their hair on their own. 

Photo from: deagreez1 / depositphotos.com.