Why Dr. Dennis Gross Thinks It's Time To Throw Out Gender-Based Skincare – Exclusive

When it comes to skincare product selection, one of the smartest things to do is choose products made for your skin type to address your specific concerns. However, walking down any beauty aisle, you'll notice that most beauty products are marketed towards women. You might find a smaller section for men's products, but most beauty products have female models.

A 2017 report by Statista showed that 82% of American women use beauty and personal care products multiple times a week, compared to 64% of American men. Does that mean that women really need more beauty products than men, or is it what people are raised to believe? Also, women spend more on beauty and personal care products than men — the Pink Tax is real. Women's products typically cost more, even if they do the same thing (via HuffPost). 

Recently, Brad Pitt announced the launch of his luxury skincare line Le Domaine with the tagline, "A science-meets-nature line of genderless skin are essentials," made with grape-based antioxidants grown in the soils of Miraval, per Vogue. While we wouldn't think twice before throwing money at this skincare line developed by Pitt, who himself is aging like fine wine, we can't help but think: So skincare products need to have a gender bias?

To debunk the myth that skincare products are gender-based, we spoke with one of New York City's best dermatologists, Dr. Dennis Gross, co-founder of Dennis Gross Skincare, to get the 4-1-1. 

In recent years, strides have been made regarding diversity and inclusion when it comes to shade selection in makeup, a relatively new development. In this case, however, we're discussing gender in skincare products. Imagine walking around a beauty store — you'll likely see more images of women than men on a variety of items, which naturally programs us to believe that women need more products. But does gender play an important role in skincare?

According to Dr. Dennis Gross, who previously told us about a major sunscreen mistake, we need to move on from the idea of gender-based skincare. Dr. Gross told The List, "Over the past few years, I have seen the skincare industry make significant strides when it comes to embracing inclusivity." He added that now more brands are adopting the genderless stance with their marketing and product innovation.

Dr. Gross further told us, "I think the shift to genderless skincare is a great thing because it incentivizes more people to properly care for their skin. Today's younger consumers are parting ways with old gender norms and are now more focused on finding products that are efficacious."

Alexandra Keating, the founder of body care brand UNI, spoke to The Zoe Report about advertising in skincare, and explained, "Marketing teams have led primarily female audiences to believe they need more products than they actually do." The proof is the number of products an average woman owns compared to an average man, and if skincare products are really gender-based, what should non-binary individuals use?

If you consider yourself a male or non-binary and have a skin concern, but can only find pink products heavily marketed to women, would you buy it? You'd probably think it's not for you, but how would you take care of your skin?

Dr. Dennis Gross told The List of gender-based skincare, "My motto has always been 'human skin is human skin,' and I believe that men and women should shop according to their skin type and specific concerns instead of based on their gender." While the color of the packaging can be indicative of what gender the product is made for, when it comes to skin, it's the same thing with different types and concerns.

Dr. Gross told us of his own brand, "That's why all of the Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare products are unisex and are not marketed specifically towards men or women — instead, they focus on treating a wide range of skin types and concerns, so there's products for everyone." The orange-colored packaging of Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare is among the first few gender-neutral skincare brands in a sea of traditionally feminine colors. 

Brands like Reed+Gwen and UNI – for more examples — are planet-friendly and made for everyone, irrespective of gender. Everyone's skin needs love.