Gelled, glossed and groomed: when did

our teenage boys become so vain?

New figures reveal that theres a male beauty boom - and Lucy Cavendish only has to
look at her sons bathroom shelf for the proof

The other day I was in the car with my 13-year-old son Leonard when I saw a rather good-looking man
walking down the road. Ooh, hes handsome, I said.
Leonard stopped staring at himself in the wing mirror he was fiddling with his hair as per usual and
looked at the man. Then he let out a loud honk of laughter. No one uses that word any more, he said. I
think what you mean to say is that he is on point. He looks good. Hes a snappy dresser. Hes showing off
his swag. Get with the programme, Mum.

Then he delved into his (Superdry these things are important) man bag, got out some hair wax and
started spiking his fringe up into a pointy peak, la David Beckham. I am obviously not on point. Neither
am I on fleek, although Leonard tells me a person cant be on fleek. Hair, however, can be on fleek, ie it
looks super-cool, the best that it can be. This is why Leonard and his friends Harry, Ben, Luc et al spend
so long styling theirs. Being on fleek matters.
It also costs a lot. Leonard gets 10 a week pocket money. All of it goes on his look. I watch him and feel
he is an alien species. Its not just the language (does butters really mean ugly?) its the whole thing.
These teenagers couldnt be further away from the boys of my youth who had acne, lanky hair, puny bodies
and trembled if a girl went near them. Leonard and his friends are glossy, fit, trendy, well-dressed and girl
magnets. Hordes of long-legged beauties come to my house to hang around with the boys. They gaze at
them as if they are demi-gods.

Leonard and his friends spend hours pampering and preening and fretting over clothes/hair/skin/accessories.
Its all about where to get the latest sunglasses, what hairstyle is on fleek and which shops they are going to
meet in over the weekend. They are not talking record shops, as spotty youths did in my day they have
Spotify.
Instead, they meet in clothes shops or at the male-grooming-products section of Boots. They save up for
expensive T-shirts from Yeuk orSputnik, accessories from Superdry and electronics from Apple. Leonards
grooming products are legendary in our house: hair putty, gel, wax, posh shampoo and conditioner
(Krastase), face scrub, foaming face wash, toner, moisturiser.

No surprise that the male grooming market is growing exponetially. In the UK, its estimated to rise to 608
million by 2017. According to Datamonitor, 52 per cent of male consumers worldwide consider their
appearance to be important or very important, and 29 per cent touch up their looks throughout the day, rising
to 39 per cent of teenage boys aged 15-17.

But Leonard is no metrosexual. He has the back of a centaur, rows, plays rugby and rides his bike
everywhere (accompanied by the long-legged beauties).
He goes skateboarding, roller blading and regularly takes some sort of dry snowboard down the local hills.
He wears hi-tops, baggy T-shirts and low-slung jeans. And he also works out at the gym at school. He sees
no problem with all his preening and body buffing.
I dont think its unmasculine to care what you look like, he tells me. I dont see why its only girls who
are supposed to look good. Everyone does this. Why wouldnt you care about what you look like?

I dont think its girlie, adds Leonards stylish friend Ben, 15. Im interested in clothes and style, and girls
like it when you look good, but Im not doing it for them. Im doing it for me; it helps me feel confident.
How has this shift come about? It may be that we are seeing a kind of rebalancing: for hundreds of
years, the female form has been worshippedbut, before that, it was men think of all those Greek statues
of naked guys. Maybe it is merely a case of men getting in touch with their inner gods.

When I see Leonard and his friends being gazed at by girls, its obvious they are enjoying it the male body
beautiful is as powerful now as the female one, especially for the younger generation.
The more extreme side of this is the recent trend for male deforesting all over. Increasing numbers are
getting boyzilians (according to a poll of Britains beauty professionals), and there has also been a rise in
cosmetic surgery in older men. The YouTube series Ollies Good Grooming Guide by Made In Chelsea star
Ollie Locke covers facials, eyelash curling and bleaching intimate places.
Leonard and his friends havent taken things this far, thank goodness. And they tell me it isnt just about
looking good: they also want to be fit and healthy and in the market, meaning that they not only want to
look good for girls but also to be seen as being on the ball and competitive. They admire David Beckham for
looking good, but also for being business savvy.
And they unashamedly advertise their look. Its about building up your online community, points out teen
style reporter Katherine Bernard. Its an identity: theyre saying, This is who I am, who else is like me?
Its a healthy thing to do.
Im totally for it, says one mother of a son who has regular manicures. I really like the way he takes care
of how he looks. To me, it is about self-respect.

Another friend isnt so sure. Its a bit vacuous for me, she says. I think that geeky, spotty, insecure period
is a rite of passage for boys. All this glossy confidence makes me nervous.
In many ways, its about being part of a tribe, says my friend Sarah, who has three teenage sons and is also
a counsellor in a boys school. Its comfortable to belong. They get inspiration online. Its all much more
accessible and helps with confidence.
Some experts, however, are concerned. Two years ago, the British Psychological Society found that
physically active men may be at risk of developing an Adonis Complex because of an obsession with
matching societys idea of the perfect body and younger men were significantly more susceptible. It
includes health problems related to body image, such as depression, exercise dependence and eating
disorders.
Leonard says he isnt about to start plucking his eyebrows or putting on make-up (the latest trend for male
over-20s). But neither can he see himself and his friends going back to the days of the ungroomed, callow
youth. Why would we want to be like that? he says. We like looking good and having the right things. I
just dont understand why youd want to do anything else.