David Beckham: a pioneer in modern male grooming. Photograph: Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty
While a bottle of Brut or Old Spice had penetrated most men's bathrooms by the late 1970s, and shaving and shower gels are well established as a manly alternative to soap, moisturiser remains something of a taboo for men. The skincare industry was jumping up and down today at the revelation that 31% of British men now moisturise. Not necessarily daily - but now and again. When, you know, they feel a bit dry.
Even that paltry figure hides big regional disparities. Only 15% of Scots emolliate their skin, compared with 40% in the soft south east. Such is the prejudice against the M-word that many men's brands avoid it altogether. Clinique's M Lotion, for example, briskly "replenishes lost moisture in dry skin areas. Skin looks fresher, healthier".
"It's a mystery that while women have been protecting their skin for years, men are only beginning to realise the benefits that can be gained from a simple skin care routine," said the founder of Primavera Aromatherapy, which commissioned the survey.
A mystery? Nonsense. The real reason men are moisturising more often is that they have more bare skin than they did before. Beards and moustaches resist the application of moisturiser. Shaving encourages it. Despite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson's penchant for the chest rug - "hey, if you get bored in bed you can even try and plait it" - the sort of dense growth sported by Freddie Mercury and Sean Connery is now rarely seen in Hollywood. And as men evolve from nit-picking chimpanzees to the smooth, hairless youths of the type idolised by Germaine Greer in The Boy, their skin is brutally exposed to the elements.
"Manuscaping" is no longer confined to a quick nasal trim or a back, sack and crack: it requires serious after-care. When Chelsea ripped off their shirts at Ewood Park last week, they revealed smooth, hairless chests - with the exception of Mateja Keznan, who kept his T-shirt picturing a hirsute Jesus on. Maybe he'd forgotten to shave.
For some men, however, rock'n'roll will always trump aesthetic considerations. "I use it on my hands during winter, when they tend to get dry," said one acquaintance. "Tricky, though, as I like to keep some firmness in my fingertips otherwise they bleed when I play bass."
