Anuj for Fairone Man,shahrukh for Fair&Ha

Tall, fair and handsome appears to be the definition for a hot looking man today as companies are churning out male fairness creams by the dozen to meet the rising demand from guys for a peaches and cream complexion. TV actor Anuj Saxena has just been signed up as the brand ambassador for a fairness product and men can now choose from Emami's Fair and Handsome, which is marketed by none other than Shahrukh Khan, Menz Active, Men 5 in 1 Whitening Moisturiser and Revlon's skin-lightening cream. Oriflame too is planning to launch a fairness cream for men. And if this wasn't enough, clinics like the Kaya skin clinic have introduced skin-lightening programmes for men.

This sudden craze for a milky white complexion is rising from the need to look good. Mohan Goenka, Director, Emami Ltd, explains, "Whether you agree or not, looking good in our country is mostly related to having a fair skin tone. Today professionals working in the IT sector, BPOs, hospitality industry etc meet a lot of people and the need to look and feel good is essential to them." Ritu Munjal, marketing manager of Oriflame, India, too agrees with the opinion and says, "Men are becoming very conscious about looking good and they have no inhibitions in accepting this fact. There is a considerable demand for fairness products from men and that's the reason behind more and more companies looking into this area."

Nineteen-year-old Arnold Dias, working for a BPO in the city confirms that men want to look fair and handsome by saying, "Boys always used fairness products, but earlier they had to use women's creams."
How are these products selling? Says Vijay Kumar, store manager of Health and Glow, Ameerpet, "They are selling quite well. Though the sales figures for women's fairness creams are higher, those for men are not lagging behind." Officials in Emami refused to part with figures, but they too agreed that men's products are giving stiff competition to creams targeted at women. According to Mohan Goenka, the male grooming market was worth Rs 1,170 crores in 2005 with a growth rate of 6 per cent over last year. The segment is expected to grow by more than 10 per cent a year.

When asked if it is ethical to promote fair skin, companies reply that they are simply catering to market demand. Neelam Sanghvi, manager of Kaya Skin Clinic, says, "Though we don't believe in promoting fair skin, we have treatments that lighten the skin tone."