68% of people aged 18-24 are embarassed of ungroomed hair
Grooming Areas & Methods
Body Parts & How You Groom Them
Women are twice as likely to groom their pubic area
We looked into the grooming habits of men and women to discover where, when and how people groom and see how their regimes differed. In addition to revealing that men focus on their beards and women on their legs, the research also shows 1 in 4 men shave their underarms and pubic area, while just under half of women groom their pubic area. Plus, 1 in 10 French people groom their back hair every day!
Click on the shaded body parts to explore the data
Most Popular Beard Lengths in France
French men love being clean-shaven!
A significant majority (almost half) of French men typically favour the clean-shaven look, with a declining popularity as the beard length gets longer.
Most Popular Beard Lengths by Region
Men with the longest beards most likely to be found in Marseille-Aix-en-Provence and Toulouse
Our study shows that men in Grenoble are more likely to choose the clean-shaven look than in any other region, while Toulousaines show a trend towards longer beards.
- Clean shaven is most popular in Grenoble
- Light stubble (1mm) is most popular in Avignon
- Very short (2-5mm) is most popular in Douai-Lens
- Short (6-11mm) is most popular in Clermont-Ferrand
- Long (17-26mm) is most popular in Marseille-Aix-en-Provence
- Very Long (27-40mm) is most popular in Toulouse
- Extra Long (41mm+) is most popular in Toulouse
The Most Embarrassing Ungroomed Areas
Both men and women are equally embarrassed about ungroomed pubic area
Our survey showed that while men worried about scruffy facial hair, women were more conscious of unshaved legs and underarms. Men were also almost as concerned about ungroomed pubic hair as women, but they were more concerned about hairy buttocks than women.
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MenWomen
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Face (Beard/Moustache)
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Pubic Area
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Underarms
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Chest
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Eyebrows
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Head
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Neck
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Back
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Buttocks
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Legs
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Arms (Forearms/Full)
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Upper lip
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Side of face
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Chin
The Most Embarrassing Ungroomed Areas by Age
Millennials are the most embarrassed by ungroomed hair
Thankfully, our study shows that apart from 25 to 34 year olds, the older you get the less embarrassed you are about unsightly hairs, with Millennials 40% more likely to feel embarrassed by an ungroomed body part than the over 65s.
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76% of people aged 25-34 are embarassed of ungroomed hair
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71% of people aged 35-44 are embarassed of ungroomed hair
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66% of people aged 45-54 are embarassed of ungroomed hair
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51% of people aged 55-64 are embarassed of ungroomed hair
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36% of people aged 65+ are embarassed of ungroomed hair
Grooming Time & Expenditure
How Much We Spend On Grooming and Skincare
The average French person spends up to €240 on grooming and skincare annually
The majority of both men and women spend between €5 to €20 a month on grooming and skincare products and services, but men are 10% more likely to keep costs low, while women consistently spend more than men in the higher brackets. However, when it comes to spending more than €90 per month, there are marginally more men than women.
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MenWomen
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€5-€20
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€21-€40
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€41-€50
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€51-€70
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€71-€90
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€91-€1000+
The Towns That Spend The Most On Grooming and Skincare
People in Tours spend the least on grooming annually
Toulouse, Grenoble and Nantes were the three regions with the highest monthly average spend. Tours, Toulon and Montepellier had the lowest, with people from Tours spending 63% less than people from Toulouse.
The Age Group That Spends The Most On Grooming and Skincare
Millennials spend the most on grooming annually
While a significant proportion of young adults spend in this range, the majority of big spenders are Millennials. The percentage of people spending in this range steadily declines and nearly halves between 35 and 65+, so while you might be getting older, you’re saving money with age!
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23% of people aged 18-24 spend €1100 annually
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24% of people aged 25-34 spend €1100 annually
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14% of people aged 35-44 spend €1100 annually
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14% of people aged 45-54 spend €1100 annually
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10% of people aged 55-64 spend €1100 annually
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8% of people aged 65+ spend €1100 annually
Time Spent Grooming For Special Occasions
Women spend longer grooming for special occasions
While the majority of men and women spend between 6 to 15 minutes grooming their body hair for a big night out or a date, women are significantly more likely to spend longer.
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MenWomen
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6-15 minutes
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16-30 minutes
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31-59 minutes
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1 hour-1.5 hours
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1.5 hours-2 hours
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2 hours-2.5 hours
Grooming Influences
France’s Grooming Habit Influences
French people don’t imitate celebrities and sports stars
The majority of people take their advice and inspiration from their friends, professional stylists and articles they read. Influencers fail to live up to their name, coming 11th on our list, but the true surprise comes from how uninspired people of France are by celebrities and sports stars!
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Friends 25%
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Stylists 20%
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Articles 19%
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Parents 14%
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YouTube 12%
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Siblings 11%
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Colleagues 7%
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Doctors & Dermatologists 6%
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Instagram 5%
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Blogs 5%
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Influencers 4%
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Sports stars 4%
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Celebrities 2%
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Pornography 2%
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School 1%
France’s Grooming Habit Influences by Age
No matter what their age, French people go to their friends and family for grooming inspiration
While young adults and Millennials are influenced by Instagram, this drops off for older generations. Similarly, older generations rely more on articles for their inspiration and advice than their social media-savvy counterparts. Young adults tend to listen to their parents, but their influence becomes less prevalent with age.
| 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | |
| Friends & Family | 40% | 28% | 37% | 35% | 39% | 38% |
| Stylists | 10% | 13% | 14% | 13% | 16% | 19% |
| Doctors & Dermatologists | 3% | 5% | 3% | 4% | 6% | 6% |
| Social Media | 18% | 21% | 14% | 13% | 7% | 5% |
| Articles & Blogs | 7% | 13% | 17% | 20% | 18% | 22% |
| Celebrities & Sports Stars | 11% | 11% | 6% | 6% | 4% | 5% |
| Colleagues | 6% | 6% | 6% | 7% | 8% | 3% |
| Pornography | 2% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 1% | 2% |
Relationship Grooming Influences
Do Partners Shape Your Grooming Habits?
Men care more about what their partners think
No matter how old they are, men are consistently more likely to be influenced by what their partner thinks. People between 25-34 care most about their partner’s opinion but that steadily declines vastly with age.
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MenWomen
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18-24
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25-34
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35-44
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45-54
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55-64
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65+
Grooming Habits You Hide From Your Partner
The majority of French people are open about their grooming habits with their partners
While the majority of men and women don’t hide their grooming practices, women are slightly more likely to be completely honest with their partners. For those that do lock the bathroom door, women are most likely to hide grooming their backs while men are the most likely to hide their buttock grooming.
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MenWomen
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No I do not keep any of my grooming habits secret
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Back
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Head
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Chest
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Buttocks
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Side of face
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Chin
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Pubic Area
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Arms (Forearms/Full)
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Upper lip
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Legs
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Underarms
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Eyebrows
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Face (Beard/Moustache)
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Neck
Is Your Partner Taking Too Long With Grooming?
Most men and women are happy with how long their partners spend on grooming
Though the majority of men and women are happy with the amount of time their partner spends in the bathroom, almost double the number of women think their partner is not grooming enough. Despite it being recognised as one of the world’s oldest arguments, very few men and women think their partners spend an unacceptable amount of time on grooming.
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MenWomen
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They don’t spend enough time
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They could spend more time
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They spend the right amount of time
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They spend too long
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They spend far too long
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I do not have a partner
Methodology statement
The Grooming Index is brought to you by Gillette France. Data for this piece was collected by Savanta, who surveyed 2,000 French adults in July 2020.
