Gone are the days when skincare and beard grooming was a luxury option for men. Today, it has become a necessity and is an important part of self-care and appearance.
This is particularly among the younger audience such as Gen Z and millennials. They aspire to look and feel good. All this is thanks to the rising disposable incomes of people and digital awareness (social media).
Nobody wants to be left behind and this is the impetus behind the booming men’s grooming market in India. This trend is in full force in tier-1 cities, and is soon catching up in tier-2 and tier-3 cities as well.
The male grooming products market in India was $2.3 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at a 6.8 % CAGR through 2033.
Keeping in mind these numbers, salons, spas and other beauty businesses should tap into this market. It’s important to understand how consumer behaviour and purchasing habits are changing.
This gives salons the chance to expand their current business, rebrand or even re-position themselves.
This International Men’s Day 2025, let’s explore how salons can make the most of men’s grooming services in India.
If you’re a salon or spa owner reading this blog, we will tell you how you can tap into this booming market before your competitor does.
What Do Male Clients Want from Your Grooming Business?
More than just a haircut
Only a haircut and shave are something of the past. This is something any barbershop can do. To enter the grooming industry, your services need to have an edge.
You need to focus on niche services including beard styling, reshaping, facials, skin-treatments and anti-ageing treatments. When you change your brand voice and focus on the above, you will be able to attract male clients who are conscious about the way they look.
The Overall Experience Matters
Beyond offering great services, the overall experience matters. The ambiance and hygiene in your salon should be impeccable. Also, professionalism is of utmost importance.
From start to finish, your clients should enjoy a comfortable experience. Good customer service is important and this comes by adopting the latest technology and tools.
Well-trained Groomers
When you enter the grooming industry, you can’t just employ regular salon employees. You need groomers who are well-versed with male grooming.
A lot of men don’t know what their skin and hair type is, and thus they want to be guided on the same.
To be able to offer skin analysis and consultation, it’s important to hire people who have a fair amount of experience.
Premium Retail Products
Till now, products for women have been heavily advertised. Whether it’s skincare, makeup or beauty products. Men have little to no knowledge about what products they should use.
Men would love it if stylists and barbers could recommend premium hair styling and skincare products. This is also a great opportunity for your salon as you can double-up as a micro-retailer.
Loyalty Programs
When men invest in grooming services and products, it is not just a one-off thing. They want to keep visiting their favourite salons to avail services.
Thus, the other important thing men want is access to memberships, referral programs, loyalty programs, online booking, packages, and so on.
Current Challenges for Salons in the Men’s Grooming Industry
A lot of salons who have entered this industry are facing a few challenges. We have listed some of them below:
Scheduling Services
Salons usually have a large number of services (beard trimming, skincare, haircuts, facials) in their offerings. However, when it comes to scheduling them or taking bookings for the same, salons are experiencing scheduling troubles/issues.
The need of the hour is a salon online booking platform that will take care of client bookings.
Inventory Supply & Management
Managing product inventory is no joke. For any salon, the right quantity of products has to be available at the right time. For this seamless inventory management is a must.
Salon owners are facing a challenge when it comes to retail inventory and raw materials.
Skilled Staff
Another challenge salon owners are facing is finding the right staff or groomers. When you set foot into the grooming market, expertise is of utmost importance.
The people you hire must be proficient in beard-styling and skin treatments. With the evolving grooming trends, it’s important for stylists and technicians to continuously upskill.
Differentiation Factor
A lot of grooming salons are struggling to articulate what makes them different. Is it style, ambiance or service? This confusion has left them behind.
When the service quality is inconsistent, you won’t be able to attract clients towards you.
Strategies to Conquer the Men’s Grooming Market
To capture the growing demand and turn it into an opportunity, here’s what you can do:
Differentiate yourself
Men’s grooming is slowly but steadily becoming a cluttered and saturated market. The only way you can standout is by differentiating yourself and your services.
If you’re a standalone barbershop or grooming salon, it’s great. However, if you plan to open a men’s wing within your existing salon model, you have to let people know about this new addition.
Offer services that are only male-centric. For instance, beard reshaping, grey hair blending, moustache colouring, scalp care or facials. Create packages or bundles that are specifically “designed for him”.
Hire experienced grooming staff
Conduct training programmes for your existing barbers and stylists. They should be well-versed with what’s trending.
Whether it’s beard shaping or skincare, you need to teach them the basics as well as the advanced concepts along with using modern tools and technology.
When your staff is well-skilled, they can upsell and ensure maximum customer satisfaction.
Create Detailed Menus
Your menu surely needs to be redesigned. Also, it’s important that they are detailed. When it comes to grooming and beauty treatments, men are usually novices.
For their sake, it’s important to have a description for every service in your menu. Mention all the steps that will be performed during the service.
This kind of transparency will make them develop keen interest in your services.
Include a Well-designed Retail Section
You need to prove it to your audience that you’re the best in the business. For this, stock men’s grooming products in your salon.
When you visit any salon, you’ve probably seen a shelf displaying retail products. Apply the same to your grooming salon.
The brand can be either the one you’ve partnered with or your salon’s own brand. Doing so also enhances your retail sales.
Offer the Best Customer Experience
While your services have to be top-notch, the customer experience matters too. From the time a client steps foot into your salon, they should be transported into another world.
We’re talking about clean and sleek waiting areas, a masculine aesthetic, great lighting and sharp interiors. The experience should feel premium.
Thus, consider giving your clients a hot towel as they enter. Also, make sure the tools you use are clean, hygienic and sanitised. This builds a sense of trust.
Use the Latest Technology
Your digital footprint matters too. Your clients are likely to judge you based on the kind of tools and technology you use. To manage day-to-day operations on your salon floor, use salon management software.
This takes away any kind of scheduling woes and makes sure your clients reach their appointment in time as the app sends them automated appointment reminders.
The client profiling feature helps with marketing campaigns as it sorts your male clientele and gives you detailed information on their past service history.
Expand into Tier-2 and Tier-3 Cities
As mentioned at the beginning of this blog, grooming services isn’t something only people living in tier-1 cities want. Tier-2 and tier-3 cities are also aspirational.
Thus, when you’re tapping the men’s grooming market, expand sensibly. Focus on smaller cities as well. That’s where the real demand lies.
Final Word
India’s men’s grooming market is no longer a niche. It promises a high-growth opportunity especially for new salon owners.
To succeed, you need to offer tailored experiences and follow all the other strategies we’ve mentioned in this blog.
Additionally, understanding the unique preferences of men in every region, will help you work on your menu offerings and create a pricing strategy.
If you’ve been thinking of tapping the men’s grooming market in India, now is the time. Barbershops that used Salon360App saw a visible difference in their key metrics, performance indicators and numbers.
The results were game-changing. In only three months, the bookings increased by 45%, automatic reminders made the no-shows drop by 60% and the repeat client visits rose by 30%.
A grooming salon we partnered with recently told us that now they spend less time on admin and more time doing what they love i.e. grooming men into gentlemen.
The market is ready. Are you? Give Salon360App, salon software in India a try. A free demo awaits.
Happy International Men’s Day!
