As a woman, you probably know that beauty care products can be super expensive. There’s shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, perfume, lotion and many, many more products that women choose to buy – and a lot of the time they are more expensive than men’s products. This is due to the ‘pink tax’, where women’s products are priced higher than the equivalent men’s product.
We wanted to find out – is this all a marketing ploy, or do the women’s products actually work better?
Over the course of a week, our editorial team put men’s products vs. women’s products to the test. These were the results!
Shampoo & Body Wash
Men’s: Women’s:
Ingredients:
Scent:
The men’s product had a very strong and The woman’s products had calming and
bold scent while I was using it, but once subtle scents like lavender and baby
I stepped out of the shower and my hair powder
dried, the scent faded and wasn’t too
noticeable
Texture:
It was thick and sticky like the hair gel Lighter, not as heavy and thick
‘Dippity Doo’. I had to use more of it
to feel clean since it was a 3 in 1
Packaging:
Simple with bold colours to match Sleek and aesthetically pleasing, more
bold scent, reminded me of a sport drink text heavy bottles, ingredient
bottle, not really any ingredient descriptors descriptions
Results:
I didn’t mind the male product, but felt the scent was stronger and my hair was noticeably rougher when wet, but once my hair was dry there was very similar results. My hair felt drier after styling (making it a bit more static) and the ends felt dead despite having recently cut my dead ends off. As a body wash, the results were unnoticeable, but as a face wash, my face felt more oily and prone to breakouts. I don’t think I would buy it again but I would definitely use it again if necessary.
I feel like it’s a good product to use in the summer when camping as it streamlines your packing issues and is easier to deal with when out in the woods. That, or I would use it if I ever ran out of one of my products and didn’t have time to buy a new one i.e. when you forget you’ve run out of shampoo and really need to wash your hair.
Winner: Woman’s! BUT I think as a replacement to shampoo and body wash, it’s definitely worth the price decrease – but I would still be inclined to use conditioner to soften my ends.
Lotion:
Ingredients:
Essentially the same – women’s had a few more ingredients pertaining to scent
Scent:
Aftershave smell/cologne, Fresh and floral, not as strong
stronger scent, ‘manly’
Texture:
Almost identical texture of both – creamy
Packaging:
Dark navy, ‘MENS’, darker colours, Light yellow bottle, delicate and feminine
‘Extra Strength’ ‘proven in a clinical study’ – do men not care about proof?
Results:
I didn’t mind either lotion. They both worked the same – the only difference was the scent. I would use the men’s lotion again if I had to – there was nothing wrong with it, but, I preferred the woman’s fresh smell a lot better.
Winner: Woman’s! (due to the scent)
Deodorant:
Men’s: Women’s:
Ingredients:
Not Available
Scent:
More intense of a scent. Smelled like a Fresh & feminine scent, perfumey,
cologne and talcum powder, didn’t really notes of patchouli, sandalwood,
enjoy tit personally. Too intense coumarin, vanilla
Texture:
Although light, the product was thick Felt light, fine and wet
and pasty. A bit granular too, but Dried faster
moisturizing
Packaging:
Grey, blue and white package, Dark purple box, black headings,
stereotypically ‘male’, targeted looked like perfume box
to everyday male
Results:
One didn’t necessarily work better than the other. The biggest difference was the texture and scent. The scent was too ‘manly’ and I wouldn’t buy it again. The pricing was good and they both kept my underarms dry.
Winner: Woman’s! (mostly due to the smell and texture)
Shaving Cream & Razor:
Men’s: Women’s:
Ingredients:
3 Blade Razors 3 Blade Razors
Same Ingredients as women’s shave gel Same ingredients + Aloe
minus Aloe
Scent:
Aftershave smell/cologne, Fresh and floral, not as strong
stronger scent, ‘manly’ Really liked!
Texture:
Almost identical texture of both – but Aloe in women’s cream made it a tiny bit smoother
Packaging:
Black, dark packaging ‘MENS’ Purple, natural, florally
Left Leg: After Using Men’s Products Right Leg: After Using Women’s Products
Results:
I enjoyed (and would buy again) the women’s shaving cream, razor and the men’s razor, however I did not like using the men’s shaving cream. It did not leave a soothing feeling on my skin the way the women’s did and actually kind of burned and irritated my skin after use.
The razors essentially worked the same and there was basically no difference in hair growth afterwards.
Winner: Woman’s!
Total cost: Men’s: $34.43 Women’s 89.2
Overall winner:
Price: Men’s
Scent: Women’s
Overall: Women’s
What we learned:
For the most part we found that both the men’s and the women’s products were fairly similar. It seems to be that there is nothing about these products that requires them to be gendered and it is probably just a marketing tool. The only major difference in price was the 3-in-1 shampoo/face wash/body wash product, although it serves as a good alternative if no other options are available. Hey men! – maybe you should be using our products instead!
