Gillette: close shave gives professional success

Research shows men who look good have greater chance of professional success

Guys, it's time you took a look in the mirror. If you want to get ahead in work and secure that promotion a sure fire way is to up the ante in the personal care department.

According to a Gillette survey released today more than two thirds of women believe men who are well groomed are more likely to get a promotion at work than poorly groomed men and guys second that motion. Seventy one percent of men think their chances of professional success are increased if they take pride in their appearance.

On the flipside just under 10 percent of men and women think well groomed guys are less likely to get promoted. At the 'Scruffs Are Us' corporation perhaps?

And what makes a man well groomed? The top three attributes are neat clothes regardless of personal style, well cut and styled hair and a clean-shaven face. These are followed by short, clean fingernails and polished shoes.

This probe into the well groomed male signals the second wave of research by grooming authority Gillette, released as part of the inaugural Gillette Men's Grooming Week starting today.

The one-week campaign, successfully run in Australia for two years, is designed to celebrate the Kiwi male in all his well-groomed glory.

"The Gillette Men's Grooming Week is about giving guys the confidence and know-how to look their best. Good grooming isn't just for suit-wearing businessmen or models. All guys can be a 'god of grooming' regardless of age or profession," says Gillette Grooming Business Manager, Andrea Spearman.

Looking good is closely linked to feeling good. When asked how grooming makes them feel, nearly 40 percent of men said 'confident' and 'clean'. The majority of women on the other hand thought grooming would make their bloke feel sexy (32 percent) but in reality only eight percent of men cited feeling 'sexy' as a result of grooming.

Men's appearances have been put under the spotlight with the advent of terms such as metrosexual (urban, heterosexual men with an interest in fashion, shopping and grooming) and retrosexual (rougher, hairier guys, minus hairy back).

The good news is the majority of people interviewed think the standard of men's grooming is getting better with 48 percent of women saying it is now more acceptable in society for men to groom. Men however think standards are on the rise because guys are becoming more concerned about their appearance.

The first Gillette Men's Grooming Week will run from Monday August 30 to Sunday September 5.

The highlight of the week will be an exclusive Cure Kids charity auction event to announce the Gillette Best Groomed Champion Sportsman as voted by the New Zealand public. The event will be held at BMW's Mt Wellington showroom in Auckland on Tuesday August 31 and features the five shortlisted sportsmen - Brent Webb, Cory Hutchings, Greg Murphy, Luke McAlister and Terenzo Bozzone.

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