As many of you may know from my previous columns, I am right in the midst of wedding planning. Due to this, and my generally frugal nature, I am clipping coupons and pinching pennies any way I can.
However, my paycheques never seem to last long enough and I’m resorting to dipping in to my savings each month. I get that weddings are expensive and that the prices of just about everything is going up. What I have trouble with is the fact that my hubby-to-be, and most men in general, get off easy and don’t have to pay as much for simple everyday products both sexes require.
I went to three Airdrie stores the other day to suss out the prices of health and personal care items targeted to men and compare them against those targeted to women. What I found really irked me.
A stick of Speed Stick deodorant and a stick of Lady Speed Stick deodorant that were similar in that they were both the dry bar formulas, cost the same. However, the men’s Speed Stick was 92 grams and the women’s Lady Speed stick was only 70.
One of the stores sold the products for $3.27, so if you break it down by gram the Lady Speed Stick cost about five cents per gram, which doesn’t seem like a lot until you determine it will cost more than $1 more to get the same amount of Lady Speed Stick as you do for the men’s Speed Stick.
It doesn’t stop there, Dove go fresh Restore Body Wash cost $3.97 for 354 mililitres and at the same store Dove Men Care Clean Comfort Body Wash cost $3.76 for 400 ml. If you do the math that makes the women’s body wash cost 73 cents more for 400 ml.
Now, I know I may seem a little like a kook but it really bugs me and I don’t understand why these manufacturers deliberately target women for everyday items that we need.
We already have to spend money men don’t on feminine hygiene products. And many of us feel makeup and skin creams are a necessity too, which can cost a small fortune depending on the brand and where you purchase the items. It just doesn’t seem fair.
I know I could potentially purchase the men’s products but here’s the thing, I love how my hubby-to-be smells but I really don’t think either of us want me smelling manly.
I do admit that I will buy men’s razors when they are cheaper than women’s because they are essentially the same product; they just aren’t pink, which I can absolutely live with.
The one item I found that men have to pay more for is shaving gel. At all three stores I went to the men’s Gillette Fusion Proglide shave gel cost close to $2 more than the same amount of women’s Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel. I can only assume this is because manufacturers know men use shaving gel more than women and are therefore in need of it more. On the flipside of my argument, this doesn’t seem fair either.
As the beauty and personal health industry focuses more and more on the male market, I hope men will feel the pain women feel when we have to shell out more money for everyday items simply because they smell flowery instead of musky.
