»Genderless Beauty«

A deep trend: »Genderless Beauty«

Self-care for everyone! Gender-neutral beauty products are supposed to make cosmetics more practical, cheaper and sustainable. Read everything about this new trend for your bathroom and vanity case.

Man, woman, third gender? Lotions and potions accept who you truly are or want to be. Fashion and beauty are opening up and offering new possibilities to everyone. Skirts for guys and pantsuits for girls are supposed to be the new normal – and the beauty industry is following suit with a trend named »genderless beauty«. This shifts away from the previously used term unisex that was still based around the two biological sexes male and female. Genderless is now the new Unisex 2.0 and includes all other definitions of gender. Societally, we think this is a wonderful step in the right direction and are happy to take the trend to our bathrooms.

(Gender) Neutral Fragrance

What makes »genderless beauty« so special? One of the main differences is the fragrances used in hair and body care. Most gender-neutral products are made without fragrance or contain scents that aren’t connected to binary ideas of gender such as lemon, grapefruit, bergamot, verbena, peppermint, hemp and lavender. These scents are more subtle and, more so than vanilla, strawberry, caramel and rose or tobacco, leather, musk and pine, have not been branded with the connotations of male or female.

Simple Design

Another difference can be found in the design of the products. While women’s products are traditionally pink, purple, white and light, packaging aimed to please men is often held in black, grey, green, blue or red tones. »Genderless beauty« tries to step away from this colour scheme by using non-colours like white, grey, black and brown and keeping the design minimalist and Scandinavian.

Yours, mine, ours

The components used in gender-neutral skincare are well-loved classics: Hyaluronic acid keeps the skin moist and helps it retain this moisture. Aloe vera is perfect to cool down your skin after sunbathing. Olive oil smoothes dry and mature skin while shea butter provides the necessary fatty acids. Algae extract is full of sea minerals that fill lines and wrinkles. Vitamin C has a light peeling effect and returns glow to ashy complexions. Green tea extract helps with puffy morning eyes and salicylic acid helps with healing spots. A new addition to the 2020 INCHI-list of skin and hair care is Manuka honey from New Zealand. The honey has anti-inflammatory properties for impure skin while delivering moisture and strengthening the natural barrier of the skin – a true all-rounder for anyone! Another hyped product is hemp oil with the component cannabidiol: Another all-rounder, this oil helps balance irritated skin after shaving and protects from potentially damaging influences like UV-light, pollution and cold.

Sharing for less waste

Another benefit of »genderless beauty« is the reduced waste: if two people living together can use the same shaving foam, eye cream and shampoo, less waste is produced. Smaller labels increasingly bet on gender-neutral products to adhere to the philosophy of avoiding waste (#zerowaste, #lesswaste). Using products together saves both space and money! If you’re suffering from specific skin problems, you may still need a few products just for yourself – but these are the ones you can always share…

1 High five!

Hand lotion with organic aloe vera extract by Alkmene makes normal and dry skin feel velvety smooth Ca. 2 Euro, in drugstores

2 Have a brew…

In your bathroom. The body peeling with coffee by Alverde carefully exfoliates dead skin and kick-starts micro-circulation. Ca. 3 Euro, exclusively at dm

3 No wrinkles

This eye cream with botanical hyaluronic acid extracted from the tremella mushroom by natural cosmetics brand Annemarie Börlind smoothes wrinkles considerably. Ca. 25 Euro, at www.boerlind.de

4 Bling, bling

Easy to handle: eye pads with moisturising ingredients by Babor. Ca. 25 Euro, at www.babor.de

5 So fresh

The Charlotte Meentzen shower gel with hyaluronic acid and malachite extract plumps up the skin. Ca. 4 Euro, at www.meentzen.de

6 Seeing black?

No! This Iatitai facial soap with bamboo-charcoal deep cleanses the skin and removes bacteria and sebum. Great for oily skin. Ca. 13 Euro, at www.iatitai.de

7 Hemp-skin

The light lotion by bio:vegané can be used in the morning and evening to protect all skin types from stress triggered by environmental influences and lack of moisture. The product optimises the skin’s moisture balance and calms irritated areas. Ca. 25 Euro, in drugstores

8 Less stress

Pamper yourself with some »Me time« and the mint-rosemary shower gel by Kneipp. Ca. 4 Euro, in drugstores

9 Kiss me, please

Dry and chapped lips? This lip peeling by Labello comes in a practical stick-shape and removes dead skin so you can moisturise with a balm. Ca. 3 Euro, in drugstores

10 Bodylicious
Macadamia- and sunflower oil, rosemary and calendula extract make this cooling body lotion by Rausch so special. Ca. 13 Euro, in drugstores

11 Masked ball

Quick, easy, effective: hydrating sheet mask with aloe vera by Schaebens, ca. 2 Euro, in drugstores

12 Hair removal

Calms skin after shaving: foam by LR Aloe Via with lots of aloe vera extract. Ca. 10 Euro, at www.amazon.de

13 Antitranspirant

Sharing deodorant? These wipes are easy to use and hygienic. By Rexona. Ca. 2 Euro, in drugstores

14 Hairy

Hair care for everyone: hyaluronic shampoo for moisture and reduced breakage by ahuhu. Ca. 18 Euro, at www.asambeauty.com

15 Pssst, pssst

The gender-neutral scent »Bergamot« by New York brand Marke Malin+Goetz with bergamot, paprika, grapefruit, ginger, lily of the valley, cardamom and different woody scents. Ca. 85 Euro, at www.niche-beauty.com

16 Unisex(y)

For everyone: The perfume »Copper« by Comme des garcons with galbanum, peppercorn, ginger oil, synthetic amber, myrrh and vanilla smells of tarmac on a hot summer’s day. Ca. 100 Euro, at www.ausliebezumduft.de