High unemployment cuts use of deodorant as jobs market affects male personal hygiene

Seven per cent of young men have recently stopped using deodorant (Rex features)

Modern young men may have a reputation for using a range of beauty products, but it seems the moribund jobs market is now taking its toll on personal hygiene.

Seven per cent of young men have recently stopped using deodorant, whilst a further 5 per cent of men aged 17 to 24 have stopped washing their hair, according to new research commissioned by the retail magazine The Grocer.

Another 5 per cent have also stopped styling their hair with products such as gel at least once a week. According to analysts Kantar Worldpanel, the decline in sales is partly explained by high rates of graduate unemployment.

“The core driver for using deodorant as part of a routine is getting ready for work. Unemployment removes this,” Samuel Hart, an analyst, told the magazine.

The latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that nearly one in 10 students were unemployed six months after graduating from UK universities, with men more likely to be out of work than women.

The growing indifference to male personal hygiene has hit the grooming market hard in the past year and value sales have fallen 2.3 per cent on volumes down 1.1 per cent.

But according to some brands, a rugged fashion – especially the recent trend for beards – is also playing a part in the decline. Sales of razors have fallen by 2.5 per cent .