The sun never really asks if we are prepared for it, especially not in the summer. It simply arrives, spreads over our skin from the early hours of the morning, and reminds us again and again that it is in a rather one-sided relationship with UV radiation. Whether it is a short walk, a commute to work or just “we went out for a stroll”, it turns out that the most consistent thing during this period is the need to protect the face, even when there is not really the energy to think about it.
When examining how this looks in practice in the daily routine, a fairly consistent difference between the different approaches to grooming begins to emerge. Studies in the field of consumer behavior in skincare indicate that women tend to adopt multi-step grooming routines, in which each product enters a precise chain of layers and roles, while men tend to prefer more limited use of products, with a clear tendency toward simple solutions that combine several actions together, without too many steps or rituals along the way.
The actor and wrestler Dwayne Johnson, “The Rock” as we all know him, did not settle for an action career and decided to enter the grooming world as well. His beauty brand, Papatui, is based on a fairly simple idea: To take men’s grooming and turn it into something accessible that does not require complicated instructions.
Incidentally, the brand name itself, Papatui, is not just another random branding. It combines “Papa”, which hints at family and fatherhood and the nickname of his beloved grandfather, with “Tui”, a traditional Samoan nickname meaning something like king. In short, a bit of home, a bit of heritage and a bit of blue blood.
The latest launch attracting the most attention is precisely the most basic in the beauty world – facial sunscreen. But with The Rock, even SPF gets its own action version. It is a daily moisturizer with SPF30 intended for men. According to him, the idea was born from repeated conversations with men, who simply said they need one simple thing that will solve one of the most stubborn problems in the men’s grooming world, mainly due to the fact that sunscreen simply does not enter their grooming routine.
The Rock decided to turn sun protection into something accessible and free of outdated masculine stigmas, while using quality ingredients such as mango butter and coconut oil. So instead of ten layers for us, his men got one product that knows how to do everything – with a mineral and not chemical formula, dual functionality, namely both a daily moisturizer and sun protection, with a light texture, not greasy, not sticky, designed to enter the routine without disrupting it, not even the beard or the scalp, if anyone happens to ask.
The price also plays in favor of the concept, about 10 dollars for the product (the cheapest ever, when the dollar is at its lowest in 30 years), that is less of a luxury product and more of “why was this not here before”. Naturally.
That is the whole story. It is not a masculine cosmetic revolution and not a deep beauty philosophy, but rather a fairly clear attempt to make sunscreen stop being a project and start being a habit.