7 Indian Male Influencers Who Are Breaking Gender Stereotypes About Skincare And Make-Up

Indian Male Influencers Wearing Makeup and Skincare: Here are 7 Indian men on social media who are redefining beauty and proving that makeup is meant for anyone who wants to wear it.

Make-up and skincare market has been a women dominated sphere for very long. Nevertheless, just like how women have been making way to previously male dominated spheres and acing it, many men are similarly breaking away from the reins of gender stereotypes and entering this women-dominated sphere of beauty and lifestyle.

They have been 'shining bright and colourfully' by unapologetically donning the brightness and colour of not only their confidence and personality, but also of the make-up and skincare they adorn on their faces.

The conversation around men wearing make-up has been reignited with Babil Khan's recent post on Instagram where he wrote about getting shamed for using skincare products. “Can you believe some people STILL go, “Are you a girl?” when I apply face masks or make-up before going out?” he says.

Credits: Babil Khan Instagram

His post highlights the rigid gender norms which restrict men from doing any task considered 'feminine' by the society. In fact, why does make-up and skincare need to be attributed as 'feminine' even now? It is important to understand that make-up and skincare make people look attractive, which in turn boosts a person's self-confidence. Many prefer wearing make-up as it makes feel good about themselves; it is a form of expression for many as makeup is a form of art too. Skin-care is beneficial for one's skin. So, why should we shame men who wish to exercise their choice to look better, care for their skin or express themselves through a form of art?

Moreover, as opposed to what Babil suggested, a man doesn't need to 'recognise the woman' in them to wear make-up. It's high time we understood that beauty products are gender-neutral and move away from the unreasonable stereotypes given to make-up and skin-care habits, which confine men as well as belittle those who wish to break these beauty norms. In short, makeup and skincare are for everyone, irrespective of gender and sexuality.

Here are 7 Indian male influencers who are using their platform to bring a change in the perception that beauty products are women-oriented:

Ankush Bahuguna

If you are an active user of Instagram, Ankush Bahuguna must be already known to you. With more than 621K followers, he is one of the most popular Indian influencers on the virtual platform. Ankush creates humorous and relatable content as well as make-up experiments and tutorials, which have garnered widespread recognition and praise.

He has been lauded for spreading the message of normalising makeup for every person who wants to wear it. He recently opened another Instagram, with the username @wingitwithankush, where he not only posts his own makeup tutorials, but also him doing make-up for other people.

In a video he posted last month, he talked about his love for his skin-care routine. He captioned, "Can’t give you #skincare advice because I’m not a dermat. But I can tell you this - Skincare is therapeutic. It’s the little ‘me time’ you need. It’s loving your body back. It’s not just for women. Skincare is for everyone."

"Makeup may temporarily hide your acne and your dark circles but it’s not going to make your skin any healthier. Only Skincare and a clean diet will," he added.

Siddharth Batra

Credits: Lifestyle Asia

Siddharth Batra is a popular fashion stylist and influencer whose unconventional fashion style and dressing as well as his suave grooming and beauty tips are loved by many. With over 143K followers on Instagram, he is redefining beauty for men with one post or reel at a time.

From immaculate reels on shattering the norm of gender-specific clothing to posting videos on #guybeauty skin-care and make-up for every occasion, he has done it all with 'style and statement'.

Furthermore, he also inspires people with his own journey of body transformation. He posted a video on his account capturing his journey  of weight loss, with a caption, "Honestly, fitness is a consistent/constant journey and it’s important to prioritise our health and well-being. I try my best everyday and hope to continue."

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Shantanu Dhope

Credits: Twitter

With a hard-hitting bio 'Brown boys wear makeup too', he is a rising social media influencer based in Mumbai, with over 26.5K followers on his Instagram handle. His dazzling eye-makeup and face arts are nothing but major makeup goals and leave his followers amazed with his prowess as a makeup artist.

Be it his Halloween edition reels or his successful attempt at combining Indian menswear and makeup, he is definitely the one every makeup enthusiast should follow on Instagram in order to get served with looks and inspiration.

Deep Pathare

Credits: Twitter

With 19K followers on Instagram, Deep Pathare is another rising queer influencer in the circle of Indian content creators. With a make-up channel on Youtube as well, his content reflects his own ideals of 'Stop Labelling and Start Living'. His vibrant hues, dewy base and spotless blending make-up looks mirror his artistic flair which is truly to die for.

In a recent video of Ankush Bahuguna's Everyone deserves to be accepted where Deep featured, he, along with other influencers, talked about how we need to stop making statement like 'Not all men who do makeup are gay' as it stems from the notion that this needs validation because it is also done by cisgendered heterosexual men. Furthermore, he asserted that we should normalise men wearing makeup not because they could also be straight, but because make-up is for everyone.

Yashwant Singh

Credits: Gramho

Yashwant Singh, who goes by the username @yash_want_skincare, is a beauty blogger with more than 12K followers, who has been making content on beauty and skincare tips and advice by reviewing and recommending the right kind of beauty products. He also posts remedies and other important information associated with skincare.

Drawing from his own experience with acne, he explores every products ranging from homegrown remedies to international brands to bring the most fruitful advice to his followers.

Furthermore, he also has another account, @yash.cares, where he collaborates with various brands to sell beauty products for charity purposes.

Shakti Singh Yadav

Credits: Social Samosa

Shakti Singh Yadav is a popular social media influencer on Instagram with more than 119K followers. He is also an Instagram model and fashion stylist who posts assorted content related to styling, footwear, accessories and skincare on @thefebruaryboy.

He shot to fame when he posted a TikTok video on how to enhance one's eyebrow with a spoolie, which went viral on Internet. Since then, he hasn't looked back and often posts videos on Korean makeup routines for men and hacks for flawless skin. In August last year, he posted about his own skincare routine for Indian men, which received an overwhelming response.

Jason Arland

Credits: ED Times

Jasdon Arland is an actor, dancer, model and a beauty influencer known for his chic photoshoots. Posting videos on his Instagram account as well as on his Youtube channel, Jason has been sharing his makeup transitions, tutorials and fashion looks from the age of 18.

In fact, he revealed that he learned makeup on his own when he was a 14-year old kid. He loves experimenting with his attires and stitches his clothes for his independent shoots. He started his modelling career with Lakmé and has been a successful model since then who does exquisite photoshoots and ramp walks. In fact, he walked the ramp for Chola The Label with Prateik Babbar at the Lakmé Fashion Week in 2019.

Views expressed are author's own.