Join the #ManPolishMovement

Jack Copeland | 26th August 2018

In an era of premium menswear, high-end barber shops, and designer beards, relatively few brands have yet to pioneer the niche market of men’s moisturisers. Fragrances, deodorants, and beard oils dominate the male cosmetics market, while skincare remains a distinctly female territory. However, the Mancunian company Renforth and Goddard are striving to break the stigma around men’s skincare with their range of Man Polish moisturisers.

 

 

Renforth and Goddard are a male grooming company, based in Manchester, with a passion for the quality of their products, delivering the best ingredients at a modest price where competitor brands might be considered “a bit dated”. Their sole product (so far), Man Polish, is a vegan-friendly, tinted moisturiser designed specifically for men’s skin, and comes in three varieties: neutral, subtle, and strong.

 

Co-founder of the company, Mr Renforth, said: “We felt as though there was a real disconnect between all the major brands and male customers. We felt as though those brands were more akin to females.”

 

The neutral Man Polish is meant to be applied daily, once in the morning, to provide skin with day-long nourishment and a healthier look, whilst the subtle and strong varieties improve appearance by also providing different levels of tint. The combination of nourishment and a healthy bronzed glow not only makes skin feel good but look great as well, bolstering the confidence of the men who wear it and providing what Renforth and Goddard describe as the “peacock factor”.

 

Pots in Box

Pots in Box

Fellow co-founder, Mr Goddard, further stated: “Man Polish is a brand that you can be proud of, it is something you can be proud of having, it is especially for guys, and it is tailored to guys’ skin.”

 

Renforth and Goddard never test on animals and do not use any alcohol-based fragrances in their products, meaning the formula does not need to be overloaded with oils to compensate for the dryness of the alcohol, making it very light and appealing to men.

 

Renforth simply said: “The product makes you feel better, look better, and it gives you this peacock factor, this elevated level of confidence, and all of a sudden you can become this Lothario with women.”

The achievements of Man Polish, in this regard, are so clear that Renforth and Goddard occasionally provide a branded condom with each pot of their moisturiser, which is testament alone to its success rate.

 

Man Polish also distinguishes itself above other men’s skincare brands by recognising the need to make life easier when buying their product so not only can you make any one-off purchases on their website, but you can likewise sign up for subscriptions which send Man Polish to your door at intervals from four to sixteen weeks.

 

The idea began when Renforth and Goddard met through mutual friends, Renforth’s sister-in-law being Goddard’s neighbour, and were good friends themselves for some time before starting a company together. Goddard elaborated by saying: “It was one of those things where everyone says, ‘You’ve got to meet this guy’.

 

“And it was always as though we could be either best friends or worst enemies, we could love each other or hate each other, and when we did meet we were best mates instantly, like we had known each other forever.”

 

Renforth and Goddard was actually born, in true British fashion, in a pub called the White Lion after Goddard, a lifelong skincare enthusiast, had an enlightening experience on a fateful night out three years ago.

 

The White Lion Pub in Manchester

The White Lion Pub in Manchester

 

He recalled: “I had just recently had my heart broken by a lady that I had been with for quite some time and I was going out one night, but had used all of my usual moisturiser, leaving me madly looking around the house.

 

“All I could find was my ex-girlfriend’s tinted moisturiser. At first I thought, ‘Nope, I can’t wear that. It’s for girls. Everyone is going to take the piss out of me’. But my face was so dry, I just had no choice.

 

“So I reluctantly put it on, and actually just ended up forgetting about it. What I found was that no one took the piss out of me and I got quite a few compliments.

 

“The next day I saw that one of the girls I had been out with that night had uploaded a picture onto Instagram and I looked absolutely fantastic. So I called Renforth at six in the morning, I knew he would be awake because he was driving to Scotland, and I said, ‘I’ve got a business idea’.”

 

Goddard is now in a serious relationship and says he is “batting right out of my league” courtesy of the product.

 

It then took two years to develop and is has been on sale now for just nine months, and is  among the recent additions to the gentlemen’s shop Ingman’s, in Chesterfield, as well as several barbers in the Greater Manchester area.

 

Man Polish Customers

The product is aimed at men between eighteen and fifty-five who are interested in their appearance, looking after themselves, and who are in professions which might require use of a moisturiser.

 

Goddard recounts one customer’s story in saying: “One of our customers, for instance, is a gardener and he wears gloves all day, giving him quite pale hands, so he uses Man Polish subtle on them so they match his quite tanned face.

 

“These are guys who would never have thought about moisturising but, now that they are doing it, they are getting compliments and they love it, which just makes me and Dan so happy and we love it too.”

 

In spite of Man Polish being a male orientated product, it is worth mentioning that several women have been known to order the occasional pot as well, after having stolen it from the men in their lives and ended up using it for themselves. Renforth and Goddard have even created their own Twitter hash tag, #StoleHisPolish, off of the back of this movement.

 

As well as this, Renforth and Goddard have promoted something called the ‘Man Polish Movement’ (#ManPolishMovement) on Instagram which is spreading the message of Man Polish and expanding a community which embraces and inspires men to adopt or improve their grooming routine.

 

Man Polish Customers 1

Man Polish Customers

In the brief time that their product has been on sale, the company has gained over nine thousand Instagram followers, received substantial praise on Amazon reviews, and Renforth and Goddard have sold the majority of their first batch.

 

Customer loyalty is evident as online customers have been known to re-order six times over, with numerous others having signed up for the subscription service, and one of the reasons for this loyalty is, potentially, because it is a Mancunian brand. After all, it is no coincidence that ‘Man’ Polish is made in ‘Man’-chester almost exclusively for men.

Man Polish Customers

Man Polish Customers

Renforth stated: “I think customers, wherever you go, want to support local businesses. We thought of the product in Manchester, developed the product in Manchester, and manufacture the product in Manchester.”

While Goddard again added: “We are both Northern lads, we are proud of the North, and we think that Manchester is a pretty cool place to live.”

Plans for a second batch are in the works and Renforth and Goddard have even started to diversify into other products, to the same standard of Man Polish. These products are scheduled for release within the next twelve months.

Further to this, Goddard said: “We wanted to build something that is not just about us, it’s about our customers as well. To build a community of guys who are taking themselves from a nine out of ten to a ten out of ten.

“It’s your cufflinks, your shirts, the nice tie that you wear. They aren’t the man, but they add that little bit and they help you to achieve that little bit more.”

CALM

CALM

Another notable side of the Renforth and Goddard brand is their partnership with CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) which is a national charity supporting men’s mental health. In fact, for every pot of Man Polish sold, fifty pence goes to CALM to support the terrific work that they do in preventing suicide.

So, if you are looking into changing up your grooming routine, impressing your significant other, and improving your self-confidence, you should definitely try Man Polish. But, if you need further convincing, feel free to check them out on Twitter and Instagram and see for yourself just how many men are joining the Man Polish Movement, taking their own image and self-confidence into their own hands.