The market for men’s skin care is certainly growing—up 8.6 percent last year, according to the NPD group, and 13.4 percent in 2011—and, according to industry experts, that momentum is likely to continue.“There’s been a new focus on men’s,” said Karen Grant, Vice President and Beauty Industry Analyst at NPD. “It’s so underdeveloped. The bottom line is that people are revisiting it again because it’s such a huge opportunity.”

The signs of this renewed focus are all around. Amazon just launched a dedicated men’s grooming area on its site, offering brands such as Baxter of California and Kyoku for Men. Birchbox offers its monthly samplers in guy’s versions alongside its women’s boxes. Anthony—the brand formerly known as Anthony Logistics for Men—is launching a masstige skincare line, Action Solutions for Men, at Kohl’s and Duane Reade this fall.

With one in four men using facial moisturize, according to NPD, brands and retailers are acknowledging that the men’s market is on the upswing.“We’re starting to see a lot more men’s specific products being purchased by men,” said Chance Wells, Amazon’s Director or Beauty and Health & Personal Care. “We’re seeing a bunch of folks that are hungry for a selection that’s designed specifically for them. We’re seeing consistently strong growth across all of the men’s grooming areas.”

With male skincare consumers these days getting more comfortable purchasing these products for themselves, there’s also growth in the category in targeted items designed to tackle specific needs. “As men become more sophisticated, they’re not just looking for products that are geared towards men, but they’re looking for products that do a certain function,” explained Tony Sosnick, Anthony Brands’ CEO and founder.“What you’ll see is more and more specialty products: things that solve a very special problem, like products for the feet, or products for guys that are starting to lose their hair.”

Products along those lines that are already doing particularly well, include Anthony’s Instant Fix Oil Control, a pore minimize and mattifier. For Malin + Goetz, the New York-based line that’s officially unisex but particularly popular with guys, its recently-introduced 10% Glycolic Acid Pads immediately became one of the line’s best-sellers, selling out twice since they launched.“It’s been a great contribution to our growing stable of ‘problem/solution’ items and the demand for them,” said co-founder, Matthew Malin.

“We’ve been noticing in the last 24 months that some smaller categories, like masques and brightening specialists, doing well,” pointed out NPD’s Grant.“It seems that men are expanding into some of the more advanced or novel products.”

Conversely, Grant also predicts that the popularity of men’s multitaskers—efficacious products that do several things at once, like moisturize and offer sun protection—will continue grow, as they’re doing right now on the women’s side.

Still, as much as it’s growing, chances are that the men’s skincare market—with just under $90 million in sales last year—will never reach the massive sales of its female counterpart . “It may be up significantly, but you’re still talking apples and oranges,” said Anthony’s Sosnick.