White truffle oil, peppermint, chocolate milk, and avocado may sound like the makings of a strange recipe. In fact, they are all ingredients found in new men’s skin care products, as the beauty industry increasingly turns to unusual foods to sell grooming products to men.

Body lotions, shampoos, and moisturizers are just a few of the products on the market that include delectibles such as fruit mashes and vegetable cocktails. Why all the strange ingredients? “Marketing plays the number one role in the use of these special ingredients by the hair and skin product industry,” a New York City dermatologist, Mike Eidelman, said. “Unfortunately, there is little substance to many of the marketing claims and very little science to back it up.” While this may be the case, the sweet-sounding creams are resonating with many consumers.

Maybe these products are popular because they offer familiar ingredients. Many women recognize alpha hydroxy and know what anti-oxidants do for the skin, but men are generally less familiar with the science of skin care. Telling them they’re applying caffeine to their eyes – in the case of Moxie’s new Double Shot Caffeinated Eye Cream – rather than cyclopentasiloxane, glycolic acid, and other skincare building blocks, makes those products seem more accessible. (Moxie uses the line “Ingredients with more than fancy names” on its Web site.) Perhaps men prefer products that sound like a real mouthful, not just a mouthful of syllables. After all, a recent survey by Hugo Boss found that men had used edible products including beer, margarine, egg whites, and peanut butter on their faces.

Product development professionals like Fabienne Guichon-Lindholm, who works for Decleor Paris and Carita, spend a great amount of time researching new ingredients. While Ms. Guichon-Lindholm said there is pressure to find the newest ingredients, she will “only include them if they can be truly beneficial to the user.” In other words, no truffle oil for truffle oil’s sake. One of her favorite ingredients, because of its similarity to the skin structure, is sweet almond oil, found in the Aromessence Balm, a pre-shave product which is part of Decleor’s Le Soin skin care line for men.

Some companies court men by going to extreme lengths to test products, and then publicizing those efforts. In developing Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream moisturizer for extreme dry or cold climates, the brand asked climbers taking part in the Greenland First Ascent expedition – the inaugural climb of peaks rising from the glaciers on the island – to test the product. It contains antarctacine, a glycoprotein sourced in Antarctica. Such battle-tested materials may be worth a try this summer in the slightly less extreme environ of the Hamptons.

The skin care guru known as Philip B. met with botanical extract developers all over the world to create the products under the line Philip B. Botanical Products. One example is his moisturizing shampoo that features white truffle oil, along with chamomile, lavender, cranesbill, and comfrey, which add shine while the truffle oil provides a silky feel. “I look at the problem I am trying to treat and then the ingredients traditionally used to solve these issues. I see botanicals from a medical point of view,” Philip B. said. His line of products also includes peppermint and avocado shampoo, chocolate milk body wash, chai latte “soul and body” wash, and Thai tea wash.

The only warning? Don’t try cooking them at home, no matter how delicious they sound.