It's not really. Society just expects women to take care to keep their skin soft and beautiful, while men are expected to do things that tend to leave their skin rougher and not bother to do anything about it.
Even if they are different, women have been marketed to since the dawn of advertising. Women used to be the pharmacists of the household so when women bought ointments and tinctures for their family, they also started being sold beauty products. Today women spend a lot of money on "necessary" products just to keep up. It is a feminist issue, especially when items used by both genders like razor blades and deodorant are more expensive for women because it's in pink packaging.
And all this time I thought my brother was crazy...
http://www.dermalinstitute.com/us/library/17_article_Is_a_Man_s_Skin_Really_Different_.html