It has been a question that has puzzled the male population since the dawn of time — one that most would say just does not have an answer. Pondering "what women want", in terms of romance, gifts, or even TLC can bring even the most ardent suitor out in a cold sweat.

Yet Stephen Ley, a 52-year-old father-of-three, and his two male colleagues reckon that, for skincare at the very least, they may have found the solution.

After 25 years working in the healthcare business, he says it was female nurses that inspired him to change direction and launch Raw Organic — a completely natural range of toiletries and beauty products.

"They were always concerned about the ingredients involved in various products used in patient care, say for washing and moisturising," said Mr Ley, whose offices are based in Didcot.

"They wanted to know if there were more natural alternatives which would be kinder to their patients' skin.

"That set me thinking that if nurses were worried about chemicals in skincare products, most women who buy these items in their weekly shop are probably worried about it too."

It was that eureka moment which spurred Mr Ley to sell his medical wet wipes business in 2006, and set up new firm Marshall Curtis to create Raw Organic, a range of massage oils, hand and body lotion, shampoo and body wash, accredited by the Soil Association and Vegetarian Society.

And now he and his male colleagues — Nigel Brassington, 55, and Martin Wright, 52 — find themselves working at the heart of an industry that is dominated by women.

"We have had to get ourselves into the female psyche," said Mr Ley, who lives in Oxford.

"After all, how many of the products you find in your bathroom cabinet are bought by women — even if men use them?

"We've chosen toiletries we believe women will like to use, ensured the ingredients are mostly organic and created packaging which is not only recyclable, but also reflects the natural ethos of the brand.

“Most of the fragrances were road-tested on members of a creative writing course I was on in Oxford and, suddenly, the opinions of the wives and daughters in our lives have taken on a whole new meaning.

"Thankfully, the women around us are very honest. If they like something, they like it and if they don't, they say so. That helps us in the formulation of products and the improvement of them.

"Although we are three men in a beauty business, we're very much dependent on the women around us to point us in the right direction."

And that female perspective even stretches to what the trio wear when they attend exhibitions, like the Vitality, Natural Products, or Baby Show, where women often outnumber men by at least 2,000 to one.

"If it is a corporate event, we tend to turn up in suits, but if it is a consumer show, where there will be lots of women attending, we think that looking like a banker is going to put people off. So instead we'll wear red t-shirts — our brand colour," said Mr Ley.

Father-of-two Mr Wright, who helped launch Maybelline cosmetics in the UK, said: "There is no doubt we stand out and it also helps that we are quite mature because it gives us a certain amount of credibility. If we were 21-year-olds, I am sure people would think: 'What do they know?'

"But having been in the beauty business for more than 20 years, I am perfectly happy to talk about the elasticity of skin and the bane of stretch marks, even though it is clearly not an issue for me."

Mr Brassington, a grandfather, chemist and expert in regulatory affairs, added: "When I tell my friends outside the industry that I have been to a mother and baby show, they can't imagine anywhere that I, a 17-stone man, would feel more out of place.

"For a start, we looked like three ripe plums standing there, so there's absolutely no way we can hide. We're a bit of a curiosity to people who come over to see us. I'm sure some of them just want to find out exactly what these fellas are doing there. But after a while, you sort of blend in."

And Mr Ley is confident his latest venture will succeed, despite the economic downturn.

"I ran my previous business through two recessions and we still managed to grow," he said.

"Also, this time round I am putting my own money into the firm, and not using the bank’s, which can be a problem for start-up businesses.

"And I am a firm believer that if you give people what they want, they will come back for more."