Skin care for men
Primary concern for me is getting rid of the wrinkles. Clarifying the
skin would be a plus. Something simple if possible. Any suggestions?
Men's skin care!! Now there's something I can sink my teeth into,
especially as I sit here eating lunch!
Any skin care routine basically brakes down into 3 simple steps -
cleanse, tone, and moisturize your skin - twice a day. To this, I
feel required to add the use of sunscreen, if it's not found in a
daytime moisturizer.
So, here's some of my ideas on the 3-step…
Cleanse
It's best to use a cleanser intended for facial skin and appropriate
for your skin type. Don't use a regular bar soap as it will dry your
skin out. Most men tend to be on the "combination" or oily side, but
many suffer from facial dryness from years of slapping on
alcohol-based after-shaves and never using a moisturizer or sunscreen.
I like Origins Mint Wash during the summer - very refreshing and
minty. Origins Checks and Balances is good for me during the winter -
really foams up well and smells good, too. Dior Purifying Rinse-Off
Cleansing Foam is a great high-end treat. It literally explodes into
a thick, foamy lather on your face, so much so that I imagine you
could actually shave with it.
On the drug store scene, my favorites are L'Oreal Plenitude Shine
Control (in summer) or HydraFresh (in winter). Basis also makes some
good and inexpensive products, too. I especially like the Basis All
Clear bar soap with glycerin and citrus astringents.
You can wash your face with your hands or a wash cloth, but I
generally prefer to use a facial cleansing brush made by Shiseido.
This brush has gentle bristles, but it really cleanses your face well
and helps makes your beard stand up better for post-shower shaving.
Tone
There always seems to be a raging debate here on AF on the merits of
toners. I like to use them as a replacement for alcohol-based
after-shaves. My very favorite is Origins Managing Solution for Oily
Skin. It is really refreshing and soothing, but contains no alcohol.
Origins has some other toners for other skin types, and they are
pretty good, too. When it's hot and humid, I like L'Oreal Plenitude
Shine Control toner. It has talc (which may cause some of you
problems) and helps keep my face matte and less oily during the day.
However you feel about toners, just forget about putting alcohol on
your face. All this does is dry it out and, if you're oily like me,
gets the oil glands going again full force shortly thereafter.
Moisturize
This, of course, is the most controversial step of all. Do real men
use moisturizer??
Only those that want to look their best, now and in the future.
There are a gazillion moisturizers out there, so it's hard to
recommend just one. I used to recommend Basis Face the Day lotion
because it has SPF 15 sunscreen and was relatively inexpensive.
Unfortunately, I think they stopped making this stuff. I also usually
don't recommend most men's moisturizers as they don't contain
sunscreen. Also, IMHO, many contain AHA's to exfoliate the skin. I'm
not sure one needs extra exfoliation if one shaves on a daily basis -
maybe at night, but not during the day. I think the reason that most
men's moisturizers don't contain sunscreen is to keep the price down.
You'll find that moisturizers can get pretty pricey, especially when
compared with cleansers and toners.
Origins Have a Nice Day lotion with SPF 15 is very nice. At the drug
store, L'Oreal FuturE, also with SPF 15, is good, too. There are
many, many more choices, should you be inclined to investigate
further.
I also firmly believe in moisturizing at night, after cleansing and
toning. I noticed that, after I started to do this, I could get a
much closer shave in the morning, with a lot less nicks and
irritation. I think this is especially important if you have a very
heavy beard. While on the subject of shaving, that Aramis stuff sure
does clog the ol' razor, doesn't it?? You might be using too much.
Another suggestion might be to lather up with Aramis Dual Action bar
soap or the Basis mentioned above, as both contain glycerin and will
help your blade glide right across your face. Then apply only a very
thin coating of the Aramis shave cream. The Clinique gel with Aloe or
Origins Blade Runner are also pretty good. From the drug store, I
find that Edge Gel is a good bet, for the money.
Finally, sunscreen is absolutely essential. If you can't handle the
idea of moisturizer, at least use a sunscreen every day with an SPF of
at least 15. Again, there are a multitude to choose from. One
high-end sunscreen I especially recommend is Pola 1/f SunCut Milk.
It's very light, won't turn into an oily goo on your face, and has an
impressive SPF 30. Be sure to rub some on the back of your neck
before your next golf outing, too.
Wrinkles
There's good news and bad news here. The bad news is that, once
you've got 'em, you're pretty much stuck with 'em, unless you want to
undergo regular Botox injections or have plastic surgery.
The good news is that regular use of a moisturizer and sunscreen,
starting now, will help keep them at bay for a long, long time. I've
been into a regular skin care routine for more than 15 years now, and
my face is remarkably free of blemishes and wrinkles, especially when
compared with the mugs of the other 50 somethings who make up my peer
group.
Is doing all of this worth it?? I think it is. Like anything else,
you'll get out of it what you put into it.
If it's important to you to look your best every day, then regular
skin care is absolutely essential.
If it isn't important, then what are you doing here, anyway??