It is estimated that 42% of all men use a moisturizer in the form of a day cream or night cream, 22% use a facial cleanser and 6% use a mask. Of course, with these numbers we are still light years away from women, but it's a start. Time to take our skincare knowledge and skills up another notch.
Men's skin vs women's skin
And if you think facial care is rocket science in itself, we have another fact for you. For one, there are quite a few differences between men's skin and women's skin. Therefore, men should approach skin care differently than women.
Men's skin is regulated by different hormones than women's. Therefore, men also have a different skin texture. In addition, men's skin is about 15 to 20% thicker. Hence, our skin looks a lot more robust and firm. Actually, you may see this as a great blessing. Men's skin does not age as quickly because of this and wrinkles only appear on average around age 35. In women, it's a lot earlier. And if we are already so blessed, let's not take it for granted! That's why we should pay attention that a product focuses specifically on skincare for men.
Okay, there is also a negative point about our men's skin. Especially during puberty, men are more likely to suffer from acne and blemished skin. Therefore, it is always discouraged to "secretly borrow" your mother's or friend's cream. This cream can clog your pores and cause even more blemishes.
Determine your skin type
We are really going to complicate things one step further. Not only does your skin differ from women's, but there are different types of skin. We're going to list them for you below, but always do a test yourself to see what skin type you have.
- Dry skin: feels tight, rough, sensitive, chapped, itchy and/or flaky.
- Oily skin: shiny skin, large pores, blackheads, pimples and/or acne.
- Sensitive skin: easily irritated, sensitive to many products, red, chapped, tight feeling.
- Combination skin: some parts are oily, some parts are dry, often oily T-zone, sometimes suffers from blackheads.
- Aging skin: fragile, sagging, thin skin, wrinkles, fine lines, pigmentation spots, dullness, dark spots on the face.
- Normal skin: even skin, fine pores, few blemishes, not sensitive, feels soft.
- Impure skin: suffers from acne, pimples, blackheads, greasy feeling, no even complexion.
Once you have determined your skin type, the step-by-step plan begins. Always choose products that match your skin type. Face care for men has a step-by-step plan and often looks like this.
Cleansing the skin
The first step when it comes to skin care for men. Cleansing the skin we do to remove dirt and grease that accumulates on our skin throughout the day and night. Dirt and grease get into the pores of the skin, which makes natural hydration of the skin difficult. The pores become clogged, preventing the natural moisturizer, sebum, from reaching the skin surface, resulting in dry skin. Therefore, it is important to keep the pores open and clear.
In addition, pores become larger and coarser as they become clogged. Normally the pores close immediately once they have released sebum to the skin, because the pores are clogged with dirt they no longer close. This reduces the elasticity of the pores and causes the appearance of coarse pores. To achieve and maintain a smooth and tight skin, it is important to keep the pores free of dirt and grease. These will then close better resulting in smoother skin.
When cleansing the skin, it is important to take an appropriate product, so do not use soap or a shower gel, as these dry out the skin. Also, the perfume in these products is bad for your skin. Take a special cleanser for your skin type. These come in different forms.
Exfoliate the skin
In this gentle way you ensure that dead skin cells are removed from the top layer of the skin. So you do this with an exfoliant, but is also known as a peel. When you go exfoliating as a man you clear away dead skin cells and dirt. In addition, you will unclog clogged pores. Exfoliating is especially a good step if you have oily, blemished skin with acne.
Exfoliating is not the same as exfoliating. An exfoliant contains small granules that abrade the skin. An exfoliant is milder and therefore will also not accidentally "scrape" healthy, living skin cells from your skin.
Skin care
By cleansing and exfoliating your skin, you remove some of the skin's own protective sebum. To compensate for this and nourish your skin, it is important to use a day or night care product after cleansing your skin. These come in different sizes, types and prices. You can choose a moisturizer, which are basically very good products. But anti-aging for men care is also on the rise with brands like Lumin and Barber Pro. These improve the elasticity of your skin and reduce wrinkles.
Basically, you want to care for and protect your skin, this can be done well with a normal day care. If you want to protect your skin from aging, you might want to look at a skin care product with an SPF factor in it. After all, the sun is the biggest cause of skin aging. UV radiation does irreparable damage to your skin, causing its elasticity to deteriorate rapidly and wrinkles to appear.
Shave smarter
Okay, then we've had the basics right? Nope. As a man, you probably shave your face regularly. That's not something that generally makes your skin very happy. Especially if you don't do it the right way. Shaving wet affects the top layer of your skin. If you then apply aggressive products to your skin, your skin gets quite irritated.
Don't use too hot water for your face and use a good sharp razor. Also, shave only with mild shaving products like a shaving soap or shaving cream. Shave in short strokes with the hair growth and use a mild aftershave or alum after shaving.
If you follow these tips, we are confident you will keep your skin young and healthy a lot longer. If you still have any questions, which of course is always possible, feel free to contact us. We will be happy to help you! Order your facial care for men before 21:00, and you'll have it tomorrow.
Take care!
Your friends, The Alpha Men