Just when you thought having normal skin was the goal, you’ve suddenly found out you’ve also got to be snatched and radiating a skin obsessed glow, because yeah, your skin really is a reflection of your overall health and personal grooming standards! Now what? Move over soap and water, you’ve got a skincare regime to sort bro.
Ok, it doesn’t have to be complex so don’t go all overwhelm and just resort to sneaking into your partners skincare stash, you’ve got this, and that’s what we’re here for. We’ve got 3 quick and easy steps to nail this. And the good news is that a bit of self-care is a good thing. Any stigma around caring about your appearance is outdated; men talk about grooming, skin products and maxing their looks openly; we know this because they talk to us! In our clinics, via our website and social channels; yes, there are men exactly like you who want to know what they should be doing to change up their lifestyle, including their skin and body care products to start looking and feeling their best.
Let’s start at the beginning, and nope, it doesn’t just finish with washing your face. There’re a few steps to getting your skin in order and heading out fresh every day.
First… What’s your skin type?
Let’s sort out what type of skin you have first. There’re generally 3 different skin types: Oily, dry, and balanced. You can’t really change your skin type, but you can definitely improve it.
Oily Skin is characterised by open looking pores, often has blackheads, a tendency to break out, a shiny look to the surface and thicker in texture to other skin types. This skin type ages the best because that extra oil is protective.
Dry Skin lacks oil. It’s the type of skin that gets tight and sometimes feels uncomfortable. It can also get flaky if you don’t take care of it.
Balanced skin is the combination of a healthy amount of oil, usually around the middle of the face and forehead and comfortable skin on the cheek area. Not too dry and not too oily.
Knowing your skin type is helpful to choosing the right skincare.
Do males have skin challenges that women typically don’t?
Absolutely, if they shave anyway. Shaving can affect the skin’s barrier function. It can strip protective oils away and it can accelerate the natural exfoliating function of the skin. This can make skin more fragile and susceptible to sensitivity, and sometimes even breakouts. There are certain products you may need to avoid if you find your skin is sensitised by shaving. Retinols/Vitamin A and some exfoliants might be too much to begin with, but as you progressively strengthen your skin with the right products, you’ll get to use them later on. Bonus – there are other products that very specifically support the skin if it’s in that kind of irritated state. Pre-Juvenation DNA Oil is a good example.
Step 1: Cleaning your skin
Figuring out your skin type is key to choosing the right cleansing product. It’s often here that people get it wrong and end up stripping all the good natural oils off the surface of the skin and then disrupting the skins barrier. The skin has a balance of oil and water and tightly packed skin cells on the surface that prevent unwanted things getting in- like viruses, bacteria and pollution. So, you don’t want a cleanser that makes your skin tight and squeaky clean. You want one that leaves it feeling comfortable.
There are a few different textures and product types to choose from…
If you have oily or balanced skin, we recommend Revitalising Foaming Cleanser. It can be used easily in the shower, it’s light and leaves the skin feeling clean and fresh.
On the other hand if you have dry skin we recommend AHA Cream Cleanser because it is more of a milky texture that makes the skin feel clean but very comfortable. It can stop the skin flaking and it can reduce redness.
If shaving has made your skin weak, irritated and/or sensitive, then go for Anti-Pollution Cleansing Oil, the bonus it that it could be used as a shaving oil since it is softening to the hair as well as strengthening the skin’s barrier.
Step 2: Serums to treat your skin
After you’ve cleansed it’s time to work on the nuances of your particular skin. This is where skin conditions come in. Things like dehydration, breakouts and acne, dark spots, scarring and pigmentation. Serums specifically address these issues because they have key ingredients in high strength with benefits that deliver noticeable results.
If your skin looks dull give our C Serum a try. It’s loaded with a mega dose of vitamin C which boosts radiance. It is also excellent to help reduce dark spots and even the discolouration associated with scarring. So, if you’ve had acne or breakouts in the past that have left unwanted marks on your skin, this serum is for you.
B Serum is a great all-rounder. It contains a couple of forms of vitamin B, Niacinamide (B3) and Panthenol (B5) along with a super hydrator called Hyaluronic acid. Nothing like an acid at all, this one just delivers moisture directly to where skin needs it and binds it there. This helps make skin look healthy.
Ultimate serum is perfect if you have blackheads, acne and or breakouts. It helps dissolve the excess oil in the skin that causes the problem, plus it gently exfoliates the surface of the skin, so if you have congestion (a bit like blind pimples, or bumps under the skin) it definitely resolves it pretty quickly.
Step 3: Protect the skin to complete your daily routine
To complete your regime, you need to protect the skin from a couple of things including moisture loss and the sun. So, you guessed it, you need a moisturiser, and you need a high protection sunscreen. They don’t usually come in the one product and that’s not a bad thing, because you want to use your moisturiser at night as well, and obvs there’s no sun protection needed then.
Thinking back to your skin type; choose from either Daily Moisturiser Hydration if you are balanced or on the dry skin side. It will keep your skin feeling hydrated and supple all day. But if you’ve got oily skin, you’ll want something that stops your skin getting too shiny during the day, so go for Daily Moisturiser Combination. It will keep your skin clear and matte.
The final product for the day is sunscreen. Apart from preventing sunburn this is your best bet to prevent photo ageing AKA lines, wrinkles, dark spots and sagging skin. Face & Body Sunscreen SPF50+ is an excellent option because you get 200mls and it can be used on the face and the body too! It’s very light in texture, doesn’t leave any white greasy film plus it has patented activated vitamin D technology inside. That means you’ll get your sun induced vitamin D production naturally in the skin without sacrificing high sun protection.
Wellbeing done and dusted from a skincare perspective fellas, and our tip is you’re actually going to enjoy it. Contact us or DM on socials if you have any questions, otherwise get ready to start reflecting that inner wellness now.