When women say they like a man with rugged good looks, they don’t mean his skin. While more men are recognizing the importance of skin health, in many cases, they don’t know where to start in developing a better skincare routine. While many women in western culture have been inundated with beauty standards, instructions, and expectations for years, for guys, the opposite is often true. They don’t grow up learning how to keep their skin healthy. As a result, once they realize the importance of men’s skincare and grooming, they’re overwhelmed by the task of finding the right products, understanding their use, and developing a daily regimen.
The All-In-One Mentality
Guys know they need to worry about their appearance, but too often the companies making skincare and hygiene products market based on the idea that men can’t be done with cleansing their bodies fast enough. This has led to a range of two-in-one, three-in-one, and all-in-one items that are meant to do a “good enough” job. Unfortunately, these products typically don’t offer the same level of care as their individual counterparts would.
Breaking that mentality for yourself doesn’t have to be difficult. Rather than an expensive instant overhaul, start by replacing single items with premium versions of their constituent products. This can be as simple as swapping out your body wash/shampoo/conditioner combo bottle for a separate bottle of each. This minimizes both the cost impact and the change in your routine so you can improve it slowly over time in a manner you will be able to maintain.
Taking Care of Your Hair and Body
One of the easiest places to start when you’re changing up your routine is in the shower. Most of us lather up at least once a day, and many guys will work a second one in after the gym or work just to rinse off the day’s labor. It’s important to understand your hair and body need different products for better cleanliness. If you want your hair to look the best, the stuff you use on your skin is probably not the answer.
- Soap or Body Wash – In simplest terms, this should help you remove the sweat, bacteria, and dirt from your body. While some soaps or body washes tout added nutrients, you’re rinsing them off right away. Let the soaps stick to cleansing, and let the lotions handle the nutrients.
- Shampoo – Your hair doesn’t have the same needs as your skin, so why would you use the same product to clean it? A good shampoo helps remove the oils and dirt from your hair without stripping away the nutrients that keep it healthy.
- Conditioner – Conditioner is not a “second shampoo.” It’s meant to restore the nutrients your hair loses through washing and standing up to the weather and your busy lifestyle.
- Lotion – For many guys, we’re now in foreign territory. Lotion helps keep your skin soft, supple, and healthy. The nutrients a good lotion imbues in your skin help reduce the appearance of age and leave it looking great.
Face Care
Your face is important. It’s an always-on display and it’s an important part of crafting the image others have of you, but it’s seldom protected from the elements. That’s why the skin on your face needs additional daily care that your standard shower regimen doesn’t provide in order to look its best.
- Cleanser – Regular soap is great for getting your body clean, but your face has different needs. A face cleanser is designed to not only take care of the oils and dirt on the surface of your face but help keep your pores clean and unclogged as well. This is especially important if you have oily skin or are prone to acne.
- Moisturizer – You don’t want age lines anywhere, but you especially don’t want them on your face where they’re robbing you of the appearance of vitality. In addition, because your skin is constantly exposed to the sun, wind, and other elements, it has a greater need for moisturization and additional nutrients to keep it looking its best.
- Facial Hair Products – Facial hair products can be just as important as cleanser and moisturizer. If you shave, make sure you’re using a shave gel or cream that helps reduce razor burn, and use post-shave products meant to help skin heal. If you’re growing your beard or mustache out, invest in beard balm or oil that helps keep it soft and nourishes your facial hair.
Grooming
Now that your skin is clear, it’s time to put together your appearance. Taking the time to find the right products for your body chemistry in balance with your other hygiene products will help ensure you get better results and have less chance of negative interactions.
- Deodorant – Make sure you’re using a deodorant that’s not clogging pores with aluminum or that has sulfates or parabens that could be risking your health.
- Cologne – When choosing a scent, remember that it needs to complement your own natural smell and not overpower it (or everyone around you).
- Dressing The Part – Just as for your body, there are a lot of options when it comes to laundering your clothes. Choose detergents and conditioners that are gentle on your clothes and on your skin. For accessories, like watches, backpacks, and jewelry, take the time to find a style that fits you and is made with material that doesn’t cause a reaction to your skin.
Last Words
As you make these substitutions in your daily life, do your research when you see trends in skincare and find brands that have a track record of success in online reviews and authoritative articles. Along with evaluating their ingredients, you can also look for brands that support your ethical preferences, like cruelty-free and fair-trade products.
When you’ve found a good basic skincare and grooming regimen, it’s important to be flexible. Your body’s chemistry can change based on diet, activity levels, and even the weather. With these changes, you may need to adjust your routines to have more moisturizing in the winter and such. Your skin is meant to last your lifetime and with proper care, that can mean years of healthy, handsome skin.
Tess DiNapoli is an artist, freelance writer, and content strategist. She has a passion for yoga and often writes about health and wellness, but also enjoys covering the fashion industry and world of fitness.
