Unfortunately, many men put little effort into improving their appearance. Becoming the best version of yourself includes going through a skincare routine, and facial skincare plays a key role in the fulfilment of your “beauty” potential.
Here are five simple tips that all men can use to build a daily skincare routine.
Step 1: Get to know your skin type
Facial cleansing is often poorly done: either by being too aggressive or the opposite, leaving residues of pollution, make-up, or sunscreen on the skin. This step is much more subtle than it seems.
The best facial cleanser really depends on your personal skin type. It is important to know that there are five different skin types: normal, dry, oily, mixed oily and dry, and finally sensitive.
Just clean your face with a soft cleanser, wait for one hour, and observe the results. One soft cleanser to recommend is the Bioderma Sensiobio Cleaning Foaming gel.
- If your skin does not feel tight and does not show oily areas, your skin is normal.
- If it feels tight and looks dehydrated, your skin is dry.
- If it is shiny and oily to the touch, your skin is oily.
- If it is just oily on the T-zone ( which is the nose and your skin just above your eyebrows) and normal on the rest of your face, this means your skin is mixed (a combination of oily and dry).
Step 2: Choose the right facial cleanser
Now that you know more about your specific skin type, we can start addressing the first major step, which is to choose the right cleansing gel.
Here is a selection of the best cleansers:
- Uriage Hyséac Cleansing Gel is perfect for men who have normal or oily skin, and is effective at removing residues of pollution, make-up, and sunscreen. This product could also be good to use if you have an acne-prone skin.
- The second option is La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo Cleanser, which is a cleansing milk, ideal for irritated skin as it is extremely soft. Also, it contains only 8 ingredients, making it ideal for sensitive and dry skins. It is not recommended for mixed and oily skins.
- The third one, Bioderma Sensibio Gel Moussant Cleansing Foaming Gel, as cited in the previous step, also does the job well. The texture of this cleansing gel is great and it is very efficient and soft. It is definitely a product to recommend for all skin types.
Step 3: Apply eye serum
The Ordinary eye area serum is the perfect product to recommend. Its full name is The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG 30 mL.
It is made to decongest bags under the eyes as it contains caffeine, whilst also hydrating the skin under the eyes. It does the job very well, both in morning and night routines. This product prevents dark circles and other imperfections around the eye area. Remember, the eye area skin is even more sensitive than your facial skin, so applying a specific product is the way to go.
Step 4: Niacinamide
This is a unifying product for the skin, removes skin imperfections, and makes the skin smoother.
Try to apply niacinamide as soon as possible as the effect starts coming after two months of use. Yes, you need to be patient with this product but the long term results are amazing! Niacinamide is a fantastic component because of its tolerability, capacity to prevent skin ageing, and ability to alleviate inflammation and pigmentation. The majority of outcomes take 8–12 weeks to appear.
A great version of this product is the niacinamide from TheOrdinary
Step 5: Sunscreen
Along with step 1, step 5 is the most important, as sunscreen protects you from ageing, whilst stoping wrinkles around the nose, eye, and forehead areas.
You should definitely have a high SPF sunscreen, especially in Australia, so aim for an SPF of 50+ which is the highest.
A great product to use in the La Roche Posay Anthelios SPF 50+ sunscreen, which has a milky texture and is fastly absorbed by your skin. Apply it to your neck area as well.
It is important to remember that this routine should be applied both in the mornings and evenings. If you follow all five steps wisely, you will definitely see improvements in your facial appearance in no time.
Photos by Anis Hamiti