Your face is the first thing that people notice unless you’re naked. However, not everyone is treating their prize possession as well as others. Especially, when it comes to men’s facial regimen. Men have come a long way in terms of maintaining the health of their skin. Let’s just give a quick refresher course on how to clean and care for that face. And we’re not talking clocks and watches.
The first step to taking care of your skin is learning your skin type. There’s no such thing as a one size fits all product, so most of the products out there are formulated to handle a specific skin problem. People who have normal skin are usually oil-free and don’t get dry easily. Then there’s oily skin and dry/sensitive skin. Oily skin looks shiny because of oil patches. Usually, all of the excess oil causes acne or build ups. With dry/sensitive skin, it gets irritated very easily and tends to have dry patches.
People can also have a combination of both, especially on their face. The “T” zone might be very oily, while the rest face is dry. Primarily the cheeks will be dry and sensitive. And then there’s aging skin. No one wants to look old, but if you did wrinkles, age spots, and weathered areas are the ways to get it. Aging skin only occurs when someone has spent years, not taking care of their skin.
Now that you know your skin type, it’s time to find products. Most products tell you what type of skin they’re made for on the packaging, so it should be a hard search. Regular soap and water just aren’t going to cut it anymore. To get started, every man should have a facial cleanser, an exfoliate, and a moisturizer.
Every morning men should wash their faces using a cleansing agent to remove dirt and debris not only from the surface but also inside pores. Before putting it on your face, make sure you wash your face with warm water to open your pores. Then apply the cleanser gently to remove dirt and other gunk that clogs your pores. After gently rubbing it on your face, rinse off the cleanser and dry your face.
It’s important to never wash your face with bar soap, regardless if it’s made from natural ingredients. Bar soap is too strong of a product to use on your face. Which means that it can make the skin on your face excessively dry.
Since your face is now clean, it’s time to scrub it. Use an exfoliate to scrub 2-3 times a week after cleansing your face to remove dead skin cells and build up on your skin. Sometimes when skin appears to be dry, it’s usually a layer of dead skin hiding healthy skin underneath. Exfoliating removes the dead layer to reveal the healthy layer. Also, dead skin cells that don’t shed properly can fall into your pores and combine with oil to clog them.
Exfoliating removes dead skin cells and other forms of build-up on your skin. That helps new, healthier skin cells reveal themselves, improving your complexion. Guys with oily skin probably don’t need to be told this, but the less build-up on your skin, the fewer clogged pores and breakouts you’ll have. Basically, apply the exfoliate the same way as the cleanser.
After cleansing and exfoliating your face it’s time to moisturize. It’s important to moisturize daily to prevent moisture from leaving your skin. Skin cells to moisture to keep from dying. It also makes skin firmer and reduces the effects of aging.
If you want to go the extra mile to protect and preserve your skin use sunblock, eye cream, and facial masks. No facial mask is created the same and what they do depends on the mask. Some deep clean pores, others add moisture or tighten skin, and provide moisture and vitamins for facial skin.
Clean & Clear produces excellent products for skin health. There’s also Dove, Neutrogena, Kiehl’s 1851, and Clinique. Tiege Hanley also has created a system specifically for men. It provides everything men need to simplify men’s facial regimen.
