Men skin care tips for the skin conscious, hoping to get good skin
Men skin care tips are usually not talked about as much. For men, skin care holds as much significance as it does to women who care for their own. From fighting acne decades past puberty to scoffing at the first signs of wrinkles, it’s hard to win the good-skin game. But before you curse your genes, ask yourself whether your skincare routine and lifestyle habits are up to par. And by that we don’t mean clocking hours in front of the mirror or stealing your girlfriend’s fancy facial products.
There’s no need for five-step peels or expensive serums. Layering on too many products can actually irritate skin. The key is washing and moisturizing every day and following a few other maintenance basics. Here’s some advice for a fresher looking face:
Lather Up
A splash of cold water does more than wake you up. A good cleanse helps slough away dead skin cells that stick together and make your face look dull. Use a wash with glycolic acid, both in the morning and before bed. For a deeper clean that also stimulates the growth of new skin cells, wash with an exfoliating scrub once or twice a week. Remember not to overdo it—cut back if the skin starts to get red or irritated.
Face Moisturizer
Lotion should be an automatic step two after cleansing for men skin care. Apply moisturizer when skin is still slightly damp to help seal in moisture. Most face lotions are oil-based, which work well for guys with normal skin. They’re a must for dry or flaky skin, especially in the winter. If you have oily skin or your skin are prone to breakouts, look for a water-based product.
Stay Hydrated
Lotion is only half of the hydration equation—skin needs moisture from the inside out, too, it is suggested to drink approximately eight glasses of water a day. Eight glasses a day makes your skin glow away. Also keep tabs on how much alcohol and caffeine you’re gulping down. Both can make you dehydrated; but, drinking coffee or booze along with food and water can help counter the dehydrating effects. Drinking water has a hydrating effect on the skin.
Think about wrinkles early
Even if you’re still getting ID-ed at the bar, adding a retinol cream to your daily routine in your 20’s will help stave off fine lines and wrinkles down the road. Plus, retinol boosts cell growth and collagen production, which improves the tone of even non-wrinkled skin. Since the wrinkle-fighting ingredient makes skin more sensitive to the sun, use it at night. Simplify your routine by picking a product that combines retinol with a moisturizer.
Soak up the sun moderately
The ‘don’t’ rule for men skin care is to avoid excess sun. Nothing weathers your skin more than the sun. Damaging rays speed up the aging process by slowing down collagen production and cell growth. Thus, forcing the skin to lose its elasticity. Your best defense is a good sunscreen. Look for a moisturizer with an SPF of 25 or higher that provides broad-spectrum protection, meaning it blocks both UVA and UVB rays.
Get enough sleep
Clocking the recommended seven to eight hours of slumber will give your cells plenty of time to fix the day’s wear and tear. For skin, that means heading off wrinkles, fine lines, and breakouts. And don’t try to make up for a week’s worth of missed sleep on Sunday morning—the body needs consistent sleep to look its best. Sleep deprivation causes dark circles as well.
Load up on fruits and veggies
Variety is key when packing your fridge with produce. From berries to carrots, each fruit or vegetable has different good-for-you antioxidants. These compounds help fight off free radicals, molecules that exacerbate the effects of inflammation, sun damage, and aging. Go for five to seven servings (or more) of fruits and vegetables a day. Scottish researchers found that two extra servings of produce each day noticeably improved skin tone in six weeks.
Stress Less
Traffic jams and 12-hour workdays don’t just affect your mood; stress wreaks havoc on your skin, too. Getting frazzled throws hormone levels into flux, which damages healthy skin cells and makes you more prone to breakouts and wrinkles. Because you won’t find a bottle of zen in the skincare aisle, recharge and relax by doing what you love, whether it’s running or cracking open a new book.
Eat Sugar Scarcely Ever
Indulge once in a while, but don’t turn caramel lattes into a daily thing. High-sugar diets cause inflammation, which can lead to breakouts. Cookies, cake, donuts, and soft drinks are obvious offenders. So don’t forget to check the grams of sugar in seemingly healthy or savory-tasting foods. Keep scarce intake of food such as flavored yogurt, cereal, jarred sauces, and protein bars for a a good looking skin. These unsuspecting sugar bombs can deliver a huge dose of the sweet stuff without being classified as dessert.
Stop smoking
Add yellowed skin to the list of reasons not to light up. Smoking decreases circulation and collagen production, so skin loses its natural coloring and ends up looking sallow and pale (just what a woman wants to see when she wakes up next to you). Plus, smoking can lead to fine lines around the lips and other signs of premature aging.
Men skin care is a serious matter. All Do’s and Don’ts mentioned above suggest solutions for proper ‘men’s skin care.’
