It’s every man’s dream to have flawless skin, without acne scars or pimples; glowing skin that attracts everyone who looks at you.
Well, you can still achieve this – with the right facial skincare routine. It’s never too late to begin, regardless of your age.
‘Shine bright like a diamond!’ Sang Riri.
Today I’ll take you through some simple facial skincare routine for men to follow.
The MenGlowUp crew designed these routines specifically simple to ensure that you don’t have any difficulties following them.
Moreover, there’s nothing feminine about them. Your masculinity still remains in place.
The different routines favor men with different skin types. So, stick around till the end to know where you lie.
Why Do You Need a Skincare Routine?
There is this notion that skincare is only for those with specific skin issues like wrinkles, redness, or acne breakouts.
While this is true to some extent, it doesn’t narrate the whole story.
A daily skincare routine is a preventative measure to keep your skin healthy at all times.
You don’t necessarily have to suffer from any skin-related problems to enroll in the routine.
No! Any man who wants to have glowing, acne-free skin should have an effective skincare routine.
If it were to me, skincare routine would’ve been compulsory.
Since your skin is the largest organ, it needs special attention. A daily skincare routine will ensure that it remains firm, bright and clear.
In a few years’ time, you’ll be thanking us when your friends’ skins begin to wrinkle.
What Is Your Skin Type?
Most guys have no clue that there are ‘skin types‘ leave alone knowing where they lie. Sad but true. The first step of taking care of your skin is to know your skin type.
There are four basic skin types:
Normal Skin
This skin is oil-free and doesn’t get dry or irritated easily. Acne breakouts are also rare.
Dry/Sensitive Skin
Dry skin is normally tight and dry most of the times and also gets irritated easily.
Oily Skin
Oily skin is pretty much the opposite of dry skin. It is characterized by acne and build-up and has oily patches on it.
Aging Skin
Aging skin has wrinkles, age spots, and looks weathered. It is a result of aging and years of not taking care of the skin.
Once you know where you lie, everything gets easier. You can now choose skincare products easily and know what ingredients to keep off.
Skincare Routine for Men – 3 Simple Steps To Follow
Cleansing Your Skin
When Should You Wash Your Face?
Simple: every morning and night.
In the morning, wash your face using a facial cleanser made for your skin type. Doing so refreshes your skin of dullness and impurities.
At night before going to bed, wash your face to prevent bacteria and oils from accumulating on your face overnight.
How Should You Wash Your Face?
Begin by splashing warm water over your face. This opens up the skin pores and removes any impurities.
Next, apply face wash by rubbing it gently in circles.
Pro Tip: Facial skin is sensitive, so don’t rub vigorously.
When you are done, rinse with cool water and pat it dry. This helps to close the pores. Your face should now feel clean but not tight.
Tightness signalizes excessively dry skin. This can lead to excess oil production, premature wrinkles, acne, and irritation.
Washing your face with bar soap is a Big No regardless of the type of soap you’re using.
The ingredients found in bar soaps are too harsh for the face. The same way you wouldn’t use gasoline in a fuel tank, don’t use the wrong products on your face.
If you have oily skin, there is no need to wash your face twice a day. Over-washing your face overdrives the skin’s oil glands, creating excess oil.
Pro Tip: Don’t rub your face dry. This will stretch it and introduce premature wrinkles.
Should You Use a Toner?
You’ve noticed that I haven’t suggested using a toner as a post-wash. Is it necessary?
Fact is: Most men don’t use toners. And as much as they are beneficial, toners aren’t compulsory.
Remember that toners adjust the skin’s pH balance after cleansing. However, your skin can naturally readjust its PH balance.
With an effective face wash in place, a toner becomes unnecessary.
What of Face Scrubs?
A face scrub is one hell of an important product in your routine. It might even be the secret ingredient that you’ve been missing for a perfect shave.
Exfoliating removes build-up and dead skin cells that have accumulated over time.
This helps to renew your skin cells and even improve your complexion.
Dermatologists recommend exfoliating one to three times a week after cleaning your face – depending on your skin type.
Guys with oily skin should exfoliate more often while the opposite is true for those with sensitive/dry skin.
Face scrubs are especially important before shaving. If you want your facial hair to protrude as high above the skin as possible, face scrubs are the way to go.
Begin by scrubbing the shaving area to discourage ingrown bumps and hairs.
How Do You Use A Face Scrub?
Face scrubs and face washes are similar in their usage.
Begin by splashing warm water on your face. Use small amounts of face scrub and gently rub it in circles around the shaving area (or entire face).
Pay more attention to areas where build-up and dead skin are highly likely to accumulate. These are the neck, forehead, and nose.
Once done, rinse your face with cool water and pat it dry.
Most guys normally go overboard with face scrubs because of the change incurred.
Don’t over scrub. The maximum number is thrice a week and once a day. Overusing your scrub can cause irritation, excess oil production, and skin dryness.
Hydrating Your Skin
How and When Should You Moisturize Your Skin?
Let’s answer one at a time. According to the American Association of Dermatology, you should moisturize your skin in the morning and before bedtime. And by hydrating, I simply mean applying a men’s moisturizer.
Pro Tip: You can pick a moisturizing product from our article on the Best Moisturizers for Men.
Moisturizing your skin makes it firmer, gives it an anti-aging effect and prevents water loss.
When you age, your skin loses its water retention capability. A reason for this– your body at this point produces less collagen.
Moisturizing boosts the collagen production and gifts your skin its old retention capability. You can now continue to look youthful, glowing, vibrant and healthy.
How Do You Moisturize?
Now to the next part of the question – how to moisturize your skin. After patting your face dry, apply a face moisturizer over your entire face.
Focus more on the forehead and area around the eyes. These parts need more moisturizing.
Only use small amounts of product, and rub it in vigorously. Don’t skip the hydration phase if you have oily skin.
Pro Tip: Guys with dry skin will need to moisturize twice a day, in the morning and afternoon
Prevention From Aging
Are you done? Not yet!
There’s one last essential step awaits. This is applying sunscreen.
Good sunscreen products have Sun Protection Factor (SPF) in them. Although this last step isn’t compulsory, I highly recommend it. It doesn’t hurt to spare one or two minutes applying sunscreen.
When Should You Apply Sunscreen?
In the morning and at night… but mostly in the morning.
Prevention is better than cure. And if you don’t want to struggle with skincare products at a later stage in your life, start using sunscreen now.
Sunscreen protects your skin from the sun and fights off the aging process. You do know your skin won’t always be in good physical health, don’t you?
As earlier stated use sunscreens with SPF (minimum SPF 15). If you’ll be in the sun for more than 30 minutes, apply sunscreen on all the exposed parts. When you come indoors for the day, wash off the sunscreen.
If you’re the type to stay up late, apply eye cream around the eyes. This will eliminate bags and dark circles that are a result of insufficient sleep.
Caffeine is the best ingredient used in eye creams. It incredibly stimulates blood back into the body.
Anti-aging cream is also another product that you can use. I recommended using face moisturizer before your bedtime.
But if you’re worried about fine lines and wrinkles, men’s anti-aging cream are excellent alternatives.
The reason for using it at night is that your body repairs itself when you’re asleep. Applying anti-aging cream at this time blends and works together with the body’s natural restorative process.
Final Thoughts
Was all that information helpful?
I sure hope it was. The keyword is consistency. Maintain your routine daily without skipping, and you’ll notice the difference in a few weeks.
In recap, here is the simple skincare routine outlined above.
- Wash your face twice a day using a cleanser or face scrub.
- Pat your face dry.
- Apply a face moisturizer.
These are the three basic steps. The other stuff – sunscreen, eye cream, and toner are important and worth doing but not compulsory. Stick to these three, and you’ll be good.
Are you now ready to start your skincare routine? Tell me about it.
