Get The Best Advice For Your Skin
Read How Skin Care & Grooming Go Hand In Hand For Men By Dr Alek Nikolic
Read why choosing the correct grooming products for men is vital for your skin care regime. Being a male and in the cosmetic medical industry I need to take care of my skin and appearance.
“It will do me no good treating patients and advising them on skin care and skin regimes while my skin looks full of pores, blemishes and imperfections. Don’t get me wrong I am a typical guy who wants to do the least possible to save time when applying my skin care regime but I also want to see the results. So max effect with minimal fuss.”
Here is my personal skin care regime:
- Face Wash: DERMACEUTIC ADVANCED CLEANSER Twice daily
- Moisturiser: DERMACEUTIC REGEN CEUTIC Morning day time application
Skin Stimulators:
- Every 2nd Morning: DERMACEUTIC TURN OVER
- Every evening: DERMACEUTIC ACTIV RETINOL 1.0
Anti-Oxidant:
SKINCEUTICALS CE FERULIC Every morning before the moisturiser
Most of us assume that skin care is different for men and women either because we believe that our skins are different and behave in different ways or that men do not take care of their skins or believe in the marketing that men should only use male specific products.
“The truth is that our skins behave in the same way and as a result require the same ingredients to help treat skin concerns such as wrinkles, pores, breakouts, pigmentation, fine lines, and the natural ageing process.”
In fact irrespective of age and gender we should have a basic skin regime that includes a cleanser for your specific skin type and beneficial active ingredients such as Vitamin C, resveratrol, BHA, and AHA. Furthermore I do believe that men do want to look good for their age and that they do want to take care of their skins. Why shouldn’t men also have clear pigment free complexions and have skins that glow?
Looking at my skin care regime above one can see it does not include a whole host of products or steps or so called male skin products so my aim in this article is to highlight some basic necessities when it comes to male skin care, grooming and what vital ingredients/products to look out for.
Men’s Skin-Care Products
Here are some pointers:
Do not use or think you need to use men’s skin care ranges
Make sure none of your products contain irritating ingredients such as fragrances (Note: men’s brands often do)
Choose products that help your skin with grooming such as shaving, calming the skin, reducing irritations, and preventing razer burns or rashes and ingrown hairs.
Do not use bar soaps as your cleanser
Do not be afraid of ‘women’s’ skin care ranges (Tip: they are often loaded with the best and highest concentration of ingredients)
Serums can benefit male skin as well so they should be used for their ingredients and skin benefits
Use products for your specific skin type: use my helpful guide to find your skin type here.
Top Product Choices For Men:
Check Jack Black at https://skinmiles.com/shop/brand/jack-black/
Sunscreen
This should be the number one step in any skin care regime including for all men. Yes I know I sound like a stuck record but without adequate and effective sunscreen then no matter what we place on our skins will go to waste. The biggest culprit we have for red sensitive skin, pores, pigmentation and ageing is UV damage. Use a SPF 30 or higher that contains zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide every day even if it is overcast.
See our full list of sunscreens here.
Cleanser
This is a vital step and often overlooked by men. Does any of this sound familiar? ‘I wash my face in the shower’, ‘I’ll just splash some water on my face’ or ‘I’ll just use some soap’ if so then read on. A good cleanser gets rid of dirt and helps to prepare the skin for grooming and for skin care products including your sunscreen. This is your next important step after getting a good sunscreen. Bar soaps tend to strip the skin of natural oils and cause damage to the skin’s natural barrier and pH level.
Recommended Cleansers:
All In One Product For All Skin Types:
EXUVIANCE PURIFYING CLEANSING GEL
This is a light gel cleanser which has a foaming effect when rubbed on the skin and is suitable for all skin types.
Dry Skin:
DERMAQUEST DELICATE CLEANSING CREAM
This cleanser has a moisturising effect while cleansing so is best for men who suffer from dry skin. It also helps to get the face ready for shaving without leaving a tight or dry effect.
Oily and/or Skin Pores:
SKINCEUTICALS BLEMISH + AGE CLEANSING GEL
DERMAQUEST DERMACLEAR BHA CLEANSER
Targeted Treatments
Concern: Choosing A Moisturiser
Most men can get away from using a moisturiser during the day if the serums mentioned below give adequate hydration. However at night my advice is to look for a moisturiser that has ingredients to help repair the skin from the day’s environmental assaults.
Dry Skin:
Concern: Combination SPF and Moisturiser
Normal to Oily Skin:
NEOSTRATA DAYTIME PROTECTION CREAM SPF 23 10 PHA
Anti-Aging Serums
Serums can be great tools in the male skin care regime as they have a number of uses:
- They perform two tasks at the same time: moisturise and fight ageing skin
- Help to calm irritated and inflamed skin
- They help to simplify the skin care regime needed
- It has a higher concentration of ingredients for best skin care results
Concern: Large Pores, Facial Breakouts, and Ingrown Hairs:
These serums have a non-greasy feel and are easily absorbed into the skin after shaving to help reduce redness and irritation.
SKINCEUTICALS BLEMISH + AGE DEFENSE SERUM or SKINCEUTICALS PHYTO CORRECTIVE GEL
Concern: Ageing Skin, Sun Damage and Wrinkles
My personal top picks for men:
- EXUVIANCE VESPERA BIONIC SERUM
- OBAGI PRO C SERUM 10%
- SKINCEUTICALS CE FERULIC (day time)
- SKINCEUTICALS RESVERATROL B E (Night time)
- LIFTACTIV SERUM 10 SUPREME
Concern: Red Bumps
You can effectively treat breakouts, ingrown hairs and redness or inflammation seen after shaving with salicylic acid (BHA) based products. These products work to help smooth out rough or bumpy skin and the salicylic acid also helps to reduce oiliness and/or pores.
Concern: Persistent or Sudden ‘Spot’
Concern: Shaving
The best time to shave is immediately following your shower as washing your face with warm to hot water will help soften the hairs which will make your shave smoother and less irritating. Apply a gentle shave gel. Use a clean fresh razor and shave with the direction of your hair growth.
“I was told by an expert barber that we should shave down once on the face, then up and then finally down again; while on the neck, we do it vice versa. It also helps to rinse your razor often in clean hot running water.”
Check Jack Black at https://skinmiles.com/shop/brand/jack-black/
I hope you found the above article valuable and that it will help motivate you to add proper skin products and ingredients to your skin care regime. Please feel free to send me any comments or questions on skin products and skin regimes.
Kind regards
