It’s a topic that not many dudes talk about, but they should be: skincare. When guys have to hide that they take care of their skin, beyond your typical body wash, then you know that there’s something wrong with the perspective on skincare.
Guys who do pay more attention to their skin tend to look better, and yes, they do get the girls more often, because really, females notice almost everything when it comes to looks.
Today’s blog post is all about male skincare, whatever your perspective of it may be, because dudes, we have oily skin and we need to take better care of ourselves.
What’s Your Skin Type?
First of all, it’s important that you know what type of skin you have before buying skincare products. There are five types of skin based on the skin’s appearance and how it ‘operates.’ Sensitive skin tends to experiencing burning or stinging sensations when you apply skincare products.
It’s not always the product’s fault, it just so happens that sensitive skin needs less aggressive skincare products that won’t trigger its inflammation responses.
Normal skin on the other hand looks clear for the most part and doesn’t react frequently to the application of skincare products. If you have normal skin that is not too oily, then rejoice! This means you can experiment more with skincare products because your skin doesn’t respond negatively to chemical compounds.
The third type of skin is dry skin. As the name implies, dry skin tends to look dehydrated and you will often see flakes coming off of it. A person with dry skin can also experience chronic or acute itchiness and roughness. The fourth type is oily skin.
Oily skin tends to have overproduction of sebum, which is the substance on the skin that actually hydrates it and keeps bacteria away. However, if there’s too much sebum, problems can arise, too.
The fifth and final type of skin is called the combination skin. Combination skin can exhibit oiliness and dryness in patches or in different regions of the body. Consult with your dermatologist for a lowdown of how these different skin types can affect your skincare routine.
The Guidelines
If it’s your first time to actually go out and buy products for a skincare routine, here are some tips from the American Academy of Dermatologists:
1. If your skin tends to develop pimples and acne, stick to skincare products that are fragrance-free and oil-free. Non-comedogenic products are also recommended, as some products have compounds that actually increase the incidence of forming pimples or adult acne.
Non-comedogenic skincare products will take better care of your pores, and they won’t be clogged. Clogged pores can lead to whiteheads, blackheads and inflamed and painful skin.
2. You can keep washing your body with regular bar soaps, but for your face, the American Academy of Dermatologists recommend that you use a more appropriate product, which is a mild cleanser .
Also, you may want to skip the cold water in favor of lukewarm water as the slight increase in the water’s temperature will help ease out oil and dirt, and will also help open up pores. Remember the recommendation about oil-free and fragrance-free products if you have acne-prone skin.
3. Take note of the results after you shave. If you have plenty of razor burn, cuts, and even ingrown hairs, that probably means that your razor is cutting in too deeply or too closely to your skin. This usually happens when men use multi-blade razors.
Multi-blade razors are built for efficiency and for the “closest shaves,” meaning the blades are cutting across the tissue too much. If you keep getting damaged from your hyper efficient razor, switch to a dual blade razor instead (the simpler-looking ones) and make sure that you wet your face with lukewarm water and a bit of mild soap before shaving.
If you are using a shaving cream, make sure that the cream you are using has moisturizing agents and remember to wash off the blade and your face after each round of shaving.
4. This is really important: wear sunscreen when going out. Sunscreen protects the skin from invisible UV rays that cause skin cancer. Even when there’s only a little sun out, the UV rays are still there, and you are best protected when you have a little sunscreen on.
Some additional tips to improve your skin health are:
1. Try to get more sleep than you usually do, especially when you are constantly on the graveyard shift, or when you don’t get enough sleep because of other reasons. The reason for this is that sleep actually has an effect on skin health, because like the heart and liver, your skin is actually an organ, too. Seven or more hours of sleep per day is recommended for radiant-looking skin.
2. Use moisturizers. Water doesn’t cut it, because water evaporates after a minute or two. Moisturizers are packed with vitamins and other compounds that help keep the skin hydrated and 
healthy. Since male skin is different from female skin, try to stick to gentler male skincare products that bring the benefits but will not be too harsh on your skin.
3. Cut down on your sugar consumption. Some studies have shown that too much sugar in your diet can cause allergies, trigger inflammation and generally just reduce the healthiness of your skin.
To be on the safe side, reduce your consumption and just use low glycemic sweeteners and alternative sweeteners on your coffee and other beverages you mix at home. Soda is definitely packed with high fructose corn syrup and should be reduced as much as possible because it’s basically flavor, sugar, and water.
4. Avoid highly fragrant soaps and body wash products that are marked ‘for men’ but basically are just soaps and body wash with too much perfume added to them. The perfume is guaranteed to be bad for your skin because fragrances are often mixed and integrated with alcohol, which actually dries out the skin.
