Men’s skin care has come a long way from the days when your father washed his face with a withered bar of soap and covered up shaving nicks with bits of toilet paper. Today, there’s an overwhelming number of products specially formulated to meet the needs of the stubborn (and stubbly) male epidermis. Navigating your way through the glut of grooming goods out there doesn’t have to be intimidating, and it shouldn’t be fussy either; a winning skin care regimen should be swift and simple to ensure that you’ll actually follow it. You can check your 12-step program at the bathroom door because achieving better skin takes just five tips.
1- Cleanse
If you do nothing else, cleansing is the single most important thing you can do for your face. It should be the basis of your skin-care regimen, but that doesn’t mean reaching for a simple bar of soap (which can overcompensate and leave your skin dryer than a desert). Men’s skin typically has large pores and very active sebaceous glands. While these glands are critical for keeping the skin naturally moist, they can often produce too much sebum, leaving your skin feeling greasier than an oil slick. Neglecting to wash away the excess oil and dirt can clog pores, which leaves the skin prone to breakouts. Not all facial cleansers are created equal. Look for one that is strong enough to cut through the grease but is gentle and affordable enough to be used at least once a day.
Suggested product: Sense Gentle Daily Cleaner $14.95
2- Exfoliate
Sometimes cleaning the skin with a simple face wash just isn’t enough. Sure, a cleanser washes away oil and dirt on the surface — but what about all that nasty stuff deep down in your pores? Even religious use of a face wash will still leave most men’s skin feeling like a bumpy mess. That’s where exfoliation should make an appearance in your skin routine (just two-to-three times a week). It helps dislodge debris that normal washing can’t touch. A good scrub should have granules to help smooth the skin and eliminate the dullness that results from normal pore clogging and dirt buildup. Exfoliation also softens hair follicles for a closer, less-irritating shave and allows the skin to better absorb moisturizers. Usana’s Sense Rice Bran Polish, for example, uses all-natural rice bran beads for the scrub and wakes up the skin without scratching the delicate dermis as many scrubs do.
Suggested product: Sense Rice Bran Polish $12.95
3- Moisturize
Skin care for most men starts and stops with a basic bar of soap or cleanser. But washing is the absolute least you can do to prevent your face from turning into a big blackhead. Even if you happen to live in a sauna, skin can get dry after showering and, over time, that godforsaken process known as aging makes it lose elasticity. Add all that to the horror of placing a sharp blade next to your face to appease rigid HR standards for clean-cut wholesomeness, and you have a recipe for irritated skin that’s parched and taut. Showering and shaving opens up pores and allow precious water to escape, but a light moisturizer can fix everything. It replenishes the skin’s moisture content and prevents razor burn. A moisturizer with SPF will also provide a critical shield against the sun. Harsh UVB rays cause the skin to burn, but it’s the UVA rays that lead to long-term damage like deep lines and skin cancer. A moisturizer with multi-spectrum defense takes care of it all.
Suggested Product: Sense Daytime Protective Emulsion $32.50
4- Protect Your Eyes
There is one place on the face that men almost never touch: the eyes. But the skin around the eyes is the only area that actually deserves special attention, because men don’t age the same way that women do. Instead of a slow progression of fine lines and wrinkles, men’s aging occurs in quantum leaps, and one of the first visible signs of aging comes from the skin around the eyes. The soft, thin layer of skin that surrounds the eye is especially prone to developing creases and crinkles long before other parts of the body begin to show their age. All of this can be prevented with regular use of a nourishing eye cream. It smooths and protects the skin but requires serious commitment and proper usage. Applying eye cream once in a blue moon does nothing, and against all common sense, it shouldn’t be put on the soft skin underneath the eye. Instead, eye cream needs to be dabbed gently on the edge of the bone around the eye to maximize effectiveness and prevent irritation. It will slowly absorb and spread to the fragile areas that need it most. Usana’s Sense Eye Nourisher does double-duty with SPF 15 sunblock to shut out the sun’s harmful rays. It also kicks out dark circles and brightens the skin so no one will ever know how old — or overworked — you really are.
Suggested product: Sense Eye Nourisher $21.95
5- Nightly Repair Your Skin
During the day you need to protect your skin from the sun, wind, pollution, and what ever your face gets into. It is at night though when the day’s damage is repaired. Your entire body goes into repair mode at night – rebuilding muscle from that workout or basketball game and repairing the skin from the damage done to it during the day. Usana’s Sense Night Renewal cream is pack full of nutrients to help heal and repair your skin. You may still wake up sore and hungover, but your skin wont tell the world what you did yesterday.
Suggested Product: Sense Night Renewal Creme $29.95
Great skin care for men doesn’t have to be wrought with expensive lotions and potions. And, thankfully, taking care of your skin no longer carries the embarrassing stigma of metrosexuality. It’s just normal — even if your skin isn’t.
We suggest the Usana Sense line of skin care and personal care products because they are free of all preservatives like parabens and formaldehyde releasing chemicals as well as being free of safe, but irritating oils. In the video below Regina Hamlin, M.D., chief of dermatology at four major California hospitals, explains the aging process of your skin and how Sense can work for you.