The Best Daily Skincare Routine
Guys, we’ve got a lot more going on in our face than we’re given credit for. Angular facial hair lines, ingrown hairs, bushy eyebrows, and we’re expected to combat all of that and still have excellent skin afterwards. It may sound like a lot to take into consideration, but that’s where we come in. Using this daily skincare regimen is going to greatly dictate how clear and flawless your skin is, and we’ll talk about stipulations along the way.
This is broken up into three separate segment 4s: morning, midday (times vary depending on you schedule), and at night before bed. Keep in mind that since everyone’s skin is completely different, you may need to tailor your skincare routine ever so slightly. If you have sensitive skin, you’ll want to mitigate your more abrasive methods, such as exfoliation. Don’t worry; we’ll cover a method for sensitive skin as well.
Daily Skincare For Normal Skin Types
You should know what skin type you have before beginning any of these methods. If you have a normal skin type, one that isn’t sensitive to being poked and prodded throughout the day, this routine will help clear everything up.
Start With A Warm Shower In The Morning
Not hot, not cold, a warm shower. One of the worst things you can do for your skin is step into a steaming stream of never-ending heat. Hot water helps activate shampoos and conditioners, but so does warm water, with a little more emulsification.
Hot water dries your skin out horribly, and makes it nearly impossible to hold onto proper hydration. It also leaves your pores vulnerable to environmental changes for the first two to three minutes when you get out of the shower. Let’s say you step out, pass through the kitchen and someone’s cooking on the stove. Grease particles gravitate towards your open pores.
Only Air Dry Your Face
We’re going to keep that skin perfect, but we also don’t want to irritate it to get there. No more than is necessary. Bringing a tough cotton cloth across your skin is only going to antagonize your skin, cause redness and blotching. If you’ve just stepped out of the shower, prop open the bathroom door and let the temperature in the room cool. Give your face a few minutes while you get ready, and let it dry naturally.
Apply A Rich Moisturizer
If you listen to the prior steps, warm water is going to be the best way to clean your skin, but it still opens pores up ever so slightly. In this case, that’s a good thing, because next we’re going to apply a moisturizer that’s been enriched with vitamins and minerals.
You’re replacing any minerals that facial oils might have held, that have now been washed down the drain. The benefit is that using a non-greasy moisturizer will actually signal to your skin that it’s properly hydrated, so it won’t create excess levels of oil throughout the day. It locks in hydration, and promotes retention of collagen, the mineral that keeps elasticity in your skin. In short, moisturizer prolongs that youthful look you have. The same goes for your body. Make sure you use a proper body lotion after you shower.
In The Afternoon, Use A Light-Grade Cleaning Wipe
We’re going to wildly assume that in the middle of the day, you’ve got a lot going on at work and don’t have time to devote solely to skincare. After all, you don’t get much time to enjoy your lunch. We don’t want to take that away from you, so to maintain the excellent job you did earlier in the morning, just slip into the restroom and use a single use face cleansing wipe to remove any dirt that’s built up over the day.
For some context, we mean actual facial cleansing wipes. Not Wet Ones, not baby wipes; those can actually dehydrate your skin by leaving residue that clogs your pores. Even sensitive wipes don’t really do the trick. Facial cleansing wipes are usually fortified with skin-safe minerals that lift dirt, and then leave it at that. No trace elements left behind, no dehydrated, dry feeling after use.
In The Evening, It’s Time To Get Serious With Exfoliation
Exfoliation is the major secret weapon in your arsenal, the thing that’s going to make you look like a movie star right off rip. Exfoliation is a favored method at removing blackheads, additional sebum buildup, and even out the tone of your skin. If you normally notice red patches near your cheeks and temples, your tone isn’t even. Exfoliation also uses a technology that promotes healthy blood circulation, which has a number of benefits including:
- Balancing your skin’s oil production
- Evening out your skin tone
- Creating an environment for a flawless complexion
- Aiding in more thorough hydration
Exfoliation uses two methods: either cream- exfoliator or a spin brush. Creams contain microbeads that feel like a very light layer of sand on your skin, (don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt), and scrubs away dead skin cells. The rest of the cream or treatment works to lock in hydrating minerals and vitamins, while cleansing your pores and reducing your produced levels of sebum.
Not everyone enjoys the feeling of exfoliating creams on their skin. You could always opt for a spin brush, or exfoliation brush. These tend to be a bit rougher on your skin, but don’t come with the same feeling or texture as microbeads.
Daily Skincare For Sensitive Skin Types
Everything we mentioned is effective, but a bit too much for those of us with sensitive skin types. This alternative daily skincare routine is designed to stay light on your skin, but hard on dirt and oil.
In The Morning, Start With A Warm Shower
We won’t beat the previous benefits into your head, but we would like to touch on how crucial this is for sensitive skin. Reducing the heat means that your pores don’t dilate in the same manner as when you step into a steaming shower. Your pores let out more oil in higher temperatures, but it also dries out far faster.
With sensitive skin, things that normally affect other people for a few minutes could affect you for hours (or days, depending on the severity). One really hot shower can irritate your skin to the point of forming hives, inflammation, and intense itching. Don’t overlook this one.
Gently Pat Your Skin Dry
Air drying is definitely best, but you’re going to want to dry it lightly so that moisture doesn’t damage your skin and/or cause chafing. If you abrasively rub your towel, cotton or otherwise, across your skin, you are irritating your pores and causing inflammation.
Use a Quality Face Moisturizer
Your face is the first place to dry out after you step out of a hot shower. It can make your skin feel taut for a short while, but that is because it dries out your pores (of which, there are 20,000 on your face), which leads to dry skin. This is where face moisturizer comes in handy, and eye cream for your under eye area which must not be neglected.
In the Evening, Exfoliate
We’ve covered the proper practice and why it’s important, but for sensitive skin types, it’s a little bit different. You’ll want to exfoliate using a scrubbing brush when available; chemicals can dry your skin out that normally wouldn’t affect normal skin types. Make no mistake: exfoliation is important, but it’s just a more delicate measure that sensitive skin types have to take.
To help your skin adjust to exfoliation, you can do the following:
- Hot Towel: Like with an old fashioned shave, open up your pores with a hot towel over your face for two to three minutes. We don’t want to dry your skin out, but the aim of the game is to reduce the contact time that your exfoliator of choice has with your skin, thus reducing irritation.
- Go All-Organic: You can hear the dollar signs in a cliche cartoon cash register chime now. Organic products are obviously more expensive, but if your skin is super sensitive, going with an organic exfoliator will soften the abrasive properties on your skin. It will still lift dirt and help repair damaged skin.
It’s also possible to use essential oil to help protect your skin against anything abrasive, but that’s a discussion that heavily relies on your independent research. Whatever you’re doing to cope with exfoliating on your sensitive skin, it’s well worth it.
Additional Information For Retaining A Healthy Skin Complexion
We designed this routine to help you with the normal day-to-day, but not every day is going to be the same. When your environment changes, it might require a change in your skincare routine. We’ve thrown together our best tips on keeping your skin looking fantastic in every situation, with some hidden nuggets of information to help you out.
- Start With Diet: It sounds like the same old song and dance, but your diet really does impact most of your skincare. If you’re starting with an “unclean” base (fatty foods, high acids, grease), then you’re not doing your skin any favors. A “clean” diet of grilled proteins like chicken and fish, as well as vegetables and fruits, can significantly help your skin after just one week. Our personal favorite diet-related tip is to drink two to four cups of green tea per day for the cleansing detox factor, but also to flood your system with antioxidants.
- Use Makeup Wipes: Even if you’re a gent, you should have a few makeup wipes in your dopp kit. It sounds crazy, but they’re generally extremely sensitive on your skin since they’re designed to lift products that could already be damaging skin in the first place. If you work in an environment where a lot of airborne issues can clog your pores (working in a stuffy kitchen, outdoor in an urban area with lots of exhaust, etc.), then this could be your midday saving grace to keep your skin clean and clear.
- Manage Your Stress (Meditate): Meditation is going to clear up your skin? Well, no, but it’s going to reduce stress, which can trigger chemical imbalances in your skin and force a blotchy breakout. The problem is, if you’re someone with sensitive skin, these issues can persist for weeks ever after the stress has left. This is a simple tip, but something to keep in mind.
- Use Sunblock: The sun can damage your skin immensely, and for those with dry skin types, it can crack your skin pretty bad. We’re in an era where sunlight exposure has been scientifically measured. If you want to get your vitamin D from the sun each day, you need between fifteen and twenty minutes of exposure, and that should be with sunblock. Other than that, stay out of the sun when possible.
- Don’t Hang Around Smokers: Secondhand smoke is bad for your lungs, but it’s also terrible for your pores. Your skin absorbs a lot during the day, and secondhand smoke comes in abundance, virtually affecting every exposed pore on your body. This can includes your face, forearms, neck, legs, and it dries your skin out horribly. If you smoke, try to kick the habit. If your buddy smokes, stand a few feet from him when you’re talking during his smoke break.
Skincare Solutions For Every Situation
We’re passionate about ensuring you get the right treatment for your skin, which is why we’ve reviewed hundreds of different skincare products formulated for men. Check out our buying guides to get an in-depth look into individual skincare categories, fortify your knowledge, and arm yourself with the very best skin care products to maintain that youthful glow, and sexy exterior.
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