Best Men's Skin Care Routine | ellé derm

Traditionally men’s skincare doesn’t go beyond beard balm and waxes. Keeping your skin in a healthy state not only gives you more confidence, but also keeps away skin infections and delays wrinkles.⠀

From a skin science perspective, men will generally “age better” when compared to females from the same age. However, this can be affected by lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking, sleeping patterns and sun exposure.

3 Reasons why men age better than women who share the same lifestyle: 

1. Their skin produces more oil and undergoes less trans-epidermal water loss compared to women. This allows the skin the be kept more hydrated.

2. Their skin also produces more collagen, the collagen fibres are thicker and collagen breakdown also occurs later in men compared to women.

3. The stratum corneum hydration level is also higher in males compared to females.

Best skincare routine for men

Studies have shown that water retention starts to decrease rapidly from the age of 40 in men, causing dryness and fine lines start to become more apparent. A regular skincare routine and adopting healthy lifestyle habits is required to delay the appearance of fine lines and keeping the skin looking fresh and healthy. 

Incorporating a regular skincare routine into your daily activities does not have to be complicated if you opt for good quality, multi-functional products. 

A classic breakdown of "daily skincare essentials for men" who do not have any other skin conditions would be: 

1. A good quality cleanser to remove dirt, oil and pollution. Your skin should feel refreshed and clean after cleansing. It should not cause the skin to feel dry or irritated. 

2. A hydrating moisturiser and gentle exfoliator to increase skin cell over. As we age, our skin cells go from turning over every 3-4 days (as a baby) to every 28 and sometimes even up to 60 days!!

This is why babies and teens have smooth, radiant looking skin - their skin cells are plump and juicy and can reflect light in every direction. When your skin cells are dry and flat, it's difficult to reflect to light. 

Having an ingredient to stimulate collagen production such as retinol is also beneficial. The loss of collagen can also be replaced with collagen supplements and studies have shown collagen supplements is much more effective than topically applied collagen creams.

3. An eye cream that is fatty but absorbs super fast. The skin around our eyes have very little to no oil glands and this area also has very little circulation. As a result, fine lines and smile lines tend to show in this area first. 

Optional products for the "essentials kit" 

Clay mask - this is particularly useful if you live or work in an environment with high levels of pollution such as coal mine. Clay masks can draw out impurities, prevent dirt from blocking pores and also prevents blackheads. 

If you are looking for more information on skincare for men on a budget, we would recommend checking out this YouTube channel by Chris Gibson: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjXttC8K7RQ