Men! About Face.

My good friend Stephen really triggered my anxiety the other day when he was talking about using Dial soap on his skin, during a discussion about men's skin care. Stephen, I understand you're a cowboy, on a steel horse you ride, but no more Dial soap on your face lest you want me to throat punch you myself (an inside joke between him and his wife and I that really isn't much of a joke because half of the time we are serious.)

Menfolk: please know when I post about whatever I post about, this is not directed solely to the womenfolk. Skin care and beauty is for everyone. However, my friend Josh pointed out he would like to know a good skin care routine for men and it dawned on me that while skin care across the board is for everyone,  there are some male-specific things I should go over for those of you who want to know how to better care for your skin.

First off, men have this thing called facial hair that ladies do not have. I mean, we all have facial hair, but for women it's typically the soft downy type (vellus hair) with follicles so small it is barely noticeable. But for men, when they go through the change, they develop that sexy beard hair we have all grown to love. I blame Burt Reynolds for my personal moustache obsession but ANYWAY... because of these larger hair follicles and for some constant shaving, there needs to be some modification on men's skin care. I'm here to help, in hopes to prevent anyone from making the mistake my dear friend Stephen has been making of using freakin' Dial soap.

So you have the basic products. Cleanser, shaving your face stuff, after shaving your face stuff, moisturizer (face and eye), spf. All pretty self-explanatory on what they do, but I'm going to break it down product-by-product, how you should use these products, and link some products for you to gander at.

Cleanser
SO FRIENDS. When it comes to cleansing your face, something you need to remember here is because of your facial hair, the best thing to do is to cleanse the lower half of your face in the direction of your beard growth. Go across the top of your forehead in circular motions, the bridge of your nose, then around your eyes in small, circular motions. When you get to your jaw and lower half of your face, instead of just scrubbing upward, scrub in a downwards motion with the hair. This will help prevent irritation of the skin and move around the hair follicles. Non-irritated skin = fewer ingrown hairs that I'll try to pop if I ever see you. There's three different kinds of cleansers: cream, a foaming which is typically gel based, and an exfoliating cleanser that can either be with small beads or chemical exfoliants. I'll make it easy for you. Dry Skin: Cream based cleanser. Oily: foaming. If you need extra exfoliation, you can get cream or foaming based exfoliating cleanser. Typically you need extra exfoliation if you have an issue with flaky skin or congested skin.

Cetaphil Men Daily Face Wash- low lather formula that is great for normal to dry skin types.
Get it here: http://www.target.com/p/cetaphil-men-daily-face-wash-8-fl-oz/-/A-16601854

Nivea For Men Energy Face Scrub- scrub based gel formula. Really great to use prior shaving.
Get it here: https://www.amazon.com/NIVEA-MEN-Energy-Face-Scrub/dp/B00006K14U?th=1

Pre and Post Shave Your Face Stuff
I am not the authority on shaving your face, because I don't have a beard (yet) however, I'm literally setting next to my manfriend and I've been asking him questions on how to shave. For those of you that already shave, more than likely you already know how to do it. However, he told me his sister was watching Queer Eye For The Straight Guy years ago and told him to wet his face before he puts on shave gel and it made so much more sense for him to do that. So, from Will himself, "wet your face beforehand,  it won't hurt your face and you don't get those bumps." Riveting advice. Even though I am not an experienced face shaver, I however do now of some quality products from working in the skin care industry that I am comfortable recommending

First, this is the stuff Will uses that he says is good. So if you get it and hate it blame him, not me.
Gillette Fusion Hydra Gel Ultra Sensitive Shave Gel (maybe that's why he uses it, he's ultra sensitive.)
Get it here: https://www.amazon.com/Gillette-Fusion-Hydra-Ultra-Sensitive/dp/B001E5E24K/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1477500312&sr=8-1&keywords=gillette+fusion+hydra+gel

Aveda Pure-Formance Shave Cream- If you're into a more natural approach of lavender and exotic botanicals on your skin, and you're also dryer than my sense of humor, this cream shave cream is worth checking out.
Get it here: http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/aveda-men-pure-formance-shave-cream/3411676?cm_mmc=msnsearch-_-productads-_-Men%3ASkin_BodyTreatment%3AShavingCream_Gel-_-632105rkg_id%3Dh-aedee7fcb9915a86ac0fd2a3e61e34f6_t-1477500548&creative=10173744906&device=c

Mountaineer Brand Post Shave Balm w/ tea tree- tea tree is good to put on anything after you've had a blade glide across your skin, as it's a natural anti-septic, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory.
Get it here: https://www.mountaineerbrand.com/products/post-shave-balm-tea-tree?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping&utm_term=1101013153880&utm_content=Post%20Shave

Nivea Men's Sensitive Post Shave Balm- I actually have personal experience with this. I use it as a primer sometimes for when I really need makeup to be long wearing and just STAY. It's lightly fragranced so for those of your with more sensitive skin, especially post shave, it's lit.
Get it here: http://www.ulta.com/mens-sensitive-post-shave-balm?productId=prod2057893&sku=2057893&CPMID=CSBING&CAWELAID=330000200000508542&catargetid=330000200000878722&CADEVICE=c

Moisturizer
DO NOT PUT REGULAR LOTION ON YOUR SKIN OKAY. THE SKIN ON YOUR FACE IS DIFFERENT THAN THE SKIN ON YOUR MEATY MAN THIGHS AND HAS DIFFERENT NEEDS. Also, the molecular structure of lotion for the face and eyes is made up specifically to fit and be absorbed into the face. After you do your aftershave, brush your teeth or sing a song and let that absorb into your skin before putting on moisturizer so your skin doesn't feel like a slick grease ball and you get mad at me and cuss me silently in your head.

Cetaphil Men Daily Face Lotion- non-comedogenic (won't clog your pores and hair follicles) and it's light weight with broad spectrum spf 15. You need at least a spf of 30, but we will give a pat on the back for the effort.
Get it here: http://www.target.com/p/cetaphil-men-daily-face-lotion-spf-15-4-fl-oz/-/A-16601844

Nivea Men Revitalizing Face Cream- an actual cream rather than a lotion, great for winter time and dry/dehydrated skin types.
Get it here: http://www.beautyspin.com/nivea/revitalising-q10-face-cream-for-dry-skin/?item=92585

Resist Anti-Aging Eye Cream- Did you know that your eye's need some lovin' too? This is great for those of you concerned with anti-aging and preventing those laugh lines so you can get all the younger folk when you're old and wearing island print shirts that are half way buttoned up... or for when you have a super hot significant other and you wanna stay on their level.  For a good quality eye cream, you're going to shell out a little more than what you would for a regular face moisturizer because of the ingredients, but a little goes a long way and sometimes vanity is worth every penny. Put on the eye cream before you moisturize so the anti-oxidants and stronger ingredients can penetrate into your skin.
Get it here: http://www.paulaschoice.com/shop/skin-care-categories/targeted-solutions/_/Resist-Anti-Aging-Eye-Cream

SPF
Sun protection is important but something that is often looked over. After your moisturizer and/or eyecream has absorbed into your skin, slap on some SPF to give yourself that extra bout of protection. There's so many on the market but man coming from an Aveda background, there's one (its pricey but worth it) that will have you covered. Feel free to shop around and research what would be best for you, but if you're in the sun a lot, ya need this, man.

Daily Light Guard Defense Fluid Broad Spectrum SPF- lightweight, protects against UVA/UVB rays, non-acnegenic (won't cause acne breakouts or irritation), and is chemical free.
Get it here: http://www.aveda.com/product/17740/40347/skin-care/mens-skin-care/new-daily-light-guard-defense-fluid-broad-spectrum-spf-30

So, there you have it. A skin care routine for the male's face guaranteed to make you look just as devilishly handsome as my manfriend and the Brawny Paper Towel Man (they're in the same league. Heart eyes.) Take care of yourself, bro. Man skin matters, too.

All hail Michael Westmore,
Rachel
@notkellykapowski