The Complete Men’s Skincare Guide

Men’s skincare can be complicated, especially without any guidance from manufacturers or retailers.  However, it doesn’t have to be this way, which is why I wanted to provide a complete men’s skincare guide.

Men’s skincare is surprisingly easy, but with the plethora of skincare products available, knowing what to do and how to choose can become overwhelming.  This complete men’s skincare guide is meant to cut through the B.S. and give you the essentials, while also providing some of the bonus products available as well.

With eye serums, toners, scrubs, day moisturizers, tinted moisturizers, night moisturizers, and cleansers, no wonder our medicine cabinets get filled with so much stuff.  But are these all necessary, and are they being used properly?

Let’s cut to the essentials first.

---

Cleansing

Cleanser is arguably the most important facet of a men’s skincare routine.  A good cleanser will clear the skin of impurities, dirt, oil, and dead skin cells without making the skin feel tight and dried out.

Using bar soap is not an option.

Keep in mind though that a cleanser is different than a scrub.  Scrubs have beads or shells in the mixture and feel gritty on contact.  We will cover scrubs further down, but they are definitely not used daily.  Rather, cleansers are smooth and silky on contact, contain no particulate, and generally lather well.

So, what do you look for in a cleanser, how often do you do it, how long do you do it for?

What to look for:

Personally, I recommend a cleanser with BHA (beta hydroxy acid), also known as salicylic acid.  The BHA exfoliates the skin by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin on the surface, allowing dead skin cells to shed off.

Also, BHA (salicylic acid) is an effective acne treatment, so it helps to keep blemishes at bay.  So, you get a two-in-one benefit from the BHA, chemical exfoliation with blemish treatment.

Our Choice Cleanser: CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser $9.40

How often:

This is an argumentative issue.  Some sources say to cleanse twice per day, whereas others say to cleanse once.

In reality, it depends on your skin type.  If you suffer from dry or combination skin (oily and dry in spots) it may be beneficial to only cleanse at night.  In the morning, just splash your face with water.  When cleanser is used twice per day, versus once, the face’s essential natural oils are obviously stripped away twice as often.  This can result in dry or excessively oily skin, as the face goes into beast mode trying to replace its lost oil.

Personally, I have been cleansing just at night before bed and splashing with water in the morning with great effects.  Acne has subsided, dryness has stopped, and my face isn’t exceptionally oily in certain spots anymore.

Give both a shot, but don’t think you have to be pigeonholed into cleansing twice per day.

How long:

This is where a lot of guys get into trouble.  We ascribe to the idea that cleansing is good, so a lot of cleansing must be great!  No.

Put a quarter sized amount into your palm, lather with both hands, and apply to your face with light pressure in small circles for 20-30 seconds.

Pat dry, never rub, as years of tugging on your face can cause pre-mature lines or dark circles.  Rubbing can also exasperate any skin conditions like acne or razor burn.

Complete Men’s Skincare Guide Cleansing Recap: Try a cleanser with BHA (salicylic acid).  Ensure that it does not have any gritty particulate.  Cleanse at least once per day before going to bed.  Cleanse for 20-30 seconds. Pat dry.

---

Moisturizing

If you only insist on doing two things in your skincare routine and want to be as Spartan as possible, moisturizing and cleansing are it.  Every time you cleanse, either with water or with cleanser, you need to moisturize.

Moisturizing helps to lock in moisture, prevents dryness or flakiness, decreases dullness, prevents wrinkles, and creates a protective layer against dirt and grime.  If you suffer from acne breakouts, moisturizing is a must.

These days, there are three types of moisturizers available, and they are generally marketed as “AM” (Day), “PM” (Night), or as general moisturizers.  Although it’s not fun to buy more than one kind, each have their specific benefits and can’t necessarily be interchanged.

Moisturizers marketed as “AM” generally have sunscreen ingredients that provide SPF.  If you go out during the day, having sunscreen on is absolutely crucial to prevent premature aging, wrinkles, skin cancer risks, and blotchiness.  Look for SPF moisturizers with “broad spectrum”, which will battle UVA and UVB sun rays, and look for sunscreens with at least SPF 30.

Our Choice Day Moisturizer: Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture Spf 35 $8.69

PM moisturizers on the other hand, don’t have the SPF, which you don’t want or need on your face while you are sleeping anyway.  Some PM moisturizers have retinols or Vitamin As that should not be exposed to the sun at all, as they encourage skin cell turnover.  This makes cells delicate and susceptible to sun damage. (Source)

Retinol has been shown to improve pigmentation marks, decrease fine lines and wrinkles, improve skin texture, decrease pore size, and stimulate collagen production.

Our Choice Night Moisturizer: LilyAna Retinol Cream Moisturizer $19.99

In other words, only use AM moisturizers during the day and only use PM moisturizers at night.

If you find a moisturizer without the “AM/PM” designation and it does not have retinols, Vitamin A derivatives, or SPF, it is a general moisturizer that can be used day or night.  But, you will have to apply a secondary coat of facial SPF moisturizer during the day.

Our Choice General Moisturizer: Neutrogena Hydro Boost $16.19

Look for oil free/non-comedogenic and fragrance free to avoid blemishes and skin irritation.

How to Apply: Put a dime sized amount onto a finger and dot around the face evenly; I generally put a dot on my chin, each cheek, nose and forehead.  Once each dot is down, I spread evenly from there to the other parts of my face.  Make sure to get some underneath your eyes.  BUT, blot/dot that area, don’t smear, as this skin is very thin and far more prone to wrinkling than thicker skin areas like the cheeks or chin.

Complete Men’s Skincare Guide Moisturizing Recap: Moisturize every time after cleansing.  Use a moisturizer with SPF during the day.  Use a moisturizer without SPF at night.  Blot, don’t rub under your eyes.

---

Exfoliating

We have an article here going in-depth about the specifics of exfoliating.  So, I won’t go into great detail on this post.

Arguably the third most important step in a men’s skincare routine, exfoliating helps to slough away dead skin cells and prevent ingrown hairs.

Exfoliating is tricky and can easily be overdone.  Additionally, there are certain products to avoid, which is why we recommend reading: 10 Tips on How to Exfoliate for Men (and Women).

Basically, physical exfoliating should be done about once every other night before bed.  Light pressure should be used for about 30 seconds in small, circular motions.  Certain scrubs, sponges, wash-rags, or even brushes can be used to exfoliate depending on skin type.  Always make sure to moisturize after exfoliating. If you need to shave and can get away with doing it at night, shave after exfoliating but before applying moisturizer.

Complete Men’s Skincare Guide Exfoliating Recap: Exfoliate every other day for 30 seconds with light pressure, using a proper scrub or tool.

---

That’s it!  For the Complete Men’s Skincare Guide, you simply need to:

• cleanse
• moisturize
• exfoliate

Now, this wouldn’t be a complete men’s skincare guide if I didn’t touch on some of the bonuses.  If the basics are all you need, there is no reason to read further.  On the other hand, if you want to take your grooming to the next level, read on my friend.

---

Complete Men’s Skincare Guide Bonus #1

Toner (After-Shave)

Although not an essential staple in the men’s grooming kit, toner helps to remove any excess oil or dead skin cells that a cleanser may have left behind.  It can also help moisturizers or serums penetrate the skin more effectively.

If you suffer from breakouts or acne, toner can help with oily skin and plugged pores.

Toners can also act as aftershaves, picking up the last bits of small hairs while simultaneously cleansing pores and soothing freshly shaved skin.  Just pour a small amount on a cotton ball and spread evenly for best results.

It is important to avoid toners or aftershaves with alcohol, as alcohol will unnecessarily dry, tighten and cause skin to flake.

Arguably, one of the best toners and aftershaves is Witch Hazel, which is natural, non-drying, and anti-inflammatory.

Our Choice Toner (After-Shave): Thayer Witch Hazel Toner $6.99

---

Complete Men’s Skincare Guide Bonus #2

Eye Serum or Eye Cream

Without going into too much detail, I’d like to refer you to Eye Cream vs. Eye Serum vs. Moisturizer by the Manliness Kit for the specific intricacies between eye serum, eye cream and moisturizer.   (This is an entire article in and of itself)

Basically, a quality moisturizer should suffice for under-eye needs if a simple skincare routine is your goal.

If, however, you have extra money, time, desire, and wrinkles, consider trying an eye serum or eye cream.

Eye creams and serums are very similar, but serums are designed to penetrate more deeply and contain more nutrients than creams.  Serums can tackle dark circles and heavy bags, whereas creams tend to work best on fine lines and wrinkles.

Eye creams and moisturizers, in turn, are also very similar.  But, eye creams tend to be a little lighter than moisturizers and a little less greasy.  Small ingredient tweaks make eye creams slightly better than moisturizers for the area around the eye.

Again, eye serums and creams aren’t necessarily essential, as long as you are using a moisturizer.  But, their effectiveness might be more important as you age and wrinkles become more noticeable.

Remember to blot/tap cream or serum under your eye, don’t rub.  Also note that some eye serums contain Retinol or Vitamin A derivatives, so sun should be avoided if applied.

Our Choice Eye Cream: Brickell Men’s Restoring Eye Cream $40.00

---

Complete Men’s Skincare Guide Bonus #3

CC Cream/Tinted Moisturizer

A lot of American men don’t yet know about CC Cream or tinted moisturizers.  But, I promise that your significant other has not only heard of CC Cream, they probably use it too.  Although most men don’t know about CC Cream, the use of it by men has seen a dramatic increase over the last couple of years.

Like most beauty trends, tinted moisturizers came over from Asia.  Originally marketed as BB creams, tinted moisturizers began gaining popularity around 2012.  BB creams evolved into CC creams, which have a variety of benefits.

CC Creams are essentially an all-in-one product that moisturize, contain SPF, and have a “tint” to help cover skin imperfections.  CC Cream can even skin tone, hydrate, fight visible signs of aging, diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, defend against dullness and camouflage acne, scars or dark spots.  It can also be used under the eyes to hide dark circles.

I personally used to suffer from cystic acne as a teenager and young adult throughout college.  This left me with some hyper-pigmentation and a dark spot on my left cheek.  Even now, I will occasionally get an acne breakout, despite my consistent skincare routine.

One day, I saw CC Cream in my wife’s toiletry bag, picked it up, squeezed some out on my finger and put it on.  Although you couldn’t tell that it was on my face, it helped to cover up the red hyper-pigmentation and acne I had at the time.  It evened my skin tone and made my face look much better!

I began using the CC Cream on a daily basis, as it not only moisturized and camouflaged, but the SPF helped block the sun as well.

Now, I feel better throughout the day and less self-conscious about my skin, knowing that the CC Cream is doing its job.

Although I don’t advertise to people that I run a men’s grooming blog or have started a grooming company, on the rare occasion that I do, I get asked what makes my skin look so good.

I tell them that I cleanse, moisturize, and exfoliate, but I also give credit to the CC Cream.

---

If you enjoyed learning about men’s skincare, check out more of our popular articles: A Complete Guide to Men’s Hair Products, 20 Vital Hair Care Tips for Men, or How to Trim a Beard Neckline.

Thanks for reading!

-Chris