Men’s skin care is either stigmatized or ignored. Not anymore! Indulge in basic daily skin care routine the natural way. Here’s how!
Hey handsome! Have you ever wanted to head out to a parlor or spa to just get groomed – something more than just a haircut or massage? But you thought there’s so much stigma attached around men’s grooming that you ignored it? No matter what spas and men’s beauty products say, most modern men are still ignoring their daily skin care.
Men’s skin care is important, but often gets sidelined as something occasional – reserved for weddings or special occasions. But you should definitely include it in your daily routine. It’s just a matter of personal hygiene more than anything else.
You workout everyday to keep your body fit and healthy. Same applies to your skin too! To get healthy natural skin, it needs to be rejuvenated and taken care of. Dead skin needs to be scrubbed off and pores need to be cleansed.
To tell you exactly how to do all that in an easy, efficient way, we have made a step-by-step guide for men’s skin care routine. Here we go!
Men’s Skin Care : The CSTM Technique
Firstly, let me introduce you to the basics of skincare routine:
I call this the CSTM technique. So, we have Cleansing, Scrubbing, Toning and Moisturizing.
Cleansing
You can use any basic face-wash to clear the dirt and excess oils from your face. Splash cool or room-temperature water on your face, then use a tiny-bit of face-wash (pea-sized amount). Use circular motions to apply it all over your face, don’t forget the ears, neck and hairline. Then wash it off with water.
The type of face-wash you use will depend on your skin-type.
- If your skin gets flaky or feels stretched in the winter or dry seasons, you have dry skin. For dry skin, use cream-based face-wash.
- If your face tends to get oily a lot, you have oily skin. For this, you need water-based face-wash.
- You may also have combination skin type, in which the sides of the face get dry, whereas the T-zone gets oily. For this, you may have to use water-based face-wash, but concentrate on moisturizing it afterwards.
Scrubbing
Our skin, whether it’s on the face or on the rest of the body, has many many tiny pores, which are used for perspiration (sweating). Dust and pollution accumulate on our skin on a daily basis. Slowly, they clog our pores, and eventually cause acne, pimples, uneven coloration and skin-aging. That’s why cleansing pores on a regular basis is very important. Simply using a face-wash is enough to remove dust-particles, but it doesn’t unclog the pores. Exfoliation is the best way to do so.
You can scrub your face with a face scrub for a quick massage to exfoliate your skin to open the pores and to get rid of blackheads and whiteheads. You can use apricot scrub or a milder one like tea tree scrub. You can try out natural ones like oatmeal and honey scrub. Be sure to not do this everyday. Exfoliation is usually suitable once a week. But you can do it twice a week if your skin is more exposed to dust or pollution. You can also do it once a month if your skin isn’t exposed to dust at all.
Certain areas of our face, such as the tip and sides of the nose, accumulate blackheads, which you can see by taking a closer look at your nose. They look like tiny hairs, but are not really hair. Blackheads not only clog pores but look very bad, and are a sign of a face that hasn’t been cleansed properly.
Unless you’re comfortable, do not use any instrument to remove blackheads. There are numerous instruments available in the market, but leave those to the professionals. Deep exfoliating will be good enough to clear the dirt and blackheads and whiteheads from the skin. Once your skin gets softer after exfoliation, blackheads become easier to remove. After exfoliating, you can simply rub over them with your finger-tips, or use a handy scrublet.
If exfoliating doesn’t remove all the blackheads, you can also use steam to remove them, once every few months. Simply boil water in a pot, and hold your face above it, covered with a towel, so as to not let the steam escape. This makes you feel relaxed, and makes the skin softer.
Toning
You can invest on a toner based on your requirements. A toner is used to soothe the skin. I usually use rosewater or brewed green tea water as a toner. Aloe vera, tea tree skin and sandalwood skin toners are also some other options. You can use a toner every alternate day, or once a week.
Moisturizing
This is the last step and most important one, too, as it helps retain all the required moisture for your skin! Use any moisturizer that works well for you, and massage it into your face and hands. Spend at least half a minute or a minute to massage your skin, as this improves the blood circulation. Increasing the blood circulation of the skin promotes skin regeneration. Also, if regularly done, facial massages can reduce wrinkles by relaxing the facial muscles.
Monthly, Weekly or Daily
So, the CSTM technique is important for your skin to stay healthy. It can be used wholly or partly. Cleansing and moisturizing should be done daily to get rid of dirt and to keep your skin moisturized. Take some time out and try to put the full CSTM technique into your weekly routine.
You can indulge in home facial once a month and if you want it to be more relaxing head over to a spa. You can pick on a package that includes facial, hairspa, pedicure and manicure rather opting for a single service. This will be a relaxing session for you!
But you don’t have to spend a bomb and visit a salon or invest in products! You can just get yourself an at-home facial kit or even dig into your girlfriend, wife or even your mom’s bathroom cabinet and find some skincare products. Yes, there’s no harm in using women’s skincare products. Or you can simply indulge in home facial cleansing by using natural ingredients!
At-Home Facial for Men
For at-home facial, you need to follow an extra step. You need to apply a face mask to hydrate, remove excess oil and to retain the moisture in the process. After scrubbing or exfoliating, apply a face mask that suits you the best. Leave it for twenty minutes and wash it off with water or wipe off with a tissue or cotton. Don’t use any face-wash or cleanser after applying the mask.
Natural Face Masks for Men
Face packs are amazing. My husband and I usually apply face masks together once a month. I prefer homemade masks, like recently, we tried rice flour and milk mask and my skin felt soft and supple. Multani mitti (fuller’s earth), too does wonders to cool your skin.
If you are too lazy to make these homemade packs, then you can buy a good one from your favorite brand. Personally, I’m a big fan of ‘The Face Shop’ and I apply it after an intense workout. It gives that instant glow and re-hydrates the skin.
You can also try out Clinique and The Body Shop facial kit. They are amazing and easy to use. Remember that not every product is suitable for every skin type. And skin care is a very personal thing. So if something doesn’t suit you, even if it’s something natural or homemade, see a dermatologist and stop its use immediately. You’ll want to try out a few things to see what works the best for you.
Men’s skin care is very important and take the right care to look good and feel good. I hope that after reading my tips, you, too, will never neglect your skin, and always look dashing and sexy!
So, these were few skin care tips for men. Did you enjoy the men’s skin care routine and tips? Let us know in the comments!
Sahana is a Senior Staff Writer at ShilpaAhuja.com. With an experience in fashion and lifestyle writing, Sahana is responsible for Indian and international fashion week coverage every year, and is developing an expertise in apparel trend forecasting. She also writes about health and fitness, having pursued yoga for 6 years now. She’s not a gym person at all but is all for “running in the park” and is an amateur cyclist. Books and coffee are her other passions. She’s also an amateur photographer. She’s a hardcore Bollywood fan and she loves to cover the nostalgic topics on the same. From fashion trends to famous characters, she can make anyone love Bollywood! Her best article has been 90s Bollywood fashion, a readers’ favorite so far! Prior to her experience with ShilpaAhuja.com, Sahana has written as a freelance author for online magazine, Mashup Corner, and interned at EventsHigh as a content writer. Her blogs on basic fashion, makeup, fitness and city’s food joints that gave her a chance to experiment with her writing. She also has voiced her opinions about feminism and equal rights for men and women at PolkaCafe journals and after quitting her job, she decided to take up writing as her full time career.
Sahana is an engineering graduate and has worked in an MNC, Tesco, for more than a year as an Operations Support. It was her sheer love for fashion that made her quit the monotonous 9 to 5 job to pursue a career in the fashion industry. She’s originally from Bangalore and is currently settled in Chennai (she’s loving the city)! For any queries and discussions, contact her at [email protected]. You can also tweet her at https://twitter.com/Sahana_17
Thank you, very helpful and well-researched.
I use all the products of Neem range and I absolutely love the Face Pack it is the most effective face pack I’ve ever used.
Your website is fantastic, very helpful facial tips. Hope it works out for me. Thank You.
Pretty nice post. Really enjoyed reading all the men’s grooming articles.
Thanks for taking the time to explain. Please also write about men’s mani and pedi at home.