Special Skin Care for Men?

Cosmetics for men is getting increasingly popular. In 2008 around 25% of facial skincare products sold in the Netherlands were for men (NCV annual report). Although the structure of the skin is slightly different, men and women need virtually the same skin care. It is not the contents, but the design of the packaging and the smell which result in it being specifically “for men”. The fact that men don’t have a wide range of cosmetic products to choose from, in order to make their skin look more attractive, makes it maybe all the more important to have a good basic regime! Also some advice for skin care for men: choose mild and un-perfumed products.

Shaving: anti-oxidants and soothing ingredients

If you never grow a beard, then you actually shave around 10,000 times during your lifetime. It is essential to take care of your skin after shaving. During the upward and downward motion of shaving the beard hair you can’t really avoid scraping the top layer of skin. For this reason it is necessary to soothe the skin after shaving. Supplementing it with anti-oxidants is also important. A Moisturizer with ingredients such as aloe vera, chamomile, liquorice extract, Niacinamide, Evodia, Vitamin A, B3, Vitamin C and /or E are all beneficial.

Through shaving you also remove the dead skin cells; in this instance an exfoliant is not so much necessary.

A refreshing aftershave?

A lovely fragrance and a refreshing feel. For many men, using an aftershave is a daily ritual. It’s time to make an adjustment to this ritual. The ‘refreshing’ ingredients such as alcohol or menthol are substances that can dry out or irritate the skin, and perfume is the number one allergenic! This is really not what your skin needs and definitely not after shaving. This ‘refreshing’ feel can result in redness or a rash. Perfume is not recommended at all in an aftershave: it can react with sunlight and subsequently cause pigmentation spots! So best not to use.

I don’t advise entirely against the use of special skin care for men though. If my ‘other half’ uses my products, the contents of the bottles are almost gone in one go…Long live (your own) men’s line!

Regards and have a good weekend, Jetske

(Dr. Jetske Ultee-Research Physician Cosmetic Dermatology)

You can also read the blogs: ‘Does Skin Need to Get Used to a Product?‘,
‘The Effects of Stress on Skin’,
‘The Recipe for Beautiful Skin‘,
‘The Sun and Skincare Products; Not Always a Good Combination‘,
‘Burning Skin Sensation’ and
‘Healthy Skin’.