Let’s be clear: skin care is not exclusive to women. It may have appeared that way since women, being the ones that make up the vast majority of skin care consumers, have been the target of many skin care brands over the years, creating a preconceived notion that men don’t really need these products. BUT that’s just a myth in itself! There’s a small-scale of men out there that pay good attention to skin care and are very meticulous about the products they apply on their skin, most especially on their face. On the other hand, some men, in fact, maybe a greater population of them think that devising your own skincare routine is unnecessary — and it’s just crazy to think that because it’s not true.
Related: Skin Care Guide: 8 Simple Skin Care Tips for Men
To break that wrong notion, we’re going to debunk men’s skin care myths. So sit tight and don’t leave just yet because you may find interesting things to learn here.
1. Drinking Water Should Do the Work
Don’t get us wrong, drinking enough water daily does have benefits both on our internal and external health as it helps flush out the toxins that improve the condition of your skin and body altogether. However, as much as it’s good, it won’t entirely solve the skin problems you want to target — and it’s still a skin care misconception that you should try to correct. This means that it’s better to combine drinking water with efficient topical skin care products as well as healthy food choices to get the best results.
2. Men Don’t Really Need to Wear Sunscreen
Men have skin too! And sunscreen is made to protect the skin from damage and harsh pollutants, so what gives? Men need to wear sunscreen as much as women do even when it’s cloudy and rainy outside or when you’re staying at home. Wearing sunscreen has a good array of perks to it, which includes: reducing signs of aging, preventing skin cancer, reducing inflammation, and more. That’s why it’s a must to make it a part of your morning skincare routine, regardless of whether the sun’s out or not.
Related: 7 Reasons Why You Should Wear Sunscreen Everyday
3. Using Soap is Enough
To men out there, raise your hand if the soap bar you use on your body is the same one that you use on your face. Caught you! There’s a pretty good chance that you’re raising your hand right now. You have to stop treating your face and body as if they have the same skin. Before you react, hear us out. Yes, they are both skin, but they are still different. The skin on your face is more sensitive compared to the skin on your body. The former is thinner than the skin on the latter, meaning the face is more susceptible to irritation than the skin on your body which has a thicker layer of fat, making it less likely to strip fast.
So to put it simply, the soap bar you’re using may feel like it’s “cleaning” your face, but in reality, it’s not doing any good to your skin. Sure, it may do something good for the skin on your body — how about your face? The pH levels in a typical body soap is much higher than the face’s skin pH — and when the pH levels are not balanced, it strips off the natural oils and destroys your skin barrier, resulting in higher tendencies of acne inflammation, eczema, and more. To top it off, the bacteria on the soap bar may also have an effect on your face, worsening its condition or making it more sensitive. So instead of relying on soap bars to care for your face, go for gentle facial cleansers that will actually help care for your skin and improve its appearance.
4. You Don’t Need to Moisturize When You Have Oily Skin
No matter what your skin type is, moisturizing is still a must, and it shouldn’t stop you even if you have oily skin. Guys, you have to throw out the idea that moisturizing your skin will only make it oilier — that’s an absolute myth! In fact, when you skip the moisturizer, you are only leading your skin to be stripped off of its natural oil and making it dry and tight — and when this happens, your oil glands will be forced to produce more oil to compensate. Don’t wait for that to happen because you’ll be set up for more problems in the long run. See to it that you use moisturizer because it traps water into the skin, which helps protect it from irritation.
If you have an oil skin type, do opt for moisturizers that are lightweight and avoid cream-like types as they tend to be thick and heavy on the skin. You’ll do well with a thinner moisturizer if this is your concern because it will be enough to hydrate your skin without making it look and feel oily.
Related: 7 Must-Know Benefits of Moisturizing your Skin
5. Men Don’t Age as Quickly as Women Do
Just the same. Are you going to wait for all the wrinkles to pop out before you actually do something to care for your skin? Yes, sure aging is inevitable and those fine lines and wrinkles will eventually appear, but you can still do something to delay the aging process — thus, allowing you to age well.
The idea that “men age better than women” may sound stereotypical, but there’s a science behind it. Basically, men have thicker skin and have a higher substance of collagen within their skin, resulting in more chances of getting glowing and youthful-looking skin. Another thing that affects this is the hormones. Men’s testosterone levels decline slower than the estrogen levels of women, which means they age slower than women do.
Now, before you get complacent. Men are not exempt from wrinkles, of course. In fact, study also shows that men develop deeper wrinkles than women. To be precise, men that are in their 30s to 50s form and develop wrinkles 10.9 years earlier than women. So if you’re not into skin care, you may want to rethink that right now and start doing some research on what products can suit your skin. The good thing is that you’ll never run out of skincare products to try as there’s a ton of them out there — you just need to get the right mix of products and be mindful of their active ingredients to see if they go well with other products’ active ingredients. You got this!
6. You Need an Intensive Skin Care Routine
Oftentimes, men get discouraged or should we say ‘feel lazy’ doing skin care because of the thinking that it’s too time consuming and there’s a 10-step skincare routine you have to follow every single day. But that’s not true. While the 10-step (or more) skincare routine works for others (as they believe that layering more products on the skin can deliver faster, more efficient results), it doesn’t mean you need to do the same.
In the world of skin care, you have to understand that there’s no one-size-fits-all formula to getting clear and healthy skin. It doesn’t mean that if this certain routine or set of products worked for some people, it will also work for you. You don’t have to overwhelm yourself with a lot of skincare products. You can start simple with only a few products that actually help address the problems on your skin. Stick to what works for your skin.
7. Skin Care is Only for Women
Just like what we’ve said from the beginning — skin care is not exclusive to women. This means that men can freely splurge on skincare products that work for them. Women are not the only ones who ought to take care of their skin because men can also do the same. Men have skin too, so it’s definitely a myth when people say that skin care is only for women. Look at it this way: taking care of your skin doesn’t rid you of your manhood — it only enhances the appearance and condition of your skin.
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