This Is the Best Skin Care Routine for Men (Even for Beginners)

It’s never too late to start the best skin care routine for men, or to build on the one you’ve got.
Doing so is an investment in your health and self-confidence. But as I’ve learned through many
conversations, a skin care routine for men often feels like some endless treasure hunt, with a map
that is impossible to decode. But here’s the secret: There’s no end goal. It’s like daily exercise for
your skin, the same way you eat healthy, stay hydrated, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep.

The Baseline Regimen: Cleanse, Exfoliate, Moisturize

The three core steps of any regimen are cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing, but not all 3 at
once. Here’s an ideal scenario:

1. Cleanse twice a day. Use face wash first thing in the morning, to wash away any product
applied the night before, as well as any sweat and bacteria you accumulated during the
night. Then cleanse in the evening, to begin your bedtime regimen.
2. Exfoliate twice a week. This step removes dead skin cells and allows you to keep a brighter,
smoother, softer complexion—while also preventing breakouts. For the task, you can choose
a physical scrub or a chemical exfoliant. The latter is probably better if you’re dealing with
acne and want to dissolve dead skin cells as well as sebum trapped inside the pores
(especially a product with salicylic acid). But don’t exfoliate more than suggested by your
chosen product (usually twice weekly), since your skin cells don’t really regenerate fast
enough to keep up with constant sloughing. Lastly, it’s best to exfoliate in the evening
(always after cleansing and before moisturizing), so that skin can recover as you rest.
Otherwise you might navigate the day with a reddened mug.
3. Moisturize morning and night, with SPF as a daytime priority. Moisturizer sounds like a
proactive product, but it’s actually less active about hydrating your face as it is about
preserving skin’s natural moisture levels, and bouncing away any threats to the skin’s
defensive barrier functions. We suggest having one for the morning, with SPF to shield
against skin-aging UV rays. This daytime defender will wear slightly lighter than your evening
moisturizer, which is more proactive in the nourishment department.

The Intermediate Regimen: Hydrating Serums, Eye Creams, Face Masks, Spot Treatments, and
Toners

If you want to graduate from a baseline skin care routine to a more proactive regimen, then there
are a few types of products to first bring into the fold. Now, you don’t need to introduce all of these
products, but you should at least have a clear understanding of each.
Xolo Maridueña's 6-Step Morning Skincare Routine

Hydrating Serums: While there are many types of serums out there, the most essential would be a
hydrating serum—specifically with skin-plumping hyaluronic acid. You would apply this product after
cleansing and before moisturizing. (Ditto for all serums.) Hyaluronic acid seeps deeper into the skin
and actively pulls in moisture (up to 1,000 times its own weight) to keep skin nourished from deep
within.

1. Eye Creams: Eye creams are the epitome of ‘big things in small packages’. They’re among
the most densely concentrated products, since they are targeting the most delicate, thin skin
on your body—that of your eye area. When this delicate skin loses its firmness and
thickness, you start to notice things like puffy under eyes, crow’s feet, and dark circles more
prominently. So, these eye creams (and serums) help to fortify the skin and keep things
tight, bright, and strong. An eye product can work to keep you looking alert during the day,
or can feed the skin with a feast of peptides as you sleep. Apply it at least once a day—
possibly twice, if you so choose.
2. Face Masks: There are many types of face masks, but the two most general categories are
“deep cleansing” and “deep nourishing”. The former tend to deploy ingredients like charcoal
and clay to suck out excess sebum and grime from deep within the pores (thus they are
especially common with oily and acne-prone folks). The hydrating masks, on the other hand,
pump highly concentrated serum into the skin, to help revive supremely tired, dull, or dry
complexion. Typically, each type is designed for once-weekly use at most.
3. Spot Treatments: Spot treatments are essential for anyone prone to acne,
hyperpigmentation, or both. They help disappear angry pimples, heal acne marks, and lessen
the likelihood (and longevity) of hyperpigmentation from those blemishes, as well as those
from sun or biological factors. You can even use spot treatments proactively, at the first sign
of a breakout, to prevent pimples from surfacing at all.
4. Toners: Toners aren’t for everybody, but they are for anyone with especially oily skin, or
anyone who has an overly complicated skin care regimen. Simply put, toners help balance
your skin’s pH levels (so that skin never gets overly dry and irritated), while also tempering
your natural sebum production (so that skin never gets overly oily). You would use it after
cleansing (and after any physical exfoliant), but before applying any chemical exfoliants,
other serums, and of course before moisturizing.

The Advanced Regimen: Ingredient-Focused Remedies

This is where things get serious. The advanced folks are the ones who book out their dermatologist
twice a year,. The advanced level adds an ingredient-focused approach to any new products.
Typically, these will be deployed as serums or night creams, or even as prescriptions from the dermo
themselves. These individuals might also regularly get facials or be faithful to a single top-tier brand.
But don’t let any of that scare you away from adding an ‘advanced’ element to your regimen.

Retinol and Bakuchiol: Retinol is a vitamin A derivative, and one of the best products that
actually reverses signs of aging (and can stop acne in its tracks, too). Bakuchiol is its natural
alternative for more sensitive skin. Talk to your doc about a prescription-grade retinol, if you want
some serious oomph in your regimen.

1. Vitamin C: Vitamin C is used to boost skin brightness and reduce discoloration and
hyperpigmentation. This is a volatile ingredient, too, so it’s worth investing coin in a top-tier
serum. You’ll often see ‘ascorbic acid’ listed in place of vitamin C; the former is the purest
form of the latter.
2. Niacinamide: Smoothing and soothing. Niacinamide is also common in many everyday
moisturizers, and for good reason.
3. Ceramides and Collagen: These two are lumped together, since they’re often packages
together. In short, ceramides are fatty acids and collagen is protein. As we age, our skin loses
its elasticity, due to a slowed production of these exact two things—hence why people seek
them out in skin care to supplement said loss.
4. Pre- and Probiotics: Along with having balanced pH levels in your skin, many people also like
to ensure that their ‘good bacteria’ stays balanced, too. Getting pre- and probiotics in skin
care can help fight off the bad bacteria (which can cause acne), while also boosting wound
healing, as well as defenses against UV rays, inflammation, eczema, and more. (Prebiotics
feed the
5. Ferulic Acid: Antioxidants are imperative for your skin to keep its defenses high. They can
prevent accelerated photo-aging (like fine lines, wrinkles, rough skin, etc) and aggressive cell
damage. Ferulic acid is the antioxidant of all antioxidants, almost like a multiplier for all the
other defenses in your cells. Use it in the morning, so it can power skin through the day.