Men’s Summer Skincare
Is a man’s skin any different from a woman’s, and do men need different skincare products? In a nutshell, yes it is, and yes you do. The Stratum Corneum (outermost skin layer) is thicker on a man, the skin’s texture is rougher, and pores are larger. Added to this, the higher level of testosterone in your bodies leads to extra sebum production, oiliness, and potentially breakouts and acne. This in essence means men’s skin is able to handle stronger ingredients, doesn’t need such hydrating creams and lotions as women’s skin’s, and needs to be exfoliated more deeply than a woman’s skin, however post-shave skin calmers and products with SPF are still critical. So what should a man look for in a Summer skincare routine?
Cleansers
As men’s skin secrets more sebum over summer (even more than usual), a good cleanser is important to keep oil from clogging pores, causing breakouts. Cleansers designed for men contain ingredients to remove excess sebum without drying out your skin to the extent it starts producing more sebum. Lab Series Multi-Action Face Wash is a foaming cream cleanser with gentle exfoliating beads that washes away dirt and debris to leave skin looking brighter, healthier and prepped for shaving. The lathering system and engineered water dissolves excess oil and sebum while unclogging pores. Purifying beads gentle remove dead skin cells and eliminate surface impurities, enhancing skin’s texture, clarity and feel. The vitamin enriched formula lifts, softens and smooths beards while soothing ingredients work to calm the skin. Fragrance-free. 100ml RRP $28.00. L’Oréal Paris Men Expert X-Treme Charcoal Foam contains charcoal an ultra-purifying agent to cleanse the skin and act like a magnet to trap and eliminate skin impurities. Used everyday, the formula helps fight the five forms of aggression caused by shiny skin, blackheads, oily skin, dull complexion and large pores. 150ml RRP $13.10. Clinique for Men Face Wash is an oil-free liquid cleanser that builds into a rich lather to remove traces of pore-clogging dirt, prepping the skin for shaving. The face wash maintains the skin’s internal moisture balance leaving it clean, smooth and comfortable. 200ml RRP $29.00. If you have teenagers in the house (or even if you don’t), BIODERMA Sébium Exfoliating Gel is a great cleanser for teens and men. It removes impurities and clears pores, thoroughly but gently. The exfoliating properties, combined with spherical microbeads, help smooth the skin texture whilst gently removing excess sebum. Hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic. 100ml RRP $26.99.
Shaving
If, like most men in Australia, you use a manual shaver (as opposed to an electric shaver), shaving can irritate your skin, so it is important to apply a good quantity of shaving product to your face, and leave it to soften the beard bristles before shaving. Whether you prefer a cream or a foam shaving product is entirely a personal choice, just make sure to lather well, and cover the entire area. Shaving with a sharp blade is a must to prevent scraping your skin. Clinique For Men Cream Shave contains a blend of beard primers and emollients to soothe and soften your skin. The cream lifts stubborn hairs so the razor skates and doesn’t drag across the face, making it ideal for sensitive skin. The cream shave contains allantoin that decreases the risk of nicks and cuts, and works immediately to help heal previous irritation. It’s also non-aerosol, so perfect for travel. Allergy tested and 100 percent fragrance-free. 125ml RRP $29.00. Nutrimetics MAN Shaving Gel helps to protect and moisturise your skin while delivering a clean shave. Kakadu plum extract works to improve radiance, while Aqua Complex locks in moisture for immediate and long-term benefits. The non-aerosol tube makes it perfect to take on your travels. 125ml RRP $22.00. Lab Series Maximum Comfort Shave Gel is a cooling gel-to-foam formula that calms and comforts skin before, during and after shaving. It softens and preps your beard while providing lubricants to reduce shave friction and leave the face feeling soothes and lightly hydrated. Sorbitol and glycerinin the formula moisturise your skin and lift your beard hair before shaving. Fragrance and oil-free. 200ml RRP $32.00. NIVEA Men Moisturising Shaving Foam helps to prevent dry and tight skin. It ensures a close and comfortable shave, protecting from micro-cuts and irritation, and softening beard hair for effective razor glide. 200ml RRP $5.62. For a superior and comfortable shave, with self sharpening blades that stay sharp for the life of the shaver* Remington’s Durablade Pro is the latest must-have to add to your grooming arsenal. Its a one-stop grooming tool that allows you to trim, shave or style any length of hair to your heart’s content. RRP $69.95. *Life of the product is 5 years.
Post-Shave
Even with the best shaving products, you will occasionally find yourself suffering from post-shave redness and irritation. There are many post-shave products that are specially formulated to calm stressed and irritated post-shave skin, to reduce redness and irritation. Jurlique Calendula Redness Rescue Restorative Treatment Serum is a gel concentrate that can be applied directly to irratated skin post-shave. The formulation has a comfort complex that includes calendula extract, to help comfort and restore the skin’s natural defence system, and prickly pear extract, that helps to provide hydration and soothing benefits. Skin feels deeply restored, hydrated and comforted. 30ml RRP $85.00. Lab Series 3-in-1 Post Shave gel helps relieve and prevent ingrown hairs and razor bumps. It softens and refines beard hair for more comfortable, less frequent shaving. Lab Series 3-in-1 Post-Shave contains a blend of plant derived ingredients that help refine beard hair. Hair grows back thinner and finer. Non-acid technology increases your skin’s natural exfoliation process to keep hair follicles open so hair grows out instead of inward. A blend of soothing and calming ingredients help reduce skin redness and visible irritation, and provides long term antioxidant protection to help speed the natural renewal of skin’s appearance after shaving. Skin is left feeling soothed, calm and refreshed. 50ml RRP $55.00.
Moisturiser
To protect your skin in summer, a lightweight moisturiser with SPF is best. As sebum production will be higher in summer, you don’t need to overburden your skin with a more hydrating moisturiser as you would need for winter. Look for a moisturiser with built in SPF, to keep you protected when out in the sun. If you are going out in the sun for longer periods, a sunscreen is a must. Clinique For Men SPF 21 Moisturizer is a great summer moisturiser. It is suitable for all skin types, and provides essential hydration plus UV protection. The lightweight, oil-free formula soothes and improves skin’s condition. 100ml RRP $39.00. Nutrimetics MAN Moisturising Creme SPF 15 moisturises and protects your skin from ageing sun damage, leaving it fresh and hydrated. The lightweight and non-greasy formula contains Kakadu plum extract to help to improve skin radiance, while aqua complex locks in moisture for immediate and long-term hydration. Dragon’s blood helps protects the skin against free radicals, improving firmness and elasticity. It improves the skin’s barrier function and acts as a second skin. Pepperfruit extract reduces irritation such as burning and itching sensations, providing an immediate soothing effect. SPF 15 protects against the ageing effects of UVA and UVB rays. 50ml RRP $42.00. Men’s skin specialists, Lab Series Daily Moisture Defense Lotion SPF 15 provides continuous all-day moisturising and environmental defence for fresher, smoother and healthier-looking skin. The lightweight formula provides solar-activated antioxidant protection from harmful UVA and UVB rays, smoke and pollution. It binds water to the skin for immediate hydration and long-term restores the essential balance of water in the skin by repairing the barrier layer. Antioxidants help guard the skin against the signs of ageing and are released by a special liposome when skin is assaulted and needs it most. Fragrance-free. 100ml RRP $80.00. If your skin is showing a few signs of aging, and needs a bit more potency in a moisturiser, L’Oréal Paris Men Expert Vita Lift 5 Moisturiser is a complete anti-ageing moisturiser formulated to meet all the needs of the more mature male and restore a firmer, younger look to a man’s face. Vita Lift 5 Moisturiser has an innovative, moisturising formula containing pro-retinol, known for activating cellular renewal to smooth wrinkles and fine lines, plus cacao extract, an ingredient that facilitates lipolysis for firmer skin and less puffiness. As the formula contains retinol, always wear a sunscreen over the top of this product during the day. 50ml RRP $19.99. If your skin is on the sensitive side, Avène TOLÉRANCE EXTRÊME CREAM is a great daily moisturiser for dry to very dry sensitive skin. It is great for allergies, and acute irritations. Skin is hydrated and soothed with a comfortable feel. The moisturiser is preservative, paraben, fragrance and alcohol free. It is hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. 50ml RRP $49.95.
Exfoliators
A good exfoliator is a must have for men’s skin over summer. As the temperature heats up, sebum production is higher, and pores can get clogged with oil, leading to breakouts. Exfoliating regularly (2-3 times a week depending on yous skin’s needs), will keep your pores free from impurities, and will help clear away dead and flaking skin cells, to reveal newer, fresher skin underneath. NIVEA Men Protect and Care Exfoliating Face Scrub contains fine scrub particles to gently yet thoroughly unclog your pores to clear away impurities and oil, leaving your skin looking clearer and healthy. 125ml RRP $11.99. Clinique For Men Face Scrub is a non-greasy scrub that contains menthol, helping the skin to feel clean and refreshed, while working to scrub away potentially pore-clogging dead skin flakes, excessive oil and surface dirt. The face scrub helps to lift out ingrown hairs with chemical and manual exfoliation to help achieve a smooth shave. Allergy tested and 100 percent fragrance free. 100ml RRP $40.00.
Eye Cream
The skin around our eyes is so delicate compared to the rest of the skin on our face, and it doesn’t contain as many oil glands as the rest of our face, so it is unable to produce and retain moisture as well. This means it needs special care with moisturising, to make sure skin is hydrated and not irritated. L’Oréal Paris Men Expert Hydra Energetic Ice Cool Eye Roll-On is an easy to apply eye moisturiser thanks to the roller-ball action. The formula works to fight dark circles and eye-bags with the double action of the physical massage that helps to stimulate drainage of congested features with the unique ice cool formula that is perfect for summer. The formula is enriched with patented peptide-complex to help erase dark circles. Other ingredients include vitamin C and caffeine, which energise the eye contour and fight against the dark circles around the sensitive eye area. 10ml RRP $16.99. Shiseido Men Total Revitalizer Eye helps to restore firmness in the inner layers of skin for vitalised eye definition. Inspired by hyaluronic acid injections, Shiseido’s revolutionary multi-functional eye care targets wrinkles, dryness, sagging and dark circles. 15ml RRP $69.00.
Other Skincare
It’s not just the skin on our face and around our eyes that needs extra TLC over summer. With the weather beckoning us outdoors, and gardening or the beach being favoured activities, we need to take care of the skin on our hands and body too. Dry rough patches can develop, that, if left alone, can crack and peel, damaging your skin and can lead to infection. DU’IT Tough Hands for Him is a hand cream especially designed for men who neglect their hands, or who work in areas that have them repeatedly washing their hands, or exposed to chemicals and cleaners. DU’IT Tough Hands works to repair cracks, replace oils, and form a protective barrier around your hands. 150g RRP $11.95. BIODERMA Atoderm Cream is a soothing cream that can be used on your entire body (and face), or just on rough calloused areas such as knees, elbows, and hands. It is ultra-rich, and quickly absorbed, so it starts hydrating and soothing skin straight away. The Cream is very good for sensitive or irritated skin. Fragrance-free, hypoallergenic. 500ml RRP $44.99. Also available in 200ml travel tube size RRP $29.99.
