If you care about your skin's appearance and health, you want to avoid damaging it as much as possible. That's smart - but you may be carelessly harming your skin (or putting it at risk for damage) throughout the day without even realizing it.
Check yourself against this list of 6 common ways most guys damage their skin daily. Are you guilty? If so, no worries. Most guys are. But we've also got easy suggestions on how to avoid these frequent skincare flubs.
1 - Choosing the Wrong Face Wash
It's important to start and end your day by washing your face. That removes excess oil, bacteria, and debris - which prevents blemishes, keeps your skin smooth, and reduces any oily shine.
But what if you're using the wrong face wash for your skin?
Most cheap face washes are made with harsh detergents that strip your skin of its necessary moisture. This damages your skin's natural barrier and puts you at risk for redness, irritation, and dryness.
What should you do instead?
Don't skip your face washing habit - it's still important. Just swap out your harsh, moisture-stripping soap for a gentle face wash designed for your skin type.
- Clarifying Gel Face Wash - made with geranium, coconut-based cleanses, and aloe vera. For normal to oily skin.
- Purifying Charcoal Face Wash - made with activated charcoal, jojoba, and olive oil. For normal to dry/sensitive skin.
- Acne Controlling Face Wash - made with 2% salicylic acid, tea tree oil, and grapefruit. For oily/acne-prone skin.
- Redefining Anti-Aging Face Wash - made with MSM, hyaluronic acid, and geranium. For all skin types.
2 - Neglecting to Moisturize
After washing your face, you need to follow up with a high quality face moisturizer. Yes, this is still true if you tend to have oily skin. Why?
Even the most gentle cleansing product will remove some of the moisture from your skin. But if you use moisturizer right after washing your face, you will seal in hydration, restore your skin's natural barrier, and create an insulating cushion on your skin that keeps you looking great all day.
Dehydrated skin reveals deeper wrinkles, shows fine lines, and takes on a dull complexion. But moisturizing daily avoids all of that. Plus, it's an easy step to add immediately after using face wash that won't be any kind of imposition on your day.
Choose the right moisturizer for your skin type and needs.
- Daily Essential Face Moisturizer - made with DMAE, aloe vera, and jojoba. For all skin types.
- Rejuvenating Anti-Aging Gel Face Moisturizer - made with vitamin C, MSM, and protein peptides. For all skin types.
- Day & Night Anti-Aging Creams - daytime and nighttime creams, each designed with advanced natural ingredients to firm, smooth, and brighten the skin. For all skin types.
- Acne Controlling Face Moisturizer Treatment - made with 2% salicylic acid, willow bark extract, and vitamin E. For oily/acne prone skin.
3 - Skipping SPF
UV damage is the greatest accelerant of the aging process. The more time you spend out in the sun without covering or protecting your skin, the earlier you will develop wrinkles, fine lines, and age spots. It won't happen overnight, but the accumulation of years of UV damage eventually adds up and leads to severely aged skin.
Prevention is the key.
Prevention is your best bet - but so many guys are neglectful when it comes to applying an SPF product daily. Some men are concerned about the potentially harmful ingredients in most chemical sunscreens. But don't worry - we've got you covered with two natural, mineral-based options that will both hydrate and protect your skin.
- Daily Defense Face Moisturizer with SPF 20 - made with zinc oxide, green tea extract, and vitamin E. For all skin types.
- Element Defense Moisturizer with SPF 45 - made with sunflower oil, zinc oxide, and green tea extract. For all skin types.
4 - Too Much Touching
Guys, please stop touching your face. This is a huge no-no if you want to prevent totally unnecessary damage to your skin. What's the problem?
Newsflash: your hands are gross. You touch all kinds of unclean surfaces throughout the day and your hands are exposed to a horrifying melange of harmful bacteria. This isn't a big problem - unless you touch your face all the time. Picking at your skin and rubbing your face exposes your skin to whatever bacteria you've got on your hands and under your nails. Gross.
Besides avoiding touching your face unnecessarily, make sure you wash your hands often throughout the day. And when it comes time to apply your skincare products, never use any products until you have first washed your hands.
5 - Careless Shaving
Shaving the wrong way - which usually means in a rush - has the potential to irritate your skin, cause itchy bumps, leave behind redness, and generally ruin your day. If you do this repeatedly, you may develop permanent bumps, scarring, and constant irritation. Sounds horrible - because it is.
Shaving smarter is easy.
You don't have to spend an hour on a shave or pay a barber for a professional experience just to prevent skin irritation. Spending a few short minutes on preparation and aftercare will go a long way towards improving your experience and protecting your skin.
- Start with Scrub - First, use our Renewing Face Scrub to exfoliate your skin. This softens your skin, opens your pores, and stands your whiskers up and away from your face. You'll get a smoother shave with less irritation as a result.
- Use a Hydrating Shave Cream - Our Smooth Brushless Shave Butter is made with glycerin to move your whiskers further away from your skin while also attracting moisture. Its hydrating ingredients - including jojoba and aloe vera - ensure that your skin stays soft, lubricated, and moisturized during your shave.
- Finish with Alcohol-Free Aftershave - You do not want to splash alcohol or menthol all over your skin immediately after shaving. Those ingredients are harsh, drying, and irritating. Bad news. Instead, go with our Instant Relief Aftershave. Its combination of aloe vera, hyaluronic acid, and coconut soothe your skin and restore hydration to massively reduce irritation like razor burn and bumps.
6 - Showering with Very Hot Water
Near-scalding water damages your skin's natural barrier and saps it of moisture. So while you may think that super hot water feels great in the shower, your skin disagrees.
This doesn't mean that you have to take icy cold showers to care for your skin. But you should turn the temperature down a degree or two if you want to keep your skin in top shape. Warm - not hot - water is ideal whenever you are showering, washing your face, or otherwise caring for your skin.
