I seemed to get facial hair before anyone else in my class at school. We’re not talking about the fluff that pops up here and there, we’re talking about the ability to grow a full beard at the age of 14, which was slightly bizarre.
I shaved once a week to keep it at bay, but I quickly found out that shaving seemed to make my face extremely dry.
From that point onwards, I started to moisturise, being the only guy I knew that would buy them.
Moisturiser can help with a number of issues, highlighted below:
1) Moisturisers Protect Against The Elements
Moisturisers are like barriers on the skin, keeping out unwanted pollutants that might come from car exhausts or even central heating.
Air pollutants can penetrate skin cells, but the protective layer of the cream will work a charm, which is why you should also opt for a moisturiser that contains antioxidants, to fight off free radicals.
Think of your skin as an immune barrier, keeping out anything unwanted from your body, well the moisturiser is like a thin armour on top.
2) Reduce Dryness
As highlighted earlier, shaving my face every day caused my skin to become dry. In fact, even if I don’t shave, my skin would get dry if I don’t moisturise after getting out of the shower.
One of the main key benefits and reasons for people using moisturiser is to reduce dryness and scaling.
Of course, you do have to be a little experimental and see what works for your skin type, some will contain overly-harsh ingredients which simply might not work for you. If you have particularly dry skin, you may want to combine this with an oil free serum.
3) Added SPF
Not all moisturisers contain SPF, in fact the majority don’t, but you might want to opt for a moisturiser containing SPF to take in the morning before heading out.
This can help protect your skin against the damaging rays of the sun. Sun tan lotion is a key step in the 10 step Korean skincare routine, being the final one, however most of us forget to put some on before leaving the house unless we’re on holiday relaxing on a beach.
Ideally, it would be a factor 30 minimum (some I’ve seen are factor 15), which should help to defend your skin from the harmful ultraviolet rays.
Don’t Bother With ‘Men’s Moisturiser’
I’m not saying that men’s moisturiser is worse, I’m saying they’re the exact same to women’s moisturiser. I have gone through the ingredients list and it’s the exact same.
Often these are sold as a gimmick, making them feel more comfortable and the packaging designed in a more ‘masculine’ way, to help guys feel less awkward about buying moisturiser. However, I have also noticed that they charge a premium for men’s moisturiser, despite it containing the same ingredients.
For this reason, I don’t look at the men’s section and instead focus on the ingredients I want included.
I should quickly state, men’s and women’s skins are slightly different, there can be a logical argument if they contained different ingredients, all I’m stating is that many products out there are identical for each gender.
Men’s skin is actually around 25% thicker than women’s, meaning it is harder to penetrate the outer layer, while it also contains more collagen and elastin (winning for me).
The Added Moisture Presumption
There is a common misconception that moisturiser directly adds moisture to the skin. Instead, moisturiser tends to work more as a barrier.
For this reason, I tend to use a serum beforehand, often containing hyaluronic acid. Once a week, on a day when I’m not going out in the sun, I will also use a retinoid based serum, as they have amazing anti-ageing properties.
Beware The Buzzwords
Having worked in the beauty industry in the past, I learned something cheeky some brands will do. They know certain ingredients are pretty much buzzwords at this point, increasing sales by having a presence in the product.
However, you often won’t have a clue how much of that ingredient is present in the formula. If it’s merely a trace, simply included to increase sales, then are you really getting the supposed benefit?
I remember working with a supplement brand that had a raspberry ketone pack, when performing research on the supplement, it became clear that you would need to eat the entire pack each day just to get enough in your system to meet the claimed benefits.
But the average person in the street wouldn’t know this, they’ll read about raspberry ketones in a mag or an article online and will then buy the supplement presuming it will work wonders, instead buying ‘snake oil’.
Don’t Forget A Night Cream
Most people will shower in the morning and will then put on a moisturiser after getting out. That is as far as their beauty regime will go, however it could be worth adding in an evening routine.
When you go to sleep, your body loses a lot of moisture, therefore a decent moisturiser can help to keep your skin hydrated.
Night creams are a little thicker, while they will often have a higher concentration of ingredients, ideal for boosting cell turnover.
Your collagen production can potentially be given a boost by a high quality night cream, as your skin gets naturally rejuvenated.