Journal

Why should men take care of their skin? Do men and women need different skincare products? What are the best skincare products for men? What is the best skincare routine for men? Let me try to answer all these questions and more. ~Aman Mohunta

Regularly working out and watching your food and alcohol intake are essential for staying healthy. But consistently following a skincare routine is an equally important part of “self-care”. Here are my three key reasons:

• Skin – the largest organ in our body - protects the body from external aggressors such as pollution, bacteria, viruses, radiation, free radicals, etc. If you don’t take care of your skin, you will always be at risk of infections, and radiation damage, and all your hard work on pumping weights, running extra miles, and maintaining a strict diet will all go waste as your skin will start aging 2x faster than the rest of your body. While that rugged look sounds cool, you still need to treat your skin like you would treat your heart or lungs and not take it for granted
• If you sport a beard like me, then I hope you are taking care of your facial skin because healthy, acne-free skin is also very important for healthy facial hair and that perfect beard, otherwise you are just building an infested bird’s nest on your face
• I also believe that healthy skin is essential to one’s charm and social popularity. 

Before you jump on the internet to find the best skincare routine for men, let me make two important points that you should keep in mind before using any product or remedy.

• The key to healthy skin is to first know your skin. Everyone has unique skin and no one regime fits all. Your regime and products should be based on your skin type, its characteristics, and current concerns and not on what your best friend or favorite celebrity is using or what is being promoted as the best skincare routine for men.
• Second, today there is a lot of noise around male skin versus female skin. We all think that men’s facial skin is different from that of women. Yes, it is thicker, sturdier, and perhaps oilier. A simple search on the internet will tell you that men’s skin on average is 20-25% thicker; sebum (oil) production is higher than compared to women's because of a higher level of testosterone & other hormones in our bodies. But oftentimes we forget to read between the lines. All these statistics are on average and not a thumb rule. A man can certainly have thinner and less oily skin compared to the "average woman's skin." The key is understanding that there are no set rules—everyone's skin is unique. Your skincare routine should be tailored to your skin's specific characteristics, such as thickness, oiliness, and pH level, rather than being based solely on gender.

Skin is a living tissue and is adversely affected not only by external pressures but also by our dietary habits and stress levels. Like your heart and muscles, your skin also needs proper care to do its job properly. Any so-called best skincare routine for men should have four essential steps:

• Cleanse: Wash your face before you start and after you end your day to remove excess oil and dirt. Use a pH-balanced gentle cleanser face wash such as Aminu’s AHA Face Wash and make sure it doesn’t disturb the natural protective layers of your skin
• Exfoliate: Exfoliate your face twice a week, This will help remove dead skin cells and any impurities within the pores. It allows healthier skin cells to come upon the surface of the skin, giving you a younger and brighter complexion. The frequency of use and type of exfoliator (AHA Peel or Face Scrub) depends on the type of skin and skin concerns. You can read this quite a comprehensive guide to exfoliation written by the team at Aminu.
• Moisturise: Every time you clean, exfoliate your skin, moisturize it to keep your skin cells hydrated, and deliver nutrients to the skin to keep it healthy and glowing. Again, you can read Aminu’s blog on how to choose the right moisturiser for your skin type.
• Protect: Sunscreen protects our skin from the sun's harmful UV rays which cause premature aging, skin cancer, dark spots, tanning, etc. I recommend using physical sunscreen every morning on top of your moisturiser. Why every day? Read more here.
• Extra care: Using advanced moisturizing creams, serums, and oils at night will help to repair and rebuild skin tissues. This is because when you sleep, skin and every other cell tissue in your body are under repair and maintenance mode and it gets more time to absorb the ingredients that can help reverse existing damages. 

My simple suggestion would be to either talk to your skin specialist or if you don’t have one, talk to Aminu’s skin experts to design your personalized “best skincare routine for men” and then follow that regime sincerely.