Curious about the science behind healthy skin, guys? Wondering what habits you need to cut out to keep that youthful glow well into your, ah, later years?
You’d be better off asking what habits don’t contribute to skin damage. Your skin responds poorly to everything from excessive coffee consumption (yikes!), sleeping with your makeup on, too much chlorine exposure (hello, saltwater pool!), and excessively hot showers… the list goes on and on and on.
What can you do to slow the inevitable skin aging process? Start with these five tips. And don’t expect a miracle; this is your skin we’re talking about.
1. Don’t Be Shy About Scrubbing
Use a gentle facial scrub every day to remove ground-in dirt and grime from your pores. If you’re not a scrubber, this takes some getting used to; it’s hard not to imagine that you’re doing more harm than good when it hurts to wash your face. Keep the faith, though. You’re removing the conditions that contribute to pimples, enlarged pores, blotching, discoloration, and other ill effects.
2. Use a Cleansing Face Wash
Scrubbing isn’t enough. Follow up your daily scrub with a thorough cleanse with one of Faveable’s leading men’s face wash brands.
Washing your face with a cleansing scrub isn’t just good for your pores. It’s also essential for sweeping away the detritus that inevitably builds up over the course of a long, hard day: dead skin cells, microscopic pollutants, and excessive oils. Plus, it’s good for your circulation. Who can argue with that?
3. Be Careful With Body Lotion and Hand Moisturizers
Face washes and scrubs are a-okay. Body lotion and hand moisturizers, not so much — not on your face, at least.
Here’s the thing: body lotions and hand moisturizers are designed for less delicate skin. Your arms and abdomen might share a basic hue and tone with your face, but that’s about where the similarities end. When you apply lotion meant for other parts of your body to your face, you counteract the ameliorative effects of the cleansers and scrubs on which you rely to maintain that healthy, youthful glow.
4. Apply Lip Balm Carefully
No one’s saying you shouldn’t apply lip balm to dry, cracked lips — or, better, proactively during dry weather or when you expect to be out in the sun for long periods.
What you should do is avoid applying lip balm indiscriminately or sloppily. That’s a sure recipe for lip-adjacent pimples and sores; not the look you want on an otherwise healthy-looking face.
5. Get Plenty of Sleep
Last but not least, get plenty of sleep. Sleep is good for far more than your skin; of course, it’s essential to overall health. But emerging evidence suggests that poor sleep is associated with poor skin; now that you know, it’s up to you to act.
Your Glow Is Showing
These aren’t the only steps you can take to put your best face forward. Healthy skin requires an all-hands-on-deck approach — fitting, perhaps, for your body’s largest organ.
Whatever you do, don’t allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the vast selection of skincare products — not to mention the even vaster array of purportedly skin-enhancing oral supplements, not all of which work as intended. Getting from “grimy” to “glow” takes time, but it’s not rocket science.
