Grooming for Modest Men, Part 1: Skin Care

Which is more important to you – grooming or clothing? Most of us tend to favor one over the other by putting more time and energy into it.

This post was written by Josh Meyer (founder of Brickell Men’s Products).

Every man, whether 6’6 or 5’6, should have a proper skin care and grooming routine. Not only will you look and feel better, but taking care of your skin and hair is just as essential as taking care of your muscles and mind.

While height and stature do play a role in life, they’re certainly not everything. Who would you pick in the following situation (whether business or in the dating world): The 6’4 guy who looks tired, weathered, and unkempt or the youthful, 5’6 guy with style, and an energized appearance? The choice is obvious.

In this first post (part 1 of 2), I’ll outline the basics of good skin care routines. In the second part of this series, we’ll cover hair care and facial hair.

Does skin care and grooming actually matter for men?

Guys don’t get together and talk about skin care or grooming, like women do. We talk about sports, women, or our latest life adventures. Nor, growing up, do most men get taught by anyone on how to properly take care of their skin, unlike most women.

So why, as a man, should you care about grooming and skin care? Because your face is your money maker and unless you hit the genetic lottery, it won’t take care of itself magically. Not only does a well groomed face attract a significant other more easily, but it could also get you 10% more in pay.

As a man, your skin is unique and using female or unisex products just won’t cut it. The reason for the differences is due to testosterone. The biggest differences are:

Your skin is 25% thicker than a woman’s, primarily due to having higher collagen density than a woman, providing a stronger structural base for the skin. This means less creasing and folding of the skin, also known as wrinkles.

This is also a big reason why men’s faces hold up better over time, if taken care of.

You produce significantly more sebum than women. Sebum is oily, waxy matter that lubricates and waterproofs your skin. This is what causes a man’s face to be more prone to oily skin, acne, clogged pores, and other skin issues.

Every man, no matter the age, should be vigilant against the buildup of clogged pores. Women’s skin care products are not made to deal with the higher level of oils in a man’s skin.

Despite what you might think, shaving is not the enemy. The ability to grow facial hair actually benefits you in many ways. Your facial hair follicles give your skin a stronger structure, thus preventing wrinkles and lines from forming as easily.

If you choose to shave, you also naturally exfoliate your skin, removing dead skin cells that can clog pores and collect dirt/oil.

Skin Care

For any man, especially shorter men, there’s no excuse not to have a simple, solid skin care routine for your face which can keep your skin healthy and energized until you’re knocking on death’s door. Follow our simple 3 step routine every week and your face will be glowing for years to come.

Cleanse

Cleansing the face removes excess oil and any toxins that have built up on your skin throughout the day. This also helps keep an even skin tone, which promotes skin clarity and brightness. You should follow the face wash process in the morning and after the gym/before you go to bed each night.

Step 1: Wet your face with warm water (even better if you can do it in the shower), which helps open up the pores.

Step 2: Lather up your face for 30 seconds with your face wash by lightly rubbing in a circular motion. Try not to pull down on the skin as you don’t want to help gravity and expedite the natural occurrence of wrinkles/loose skin.

Step 3: Rinse with cool water after washing your face, as this will shrink your pores, preventing new dirt and oil from entering.

Pat your face dry. Avoid rubbing your face which stretches the skin and encourages premature wrinkling.

Pro Tips:

• Avoid washing your face more than twice a day. It can cause unnecessary dryness.
• Your face SHOULD NOT feel tight and dry after cleansing. Your skin needs its natural oils and the tight, dry feeling occurs when you’ve stripped these away. This causes your skin to go into overproduction of them, causing breakouts and irritation.

Moisturize

Moisturizing your face daily keeps it hydrated which allows skin cells to retain moisture – thus presenting a fresh, energized appearance.

The biggest cause of a tired, dull face is lack of retained moisture by skin’s cells (it gets harder for cells to retain moisture as we age).

Moisturizing daily also prevents aging skin, evens skin tone and ironically, prevents excess oil production.

How to Moisturize Your Face

After each time you wash your face, apply a small amount of men’s facial moisturizer on your face. Gently rub the moisturizer into your skin with small circles, making sure to cover all part – forehead, around the eyes, cheeks, nose, and around the mouth.

Note from Brock: I recommend moisturizing while your face is still damp, immediately after you pat it dry with a towel (but before your skin dries out). I use moisturizer within one minute of stepping out of the shower.

If you use any sort of spot treatment acne cream, apply that before the moisturizer. It’s okay to put moisturizer on over this cream.

You don’t need much and the best face moisturizers for men absorb quickly and have a nice matte finish.

Forehead and Eyes

The skin around your eyes is the most delicate on your body, so be careful to not rub in the face moisturizer too rough in that area.

Forehead wrinkles and lines around your eyes can be deeper and require a power packed moisturizer. For these wrinkles use a small amount of anti-aging cream for men. Simply apply to forehead and lightly rub the moisturizer in to the skin.

For even better results to repair and restore aging eyes, use an eye cream for men, as it will not only smooth wrinkles around the eyes, but reduce bags and puffiness.

Nothing can prevent wrinkles or fully make them go away (and anyone claiming this is a fraud), but you certainly can slow down the aging process and make them less noticeable.

Pro Tip: If you’re going to be in the sun for an extended period of time (over 30 minutes), apply SPF30 or higher designed for the face on top of your daily moisturizer in order to protect the skin from sun damage.

Scrub

Exfoliating (or scrubbing) your face removes dead skin cells which clog up pores and dull your complexion. While it sounds like a female skin care term, it’s not.

Dead skin cells build up on your face over time and can cause uneven skin tone, cause ingrown hairs, and allow dirt & oil to get trapped in your pores. Exfoliating also helps create a much better shave.

The less friction (dirt, hair, dead skin cells) on your face, the easier the blade can glide across your face, thus creating a cleaner shave.

One to two times a week after washing your face (and before moisturizing), use a dime size amount of men’s face scrub and gently rub all around your face and neck. Most guys have the tendency to think they really need to grind the scrub into the face, but all that does is irritate and dry it out, thus creating skin issues.

Pro Tip: If you have very coarse hair, you should scrub around the areas of your face three to four times a week before you shave. This will create a much easier shave as it will soften up the whiskers, remove build up on your face, and also cause the whiskers to stand up, allowing the blade to cut more of them.

Be sure to check out Part 2 of this series to learn the basics of hair care and facial hair for men.

Do you moisturize your face? Leave a comment below!