Does the term ‘skincare’ make you as a guy cringe? If yes, why? What is so cringey about good looking, luscious, refreshed skin? Oh the horror!*puts hand to forehead* For the uninitiated man, diving into the ocean of skincare can be so scary. But what if I told you that that you need just five items to start up your skincare routine and steadily build your regimen from there? How? C’est impossible! Settle down, grasshopper. Lean close, lemme learn you something.
1. Face wash or soap
You should not use the same soap you use on your body on your face. Why? Because facial skin is more delicate than the one on your body. Dove, Nivea, Olay,etc and even some Nigerian brands like Mint Organic Care make some pretty good face soaps for men.
Or you could go big and double cleanse. Heh? Double what? As if washing once is not stressful enough. Trust me you’ll thank me later. Double cleansing is a face washing method done and made popular by Koreans. Before you complain, quickly do a Google search of Korean men and women. See how glowy their skin is? I rest my case. Double cleansing involves first using an oil cleanser or balm to first wash the face. The mind behind this is that the oil cleanser attracts and removes all oil based dirt and sebum from the face. This is then followed by a water based cleanser which clears all leftover dirt. Please, don’t scrub your face, rub gently in a circular motion when washing and then pat dry with a towel.
2. Exfoliator
This step should not be done everyday. Like the name suggests, it’s a product that exfoliates your skin by removing dead skin cells from your face. Allowing newer skin cells to surface = glowy skin. This step should be done twice or three times a week depending on your skin. Exfoliating every day can cause breaks in the skin, inflammation of the skin and a host of other problems. Don’t do it, bruh!
3. Moisturizer
This is necessary to seal in moisture into your skin. It is best applied to damp skin. Rub into your skin in circular motions until the cream is absorbed into your skin. You can use face oils, if you prefer them to creams.
4. Sunscreen
This is very important. Yes, I know black don’t crack. But black skin also needs to be protected from the damaging effects of the sun. To prevent skin cancer and skin damage wrought by the damaging rays of the sun. Besides, sun damage = damaged, aging skin. No bueno! So, apply your sunscreen. It should be best applied at least 30 minutes before leaving the house. It should be reapplied every 3 to4 hours. Also, try to stay out of the sun.
5. Lip balm
Chapped lips are the worst. Lip balm should be with you to protect your lips from drying out and chapping along the course of the day. Besides, nobody likes chapped lips. Even John Boyega stopped mid post to moisturize his lips. So, if Finn from Star Wars can moisturize his lips, why won’t you?
So, these should arm you as you go into the ocean of skincare. Go forth and conquer.
