The Only Skincare Routine Most Men Actually Need

Wash your face with a gentle cleanser, pat it dry, then wait an hour. No complicated equipment needed—just notice what happens. Tight, flaky skin means you're dry. Shiny forehead and nose points to oily. Both issues in different areas means you have combination skin. Burning, stinging and redness signals sensitive skin.

Regular soap treats your face like it's filthy. A proper facial cleanser removes dirt and excess oil without drying out your skin's natural barrier. Choose a sulfate-free cleanser for your skin type. Cold water, leaves a layer of dirt stuck to your face like a clingy ex. Forget scalding hot water, it might feel manly but strips oils fast — lukewarm is just fine.
Pro Tip: Invest in proper washcloths. Your hands alone just move the dirt around, but with a clean washcloth you get daily exfoliation and a better chance of lifting all the grime.

Yes, even oily skin needs moisturizer-ignore people who tell you differently. When you strip your skin's moisture without replacing it, your skin has a panic-attack and cranks up oil production. Just opt for lightweight, non-comedogenic formulas. Dry and sensitive skin benefits from richer creams with ingredients like ceramides, squalane, and panthenol. Combination skin might need different products for different zones of your face.

Dead skin cells pile up, block your pores and make you look dull. Exfoliation removes this buildup and prevents ingrown hairs, which is definitely useful for guys who shave regularly. Choose between physical exfoliants with fine particles (not jagged walnut shells that create more damage), chemical exfoliants with AHAs that renew the skin surface or BHAs that can clear out pores that get clogged with oil. Once or twice weekly is enough. Seriously doing it more than that doesn't make you cleaner — it just annoys your skin and causes problems.

Serums have active ingredients in higher concentrations with smaller molecules that reach deeper into your skin than basic moisturizers. They target the problem with precision rather than the general approach of all-purpose products. Apply a few drops to your clean skin before moisturizing. The best ones include vitamin C for brightness, glycerin or peptides for hydration, and retinol for cell turnover. Start slowly with retinol unless you're aiming for the "freshly molted snake" aesthetic.

Your skin contains about 64% water. When you're dehydrated, it shows immediately as dull skin and more visible lines — like a grape turning into a raisin in slow motion. You've heard it before, but you're going to hear it again: aim for at least 1.5 liters of quality water daily. Coffee, juice, juice drinks, soft-drinks, energy drinks, and alcohol don't count — they actually dry you out even more.

During deep sleep, your body rebuilds collagen, repairs DNA damage from UV exposure, and balances hydration. When your sleep is poor, it shows up as dark circles, sallow skin, and more pronounced wrinkles — essentially looking tired and worn. Seven to eight hours of quality sleep will give you much better results than the most hyped night cream on the market. No skincare product, no matter how expensive, can make up for shorting yourself on sleep.