Dermatologist Recommended Men's Skin Care Routine
In this post I will talk about the perfect dermatologist recommended men’s skincare routine. Right off the bat, it is important to understand that everyone needs a specifically tailored skincare routine based on their skin concerns. In this skincare routine, I will cover most of the skin concerns like acne, hyperpigmentation, anti-aging, etc. This way we will cover most of the people’s needs and hopefully help most of you. Of course, I will also suggest you the products that you can use in your routine.
The big error I usually see with a lot of people is that they simply use too many products. Having too many products is not recommended because if you are using a product that your skin doesn’t need and that product contains ingredients that you don’t need it can even harm your skin and not help you out.
So let’s get into each skin concern and what ingredients to look for and what products you can use for each problem.
Recommended Men's Skin Care Routine For ACNE
The first ingredient you have to look for to lay it down as a foundation for every other ingredient if you are concerned about acne is retinoid. Using retinoid you will target most of the causes of acne and it is certainly the most researched ingredient that targets acne. It has been used for decades in acne products and it rarely disappoints. When it comes to the product that contains retinoid I would recommend ADAPALENE.
Now there are two products you get to choose from and that are Differin Acne Treatment Gel and EFFACLAR ADAPALENE GEL By La Roche-Posay. A little tip for these two products is that when you measure the price based on the ounces you get, the La Roche-Posay option comes out as cheaper. I will leave the link to both of course so you can cast your choice.
The number two ingredient that you have to look for is benzoyl peroxide which has level one or grade A evidence. When I say grade-A evidence I mean that this ingredient has been excessively scientifically researched. Benzoyl peroxide has a significant body of evidence supporting its effectiveness in treating acne.
It is most effective for inflammatory acne because it gets rid of bacteria that cause them and also it has great anti-inflammatory properties. The way that benzoyl peroxide gets rid of those bacteria is that it penetrates the skin and releases oxygen. Released oxygen then kills bacteria because it has anti-bacterial properties.
It also can break down some of the comedones to a certain degree. Comedones are non-inflammatory acne lesions that include blackheads and whiteheads and as I said benzoyl peroxide can help break down comedones to some extent.
This ingredient can be irritating to some people, cause dryness and it can also bleach your fabrics. Of course, to avoid any of these it is important to patch-test the product that I will recommend here and that contains benzoyl peroxide.
The first product that is recommended by dermatologists to use if you want to include benzoyl peroxide in your routine is PanOxyl Acne Foaming Wash Benzoyl Peroxide. It is also recommended to leave this product on your skin for at least 5 minutes so that its antibacterial properties can kick in.
The next product you could use for benzoyl peroxide is Cerave Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser. This Cerave product is intended for those that could be irritated by benzoyl peroxide because it makes up only 4% of its formula. This means that this product is extremely gentle but it is effective as well.
The next extremely useful ingredient for acne is salicylic acid which is commonly also referred to as beta-hydroxy acid. Salicylic acid is another commonly used topical treatment for acne. It works by exfoliating the skin and unclogging pores, which can help prevent and treat acne breakouts.
It has anti-inflammatory properties and it also reduces the amount of oils on the skin. This ingredient has a grade B when it comes to its research evidence. The product that contains salicylic acid and is recommended for use in case of acne is Paulas Choice – 2% BHA Liquid Salicylic Acid Exfoliant. This is one of the most viral products currently in the skincare community and it is viral for the reason, IT SIMPLY WORKS!
The last ingredient that you can use to treat acne is niacinamide, it falls in the category of vitamins. There are a lot of products that contain niacinamide but you can use it as an addition to one of the previously mentioned products. Niacinamide alone probably won’t be enough to treat your acne because that’s not its main purpose in a skincare routine. This is the niacinamide product I was talking about: THE ORDINARY Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%.
If you have acne your skincare routine simply MUST contain some of these ingredients to treat the acne. You should certainly use the product with retinoids no matter what and combine one or two of the other ingredients. I would suggest you use only one of them with a retinoid for the first 2 months and if you see the results you can add a third product. Also always remember to patch-test the new products that you are using!
Recommended Men's Skin Care Routine For Anti-Aging (Wrinkles and Fine Lines)
Most dermatologists recommend that the number one ingredient in your skincare routine should be retinoids if you want to address the issue of wrinkles and fine lines. As you can see retinoids are super important ingredients and are the foundation on which we can build up our routine. Since they are so important I will tell you a bit more about them.
So, retinoids are vitamin A derivatives and they include adapalene, tretinoin, retinol, retinaldehyde, etc. These are all the same thing with a bit different levels of efficacy. The benefits of retinoids are numerous and include acne treatment, anti-aging, hyperpigmentation, etc. Of course, it is important to incorporate retinoids into your skincare routine the right way. So I will give you a few tips on how you can do it.
Tip #1 – Pick the right retinoid for yourself
Picking the right retinoid is based on the strength of each one of them. Retinol which is one of the retinoids is suggested for sensitive skin. I think that CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum is a good starting point for most people to incorporate retinol into their routine. Also, a good starting point might be Ordinary Granactive Retinoid because it has only 2% of retinoid.
Of course, you can go with tretinoin which is usually a lot more effective but you will need a prescription to use any products that contain it. If you have a serious problem with acne and you have already tried over-the-counter products like the ones I have previously suggested then you should certainly pay a visit to your dermatologist and ask for tretinoin.
You can also try using topical creams which means they are applied directly on the skin. We have several texts on one of them that are praised as currently the best and it’s Winlevi cream. Here is the link to the text that explains how to use Winlevi and Tretinoin combined for the best results!
Tip #2 – Use the right amount of retinoid
So after you have picked the right retinoid for yourself now you need to incorporate it into your routine. You should use only a pea-sized amount of the product and spread it all over your face. The small amount will be perfect enough for you. You should do this right after cleansing the skin then after you apply the retinoid you should moisturize the skin. You can read how to cleanse your skin properly in one of our previous posts.
Tip #3 – Start with every other night or every third night
You should start slow when incorporating retinoids into your skin to avoid too much irritation. It is expected to experience a bit of irritation and flaking because of what retinoids do. You can expect the peak of the skin irritation after 2 or 3 weeks of using it and then if you continue to use retinoid it is going to calm down.
Once your skin has adapted to it you can start using it every day or every night for a few days just to see how your skin will react. If it reacts with more irritation you can go back to the old regime and wait a bit longer before switching to everyday treatment.
You can start by applying it every second night but if you have sensitive skin here is what you should do. Start by applying it every third night for 1 month, in a second-month move to applying it every second night, and in the third month I think you will be good to go to apply retinoid every night.
Tip #4 – Protect sensitive areas of your face
The most sensitive skin on everyone’s face is around the eyes. So to protect this skin you should apply Vaseline or Aquaphor around the eyes before applying your retinoid on the rest of your face.
Now moving to the more ingredients that work for anti-aging we have to make a separation between the products/ingredients. One group of them should work on protecting the collagen we already have and the second group should build collagen. To protect the collagen you should use sunscreen.
You will be fine as long as you are using SPF 30+. The most important thing is that you should wear it every single day. When it comes to the recommendations I would recommend using Hawaiian Tropic Matte Effect Sunscreen Lotion which has an SPF factor of 50, just to be extra safe.
As for building up those collagen levels in your skin, we come again to retinoids. I have listed some of the best retinoid products above so keep an eye on them for building up collagen!
Other ingredients that can build up collagen are niacinamide and vitamin C.
Recommended Men's Skin Care Routine For Uneven Texture
When I say uneven texture it represents dullness in your skin and the pores on your skin are more visible. In short, your face looks tired and the light reflects unevenly on your skin. So to fix this issue you can use exfoliants in combination with retinoids. A group of exfoliants falls salicylic acid, lactic acid, glycolic acid, mandelic acid, etc.
Of course, you would have to pick a product for one of those exfoliants and that might be hard to do. I would suggest you go with lactic acid out of those since it also hydrates your skin while exfoliating.
Recommended Men's Skin Care Routine For Hyperpigmentation
There is a large group of people who suffer from hyperpigmentation and to help you out here are some of the ingredients you should use: retinoids, vitamin C, niacinamide, hydroquinone, etc.
Out of those ingredients, hydroquinone might be the best bet but you gotta be careful while using it. Dermatologists don’t recommend using it for more than 3 months if you purchase it over the counter and without consulting with one of them. This is because it can cause permanent depigmentation if you use it for more than 3 months without proper supervision.
You also should be aware that treating hyperpigmentation takes time and it is not a one-month journey. More precisely it usually takes 3 to 6 months to see the benefits of using those ingredients and even up to a year. You should also wear sunscreen if you are suffering from hyperpigmentation which is unfortunately uncommon opinion.
People who suffer from hyperpigmentation usually have darker skin color and they are told that they should not wear sunscreen which is not true. Treating hyperpigmentation is impossible without wearing sunscreen every day and there are no compromises here.
CONCLUSION
The bottom line here is that everyone must make a custom skincare routine for themselves. The things that work for me certainly won’t work out for everyone. The most important thing is that you pick the ingredients that will treat and work on the things that bother you, whether that is acne, hyperpigmentation, etc. I hope that this post will provide you with the best possible advice so that you can build your routine.
