That guy you keep admiring during your gym sessions, the one with a smooth, acne, and pimple-free face – yes, that one. He’s not doing anything special from you. All he does is avoid the simple, rookie mistakes that you keep on making every day.
Having skin similar to his isn’t impossible. But there are certain habits you’ll need to drop. And if you think breaking these old habits is challenging, then his smooth skin should be your motivation. You can only be like him if you avoid all these mistakes.
What I’m talking about? Here’s Men Glow Up will point out 10 common men’s skincare mistakes that you need to stop making.
Sleeping With Your Makeup On
Who does this?
That’s what I thought at first, but it will surprise you how many men sleep with their makeups on. This is one of the most harmful skincare errors that you can make.
The night period is an essential time in your skin restorative process. The skin does this by producing its natural sebum. This secretion is full of fatty acids and nutrients to assist the skin heal itself.
When this oil is mixed with makeup, dirt, and grime, the result is clogged pores that may cause major breakouts. You don’t want this to happen.
To avoid all this commotion, spare five minutes before your bedtime to wipe off your makeup. Wash your face clean and retire when you’re 100% natural.
Using Face Wipes
Removing your makeup is one thing; how to remove it is another. Men’s relationship with face wipes is a juxtaposed one, mixed with love and hate.
We love face wipes because they’re travel-friendly, satisfying to use, and convenient. However, they also have a few cons.
One biggest disadvantage of face wipes is that they won’t clean your skin thoroughly. Sure, they’ll wipe off some of your makeup and debris, but they’ll also strip you of essential oils.
Face wipes are harsh on the skin. You have to press them down to scrape off the makeup.
How do you deal with this menace?
Don’t replace your cleanser with a facial wipe. While face wipes are excellent for trips and emergencies, I recommend a cleanser.
Skipping Out On Moisturizers
‘You don’t need a moisturizer if your skin is oily.’ This is one of the biggest misconceptions I’ve heard in the skincare industry. Let’s get one thing straight– Everyone needs moisturizer regardless of their skin type.
Moisturizers help the skin regulate its own oil production. The trick is ensuring that you settle for the right ingredients to avoid triggering a breakout.
Go for oil-free gel-crème moisturizers if your skin is oily. Alternatively, you could also purchase moisturizers with plant oils as ingredients.
Skipping Out On Sunscreen
Skipping out on moisturizers is a forgivable offense. But sunscreen, No!
Some of the mistakes men make when it comes to sunscreen include: forgetting to apply sunscreen on the entire body, relying heavily on makeup containing SPF, and only using sunscreen during the summer and spring.
Skincare professionals argue that SPF is one of the most important skincare products. So, I wouldn’t advise skipping out on sunscreen.
The American Academy of Dermatology Association argues that you should wear sunscreen every day that you’ll be outside– even when the sun isn’t shining.
Opt for mineral sunscreens when making your purchase. Avoid ingredients like octinoxate, octocrylene, octisalate, avobenzone, and oxybenzone. Instead, choose non-toxic products with titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as their ingredients.
Improper Layering of Products
How do you layer your skincare products? Do you put your serum on after or before the moisturizer? If it’s after, then you might as well pour it down the drain. Serums have targeted ingredients that need to be in contact with the skin as much as possible to perform their magic.
Moisturizers, on the other hand, operate as a protective blanket. Applying moisturizer before the serum will prevent the active ingredients from penetrating through and performing their tasks.
How should you layer products?
Simple! Apply your skincare products from the thinnest to the thickest formulas. ‘Toner- Serum- Moisturizer- Oil’ is the standard order to follow.
Harsh and Stripping Ingredients
There’s a good reason why you shouldn’t use bar soaps to wash your face– they are too harsh!
Bar soaps contain harsh ingredients that can strip your skin of its natural oils and moisture. If you have sensitive or dry skin, going for gentle products will be a simple solution. Avoid foam cleanser and gel that contain harsh ingredients. Instead, use cream cleansers.
Some of the harsh ingredients to look out for in skincare products include alcohol, fragrance, and sulfates. AHAs and salicylic acids can also be drying, so use them in moderation or followed by a moisturizer.
Failure to Double Cleanse
Double cleansing is the newest technique in town. This is basically washing your face twice– first to remove makeup and the second time to cleanse the skin.
Since we’ve all agreed that face wipes are pathetic in cleansing the skin, ensure that you double cleanse. This will solve the drying and irritating feelings that come with face wipes.
What tools do you require? Gentle micellar water with an oil cleanser will work perfectly. On top of being less wasteful, oil cleansers are also good at breaking heavy oil-based makeup. If your skin is dry, you can add factors such as hyaluronic acid.
If your skin is oily, go for gentle cleansers with salicylic acid to cleanse your pores without irritating the skin.
Cleansing and Not Moisturizing
I’m sure you know the dry, itchy feeling that comes after cleansing your face. This feeling is exacerbated when you use hot water, especially during showers.
Did you know that hot showers can damage your skin? Hot water can lead to excessive irritation, itchiness, and dry skin. I’m not telling you to avoid hot showers (which is impossible for most guys) but ensure that you moisturize afterward.
Moisturize after cleansing yourself to prevent further dryness, itchiness, damage, and irritation.
Over or Under Exfoliation
With the rise in popularity of chemical toners, cleansing brushes, scrubs, and retinoids, we are exfoliating more than enough. Over exfoliation comes with lots of problems such as irritation, sensitivity, inflammation, and acne.
There are two types of exfoliators, physical and chemical exfoliators. If you’re using a physical exfoliator like a clarisonic brush, there is no need to top it up with an acid toner. And if you’re using retinoids, take some time off chemical exfoliators.
In short, use physical exfoliators at a minimum. Lean more on chemical exfoliators since they encourage cell turnover, which is essential for anti-aging.
Complement your chemical exfoliators with high SPFs. This prevents the product from photo-damaging your skin.
Parting shot; don’t exfoliate more than thrice a week.
Mixing Incompatible Ingredients
Mixing glycolic acid and salicylic acid isn’t the wisest thing to do. Combining these two together increases your risk of over-exfoliating. Mixing incompatible ingredients is one mistake we often make unknowingly. Some of these ingredients counteract each other when combined.
Another example is using chemical exfoliators that contain retinol repeatedly. It’s okay to use these ingredients but do so separately to avoid irritating your skin.
Ingredient combinations that you should always watch out for and never mix are acids and retinol. Don’t mix skincare products with these two ingredients.
Conclusion
Most of the time, we make these mistakes unknowingly. And we normally do so when trying something new out of our daily routine. It is easy to get overwhelmed and ruin your skin by doing too much.
Aside from the above mistakes, here are others that you should avoid:
- Failing to wash your face after working out.
- Going to the gym or bed with makeup on.
- Failing to change your sheets regularly.
- Popping pimples
- Having scalding hot showers.
Avoid all these, and you’ll be good.
Which of these skincare mistakes are you guilty of?
