As a modern man of the world, we suspect you’re already skincare savvy. With elevating your daily beauty and grooming routine in mind we’ve curated a list of the latest must-have skincare products and treatments you need to add to your arsenal – and your travel bag – now.
Cleanse Your Face
Cleansing your face morning and night is the first step in any daily skincare routine. That said, to find the right product for you, it’s best to know your skin type – though generally, male skin is a little more on the oily side. Or go for a product like Tiége Hanley Face Wash that caters to all skin types including sensitive skins and is full of soothing, hydrating botanical ingredients and free of fragrance and nasties. Anthony Logistics Glycolic Facial Cleanser is also a top seller that gives a thorough cleanse while helping to soften beard hairs and gently remove dead skin cells. Or go high tech with a tool like Foreo LUNA 2 for Men, a device that uses sonic pulsations, that you massage over the face for a deep cleanse, to draw out impurities and prep the skin for the perfect shave.
Scrub That Skin
Adding an exfoliating product to your skincare regime helps remove dead skin to leave skin smooth and supple and allow for deeper penetration to maximize the benefits of other products. Exfoliator, however, is not a daily use product, it’s recommended for use three times per week. We love Brickell Men’s Products, especially their Renewing Face Scrub which is formulated with organic ingredients including pumice, avocado, and jojoba beads, and Keihl’s Age-Defender Dual-Action Exfoliating Cleanser to clean and slough your skin in one simple step.
Wake up Your Eyes with Caffeine
No, caffeine is not just for your morning espresso. Apply an eye cream every morning and night after cleansing and before moisturizer to protect against fine lines and wrinkles and remove evidence of dark circles and bags, if you’ve been burning the midnight oil. Look for eye creams that contain caffeine, a powerful anti-inflammatory to wake up the eye area, and stimulate the delicate skin as well as rejuvenating vitamins and antioxidants. Our picks are Lumin Men’s Dark Circle Defense and Clinique for Men Anti-Ageing Eye Cream.
Anti-Ageing Serum for Men
To turbo-charge your skincare routine, protect against aging, and give your face an extra healing hydrating hit, apply a face serum or oil to your skin before moisturizer. The Costa Brazil collection is perfect for men’s or women’s skin and the Kaya Anti-Ageing Face Oil comes infused with a Brazilian rainforest complex that’s rich in cacay, oil antioxidants, vitamins A, C, E, and omegas to enhance the health and glow of your skin. Dr. Strum Super Anti-Ageing Serum is also a miracle worker that’s worth the investment.
Hydration Station with SPF
Moisturizer is the final important step in your skincare routine to keep skin hydrated and give it a dose of healing and nourishment – the act of running a razor blade over your face every day understandably does take its toll in the sensitivity and irritability department. And ask any skincare expert and they’ll all swear that sunscreen is an absolute daily must regardless of the season to protect your skin from pollutants and the sun’s damaging UV rays which can lead to premature aging and wrinkles. The trick here is to find a good moisturizer with inbuilt SPF. Go for these multi-tasking must-haves: Jack Black Double-Duty Face Moisturizer SPF 20 or EltaMD Skincare UV Daily Broad-Spectrum SPF 40. Oh and don’t forget your lips also need a little TLC to battle the elements. Finish with a slick of Tom Ford Hydrating Lip Balm.
The Art of The Perfect Shave by The Blind Barber
Alex Brenard is a head barber for The Blind Barber, a men’s centric hair salon and barber with an inbuilt speakeasy that has locations in New York, LA, Miami, Chicago, and Philadelphia. So yes you can go for a shave and stay until 2am sipping your favorite whiskey (or whatever happens to be your poison). Speaking of, The Blind Barber’s hair care and shave products take their cue from the cocktail culture and menu; the shampoo and conditioners have hops and barley like every good beer should, and their juniper and botanical infused shave creams pay homage to their gin line up. Oh and you can also drop in for their signature ‘Hot Towel Shave’ minus the actual shave, it’s called the ‘The Hangover Treatment’ and given their spa plus bar mantra, well, that only seems fair.
“Our ‘Hot Towel Shave’ service is like a luxury treatment that takes 30 – 40 minutes. It starts with a pre-shave face massage using Blind Barber Beard Oil which contains jojoba and avocado essential oils and botanical extracts to moisturize the skin and soften coarse beard hair. Next, we cover the client’s face with a hot towel pre-treated with eucalyptus oil to prep the skin and open up the hair follicles. This is followed by the application of a classic shaving foam which we heat up to help lubricate the skin so the razor will gently glide over it, followed by another hot towel, the actual shave, then the application of our soothing daily moisturizer post-shave lotion infused with juniper berries that tingle the skin. The shave actually only takes around seven minutes, the majority of the time is spent prepping the skin as that is what is crucial to the perfect shave. The best advice for perfecting a shave at home is to always shave in the shower or straight after as the steam helps to soften and open the hair follicles. For a close shave, pull your skin nice and tight, apply a shaving cream or gel, like our Blind Barber Shave Cream which is infused with soothing botanicals and juniper to prevent irritation, add moisture and soothe the skin, because at the end of the day you are scraping your face with a razor blade. As for the blade, we use the old school metal safety razors and at home disposable Dorco Razors do a great job. They are double-edged; I personally think some of today’s razors with 10 blades irritate your skin more.”
