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M E N 'S  S K I N 

Shaving

Why is men's skincare important?

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Research shows that skin conditions like acne affect men and women equally. Additionally, the damage that the sun, or cold weather, does to the skin impacts men and women in the same way. Pollution, cigarette smoke and other contributors to the formation of free radicals do the same damage to men as they do to women.

Men tend to shave their faces regularly - in many cases every single day and this leads to accumulative damage and irritation, which makes moisturising extremely valuable.

Men's skin is thicker and produces more natural oil, due to greater levels of sebum production. As a result, the use of a daily face wash is essential for eliminating excess oil build up, which can contribute to a huge number of skin problems, including the formation of spots.

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Men's skincare tips & advice

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The first and most important of skin care advice is to develop a consistent skincare regime. This means using a high-quality skin cleansing product every day and this should be used first thing in the morning and last thing before bed, with warm water, in order to achieve the best results.

In addition to the use of a cleanser twice a day, men should also make use of a moisturiser.

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Moisturising products help to replace and seal in the skin's natural moisture. Maintaining the right moisture level is essential for avoiding dry and flaky skin.

Use a sun screen product, try to eat a healthy diet and drink plenty of water.

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Is There a Difference Between Male & Female Skin?

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But what is clear is the difference between male and female skin. Most obvious - facial hair, and goes as far as our hormones.

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How Does Male and Female Skin Differ?

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When it comes to male vs female skin  it’s down to the male sex hormone, testosterone.

Testosterone is present in female bodies, just generally to a lesser extent than in male bodies. It’s this hormone that makes male skin typically ‘male’, and by that, I mean thicker, oilier and with coarser hair. Male skin typically ages later than female skin, but the signs of ageing tend to occur faster when they do start to appear.

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Skin Thickness, Collagen and Ageing

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Male skin is around 20% thicker than female skin. This is because it contains a higher level of collagen than female skin, meaning that it retains its tightness for longer.

We all lose collagen as we age, but in females, the influence of oestrogen loss during the perimenopause and the menopause causes this decline of collagen to speed up. This means that the effects of ageing are often more pronounced at an earlier age in females than in males.

But this also means that whilst in females, aging is a gradual process, often in males, it can appear to be quite sudden. Over a shorter period of time, males may notice that the signs of aging make themselves known quite unexpectedly.

Wrinkles and lines in male skin are often deeper than those in female skin.

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Skin Oiliness

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Testosterone is also responsible for oil production.

Some of us produce more sebum than others - in fact, oily skin in all genders is due in part to an excess of sebum, and dry skin is down to too little sebum.

Sebum is produced by sebaceous glands in the pores and male skin tends to have larger pores than female skin. Larger pores equals more sebum production which in turn equals oiler skin. It’s estimated that male skin produces twice as much sebum as female skin.

Oily skin can also mean a higher chance of developing or having acne prone skin. 

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The Effects of Shaving Away Facial Hair

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Shaving away hairs from the delicate skin of the face is irritating. All that friction isn’t good for our skin. (Male skin might not be as ‘delicate’ in the soft sense as female, but it’s still more delicate than the skin on male bodies.)

Shaver’s rash is a very real problem for lots of men.

Shaving not only removes hairs, but it removes the top layers of skin too, leaving the fresh, new skin cells exposed to the elements.

Male skin can therefore react to extremes of temperature, weather conditions and indoor central heating and air conditioning.

Post shave moisturising to add back stripped moisture and to help protect the barrier function of the skin is essential.

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