Image via Complex Original
As a man, there are certain unwritten rules you must abide by: don’t leave the toilet seat up if you live with a female; don’t waste the food on your plate; texting a lady friend after midnight only means one thing; and, of course, your face is your temple, so treat it like one. However, sometimes the last rule gets taken for granted. Too often do men not take the proper precautions or are just plain lazy when it comes to taking care of the skin on their faces. With everything that goes in it and comes out of it, and as much literal face time it gets, it could make or break how your day, week, or month.
Taking care of your face isn’t hard. In fact, it’s all about repetition—something we learn as tykes when we learn to brush our teeth, shoot a basketball, or ride a bike. By doing the same things consistently, our faces also become accustomed to them, and those habits become second nature. So, by knowing the basics and making them a part of your routine, you and your face might actually get to liking each other again. Tell your face how much you really like it by learning these 10 Things Every Man Should Know About His Skin.
Darker skin offers natural prevention from skin cancer, but usually lacks the proper amount of Vitamin D.
Skin cancer is most often caused by the abnormal growth of skin cells from exposure to the ultraviolet radiation of the sun. All your life, you’ve used precautions to prevent overexposure to the sun by applying sunscreen to filter the sun’s rays. Our melanin, or the natural pigments of our skin, can actually have some of the same powers as sunscreen due to the natural preventative powers in it. So the fairer your skin is, the less melanin it contains and the higher amount of risk you run. The darker your skin is, the more melanin it contains and the lower levels of risk you run of overexposure. While no skin color is immune to these issues, your skin can, up to a certain point, be a natural preventer of issues caused by the sun.
The pores in the creases between your nose and cheeks create and store more oil and grease than anywhere else on your body.
You’ve seen just how clogged up the pores in the little creases of your nose can get, especially when you make that silly face where your drop your top lip like you’re trying to look into your nostrils for buried treasure. That gunk is a build-up of grease and oil called nasal sebum, and the nose is special because it’s extra oily due to fact that it has more amounts of squalene—moreso than any other part of your body. This stuff is so heavy duty that it can actually be used to clean camera lenses and telescopes. You’ve probably used it to clear the foam at the top of your beer. You can’t just take the normal cleansing route to get rid of this stuff, especially if there’s proper build-up, so using an astringent pad and other products with the proper type of peroxide after you’ve properly cleansed your face can help suck out all of that gunk.
Your face has eccrine glands, and it's literally the first place you can physically sweat from.
You can’t technically sweat in the womb, but your face is literally the first place you secrete sweat from when you are born (kind of crazy, right?). And this physiological fact remains true as you grow. Those eccrine glands in your face may cause you to sweat more from the visage than anyplace else on your body. And while sweat—with all of its nutrients and natural exfoliants—can be good for your skin, there are impurities in it that need to be flushed out of the body. These impurities can clog pores and lead to bacteria build-up. It’s important to cleanse your face before and after you sweat to prevent even more dirt and grime from accumulating. Also, the more water you drink, the more of it actually gets into that sweat as you perspire, thus keeping your skin’s pH balance levels even.
If you’re stranded and for some reason are in need of a natural skin softener, use your urine.
While none of us would willingly get stranded in the wilderness just to survive off of nuts, berries, and anything you can kill, if you are the adventurous type, living on the edge is a part of the game. And when you play that game, sometimes you gotta get a little dirty. And when we say “dirty,” we mean cleansing your face with your own urine. While there are bacteria in your urine that you are trying to expel from your body, the amount of urea in it is like nature’s own skin softener, which can help prevent dry, peeling, and cracking skin while also clearing dirt and oil. This is especially true for your face, which is already more sensitive than most of the skin on the rest of your body and accumulates that dirt and oil like a little acne farm. So, under the dirtiest of circumstances, if you're in need of a little deserted island pampering and are desperate to clean your face, use your urine.
Consuming a higher amount of certain vitamins can make your facial hair grow faster.
It goes without saying that getting your daily intake of the right vitamins helps you grow as an individual. So why wouldn’t the right vitamins help your stubble grow as well? Vitamins A, B, C, and E all contribute to your facial hair growth, so including the proper amount in your diet is not only good for your overall health, but also good for the growth and sustainability of your face. Fruits and nuts also have that good green stuff—your mother’s suggestion of consuming more of those things has never seemed as wise as it does right now, huh?
When you’re done showering, cleansing, and shaving, close your pores with cold water.
Let’s say that you’re cooking a hot meal. It’s delicious, but you can’t finish it. Do you just leave it sitting out in room temperature or do you put it in the fridge to preserve it? It’s kind of the same thing with your face when it comes to opening and closing your pores. You go through all of the trouble of opening your pores with a hot shower and cleaning them out with scrubs and exfoliators, so close those suckers right back up afterwards with a splash of cold water to the face. That way you’re keeping out all of the gunk and bacteria from creepin’ and crawlin’ back in there.
Warm water and exfoliating will help treat and prevent ingrown hairs.
Men battle ingrown hairs all the time. Our faces and the hair underneath them are sensitive, yet also strong and stubborn—especially among African American males who generally have facial hair that is thick and wiry. Take the proper precautions by using warm water and exfoliating creams or gels to massage those hairs, softening them up and straightening them out so they aren’t curling up under the surface. It’s smooth shaving from there, as long as all of the other prerequisites are met along the journey.
If you don’t want your face looking like a desert in a drought, use liquid facial cleanser instead of bar soap.
Soap generally dries out your skin, especially that on your face, which is a bit more sensitive than everywhere else. The alkaline in soap has higher pH levels than the acidity in skin, which causes an imbalance and can lead to clogged pores and acne breakouts. A good liquid facial cleanser usually has pH levels that are closer to the skin’s levels. But make sure to choose a cleanser made specifically for your skin type because it could leave your face even more dry or oily than before.
Running your razor against the grain gives you a closer shave, but runs high on risk.
We’ve all done it—shaving against the grain to make sure our faces are clean as a whistle. It gets down to the nitty-gritty and really gets that stingy stubble. Thought it may feel great at first, the tension can actually pull the root of the hair up and out from the skin and cause more problems than it solves. Nicks, burns, and even ingrown hairs have a higher likelihood of occurring when you go against the natural grain. Try shaving in nature’s favor first, and then, if you aren’t yet satisfied and willing to take the risk of going against the grain, make sure you have a high-quality, multi-blade razor that is actually designed to be comfortable against your hair's natural direction of growth. After that, all you can do is have faith that you'll come out unscathed.
Sharp, quality razors are a man's best friend.
If your face is a fresh canvas, then a razor is the paintbrush that’s ready to create the art, or erase the mess that's presently there. And just like, a new, clean, high-quality brush will be the best tool for your masterpiece, the same stipulations are true of a razor. If you're using the same cheap razor more than a dozen times, you're running the risk of ruining your face, mainly because the razor not only cuts the hair, but it’s removing the topmost layers of skin, too. Old blades become dull, so they’re forced to work much harder than they need to and can cut more than you bargained for, causing all sorts of issues ranging from blotchy spots to a full-on facial rash. It’s basically the difference between looking like the Sistine Chapel or the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Spend a little extra dough for a quality razor and switch that blade out early and often if you plan on creating that final masterpiece every time you shave.
