The Routine
"To sum up the way I look at skincare now is – investment. It is just another branch to my lifestyle as a piece to my wardrobe would be, except much more fun and exciting because it is used daily and I know that once it is gone it’s time to explore something else or it can always be bought again."
Skincare is one of those things I have been more recently interested in as I have come to realize its importance. People don’t think twice about getting oil changes or tire rotations, the same consideration should be taken for your body’s largest organ. Healthier skin has proven benefits and myself like most men haven’t really taken the time to appreciate those benefits. It’s always been viewed as a feminine thing skincare maybe because of its but mostly because of ignorance. While I do think some routines can be excessive, I can attest that a simple daily regiment can produce wondrous results.
Growing up I truly never had a skincare routine. I never bought proactive (partially because my mom couldn’t afford it) or any other kind of acne fighting cleansers from your everyday superstore because I didn’t have those problems, and back then that is all I equated to skin care – acne. My moisturizer was body lotion. It just wasn’t something I ever had to really think about. Praises skin gods*
As I got older, I turned into the girl who slept in her make-up, washed her face in the shower with something by Aveeno or Neutrogena, and did one of those random cheap 1$ face masks at the end of the aisle every blue moon. But I did get hip to one thing – that little yellow bottle of moisture from none other than Clinique which was my first luxury skincare purchase.
Now my personal routine is still not as advanced as any entry level beauty guru (I am no Traci Ellis Ross), but the quality of product I prefer has definitely evolved, which I am proud of. The time I take to wash, pat, and rub my face daily is now something I genuinely enjoy. It makes me feel good. I have recently started to explore serums much more (and maybe that is me falling into the dark hole of marketing), but I love oils too so I work both into my daily routine for different times of the day.
Daytime:
Foam Cleanser (a light everyday wash), Serum (soaks into deeper layers of skin), Moisturizer (benefits top layers of skin)
Nighttime:
Make up Remover (balm is so much more sustainable than remover wipes), Foam Cleanser, Scrub or 1x week Clay Mask (for a deep clean from gunk in the day), Oil (skin absorbs through the night)
To sum up the way I look at skincare now is – investment. It is just another branch to my lifestyle as a piece to my wardrobe would be, except much more fun and exciting because it is used daily and I know that once it is gone it’s time to explore something else or it can always be bought again.
Do I wish I could add 10 more steps to my skincare routine, sure – but I also believe I don’t need those extra 10 products for an attainable glow.
The skincare industry is growing faster than the makeup industry, and it isn’t hard to tell or understand why. The more we (as a society) push natural is beauty, acceptance in all spectrums is beauty, self-care and health is beauty it will only continue to grow. Skincare has grown into such a lifestyle element, with not just women but men as well. The access and education of knowing what is now in all of the products we consume and where it is coming from also pushes the narrative a bit more. At the end of the day it is a multi-billion dollar business here to push you into buying those trinkets and creams you think you need signed off by a doctor we’ve never heard of and research that may or may not be true, but at least the consumer holds the power to know and decide more than ever.
