Male skin care has seen huge growth in the last decade with men not only having product bought for them by women but increasingly choosing to buy their own skin care products.  Men’s skincare products are more commonplace today and increased advertising has made the average man more likely to consider whether skin care products might be for him.

Some of this increase is due to an increased pressure in the workplace to look good – the man who perceives his appearance is linked to his career success is keen to present as well groomed. He wants to have his skin looking in the best condition it can. A worldwide survey by health care firm Allergan found a total of 31 percent of American men considered grooming to be important because they wanted to look good for professional reasons.

Men are also finding out what women have known for a long time – that well cared for skin not only looks better it feels better as well!

What to look for in men’s skin care?

• Keep your skin care regime simple and you will be more likely to keep it up and reap the greatest benefits.

• Find a cleanser you can use under the shower to save time. Using a cleanser before shaving helps soften the stubble for easier shaving.

• Stop using bar soap to clean your face – choose a cleanser like the skinsaviour cleanser for men that has no soaps or detergents that dry out the skin.

• Choose a moisturiser that will give long lasting hydration but not give a greasy look to the skin. skinsaviour cream for men absorbs beautifully and leaves no greasy residue. A shiny face does not look good.

• Use a moisturiser that calms and soothes the skin after shaving will help reduce irritation that is often experienced after shaving. Shaving can be tough on the skin.

• Find skin care products that have no harmful chemicals, colourings, perfumes that can irritate or dry the skin. skinsaviour has done the work for you here in providing a high quality effective moisturiser that has none of what you don’t want in your skin care.

• Sun protection is a must if you are going to be outdoors, nothing ages the skin faster than sun exposure.

Oily skin is caused by overactive oil glands which produce a natural lubricant for the skin called sebum. Natural healthy skin has a normal amount of oil produced in order to keep it supple and give it a healthy glow – we call this normal skin. Oily skin produces too much oil and the skin becomes thick and heavy in texture and can look greasy and dull. Excess oil also means the pores are more likely to become blocked and therefore more susceptible to pimple, acne and blackheads. Excess oil production has links with our diet which we can do something about and hormone production which we can’t.

How to test for oily skin

If you look in the mirror you will probably see a greasy, shiny look to the skin, often with a coarse texture and large pores which can sometimes have an orange peel texture. Your skin may look dull and sallow and you may also be prone to blackheads and outbreaks of pimples. There is also  a combination skin type which will mean you have oily areas to deal with as well as dry patches. You may like to have your skin type diagnosed by a professional or take the simple tissue test and see what results you get.

Tissue skin type test:

• Wash your face with a gentle cleanser and lukewarm water

• Do not moisturise afterwards

• Wait for 30 mins

• Place a tissue over the entire face and pat all over the face keeping the tissue in one place.

• Look at the tissue – if you can see oily patches on the tissue you have oily skin.

• If the oily patches are only on the chin, nose and forehead only, you may have combination skin so only the oily areas will need to be treated as an oily skin type.

Oily skin treatment

• Treat it gently – harsh treatment and products can cause increased oil production.

• Don’t try to dry up the skin with ingredients containing alcohol and harsh astringents as this can also cause more oil to be produced.

• Avoid cleansers with harsh soaps and detergents, they can worsen the problem in the long term.

• Use lukewarm water to wash and pat dry gently, this will be enough to remove excess oil without stripping the skin of its natural oils.

• Blot the excess during the day with blotting tissues or plain tissues; this will gently remove the excess shine rather than was your face excessively causing more oil production.

• Use a moisturiser that will absorb well to help treat and protect the skin without blocking the pores and looking greasy.

• Avoid too many greasy and fried foods in the diet.