This seems to be almost a taboo topic for some reason in the society so here I am.
Again not trying to get into some crazy skincare that requires way too much time or money cause I think that might not even encourage men to try and might end up making us clueless.
But would love to know what are the absolutely important skincare rituals that men(especially for the one in late 20s who have never followed any basic skincare ever) should follow for example never ever missing on sunscreen and stuff like that.
The basics everyone should do in the morning: are sunscreen, and at night: cleanser and moisturizer. If you want to actively slow down aging, a retinoid is a good idea. Also, be aware that you need to use more sunscreen than you think you do.
No one has mentioned this yet but retinol/retinoids and vitamin C are NOT basic skincare.
Do NOT attempt to use them if you don’t know what you’re doing. Many people get so excited and try so many new things to only have their skin barrier compromised. Especially, do NOT attempt to use them if you don’t have a basic skincare routine down. Start with cleanser, moisturizer and SPF. Make sure these things work for you first before attempting something else.
When you are confident that your products work for you, then you may slowly try a Vitamin A Product of your choice once a week, make sure to follow up with sunscreen and slowly incorporate it more into your routine.
When your skin is used to this routine then you may add other activities like Vitamin C or chemical exfoliants.
EDIT: retinol/retinoid/differin/tretinoin etc are all Vitamin A derivative products
Comments seem to be on point. I’m seeing a lot of follow-up discussions about retinoids so I’ll just specifically recommend different if you can get that in India. It’s just the brand name for Adapalene in the US.
It is more effective than retinol or retinaldehyde while being much more gentle than tretinoin. (All of which are forms of retinoids.) Tret is more effective, but it has a nice trade-off profile for beginner retinoid users.
I’m a guy in the age range you mentioned and going through a tube of different, then getting on Tret worked very well for me.
Routines are based on what your individual skin needs are, and there’s no difference between men and women. Are you currently finding that your skin is tight dry or flaky? Then it needs more moisture (non-alcohol-based toners/serums, seal with moisturizer). Is it prone to acne? Then maybe test with benzoyl peroxide. You need to assess your skin first and find out what you’re looking for (maybe a texture or brightness you used to have but is no longer the case due to aging), and then look for the routine that “corrects” what issues your skin has now.
If your skin is perfect for you, then the only critical thing is consistent daily sunscreen, which you should test to see what works for you.
If you have medium or dark skin, be cautious about products that can affect skin pigmentation. Some can cause de-pigmented patches on medium and dark skin.
For the day: cerave foaming cleanser, then cerave moisturizing sunscreen For the night: cerave foaming cleanser, tretinoin (every 2-3 days), then cerave nighttime moisturizer.
I’m thinking of switching from the Cerave moisturizers - they feel too thick. I tend to have dry-ish skin.
I just use a cleanser every day and then exfoliate twice a week with Saint ives exfoliator/ cleanser. ( that weird apricot stuff) and then I apply nivea moisturizing lotion every day. Also splash cold water on your face. Make sure to drink a lot of green tea and water, and eat oranges and lemons a lot.
I just started learning about skincare very limited knowledge, looks like it depends mainly on skin type. That will help determine what products to use but how can I avoid Russian roulette with my skin by avoiding bouncing from product to product? I suppose an easy answer would be mostly natural ingredients and avoiding ingredients that dry out the skin. I have slightly oily/sensitive skin until now only using Cetaphil just got into exfoliating but lack proper cleansing products, toners, or even retinol my routine is very sparse, to say the least. How in-depth should I go and what recommendations does anyone have I want a full routine preferably with Hyaluronic acid, retinol, and eye serum I saw some decent products on Think Dirty but have no experience with them can anyone provide ideas?