Believe it or not, 40% of spa goers are now male. And according to the international spa association, men are no longer sneaking their partners skin care cream and masks, they’re actually embracing taking care of their skin. When you know and understand that facial skin on men is thicker and secretes more than that of women, you’ll understand why men are looking for ways to take care of their skin and do it with professional help as well as home care services.

So I’m going to concentrate this article on you being able to care for your skin at home in between spa visits.

As men, you have larger pores and your skin tends to be characterized as more oily, thereby creating more blackheads than that of most women. And at the same time, your skin is often dehydrated from soaps that you’re using, and black soap is one of the culprits because it requires extra care in trying to stop oil secretion. When your brain registers that your skin is dry, it steps up the production of oil in your skin.

Combine dry soaps, shampoos and hot showers that you take, this becomes a breeding ground for a lot of things. So you will need treatments that are both hydrating and cleansing for deep pores which will balance the oil. When you’re looking for products, you will need treatments and products that are geared specifically towards your skin.
The Biggest Challenge in Skin Care for Black Men

What’s the biggest challenges that black men have? That challenge is known as pseudo folliculitis de la baba. In plain English, it’s known as ingrown hairs. Ingrown hairs are an inflammatory action that involve bumps that turn inward and can also turn into puss bumps in your beards, on your lower face, on your neck and typically little small red or pink bumps in the beard area.

This flares up with repeated shaving and tends to get worse with very curly or kinky hairs. When you shave and that hair does not completely come out of the follicle and turns back into your skin, this is where your greatest challenges come in as far as ingrown hairs.

Keeping The Skin Care Regimen for Men Simple

Not only do you as men of color, African American men, have to contend with what to do for your face, a lot of you are bald headed. So your head becomes part of the skin care regimen that you have as well as for your face.

So you treat it as one unit. You need products and look for products that work in a minimum amount of time and you don’t like spending hours each day trying to maintain your skin. You like being able to take care of your skin, but you’re not driven like women to go 4 and 5 hours at the spa.

9 out of 10 times you’re looking for a daily regimen that’s going to keep life simple for you, something you can do in just a few minutes in the morning and be on your way out the door.

Cleans, Tone and Moisturize, morning and night. This is as simple as 1-2-3 and you’re done.

One of the first things you want to have in your daily regimen in skin care for black men is a soap free cleanser. Soap dries your skin out.

Yes, you’ll find that some creams and especially granular cleansers can get caught in hair follicles if you have beards. So if you’re using a cream, you want to clean those areas that do not have hair, and any time you’re working with a cream that you take into the beard area of your face, you’re going to want to use a hot towel that will melt that cream down and help you remove it from your face.

You also want to include a toner. A lot of you will go for astringents because you think that’s going to dry the oil up, but toners are much better for your skin because they’ll hydrate and bring the pH balance into place. Toners don’t sting or bring a burning sensation to your skin.

Don’t forget to add to your regimen a daily moisturizer. Just like women, you’re going to need sun protection, so your moisturizer should be something that has an SPF in it. A cream would work here, you don’t have to go into your beard heavy, apply it to your skin, and if you’re bald you want to make sure that sunscreen and moisturizer is over your entire head. This is a regimen that you do on a daily basis and in between spa visits.

Another two thing you’ll want to have in your regimen is an exfoliation treatment that will give you a deep pore cleanse and don’t for get your mask.  These two steps are great for your skin when done at least once a week.

You should consider adding a spa visit to your regimen at least once a month. It’s necessary and also good for relieving stress. Yes brother, we understand your stress.

Your Hands and Feet Are Extremely Important To Your Health

Another thing you want to include in a skin care regimen for black men is the care of your hands and feet. You can do a manicure once or twice a month. But something as simple as keeping your hands moisturized with some type of cream or lotion will take care of a lot of the ash you see building up.

A pedicure is also something you would add to your regimen because the idea of summer, beach sandals and grubby feet can be unattractive. Be careful who does your pedicures because you don’t want anybody going into your nail beds too deep. The same thing applies to your nail beds. If you don’t like the idea of sitting in an environment full of women,  find a good podiatrist, they will really keep your feet nice and healthy. They’ll even feel soft to touch, you lady just might like the feel of that.

That’s it for this week, As Always …

Dedicated To The Skin You’re In

Juliette Samuel

Esthetician/Author/Publisher

Nyraju Skin Care