Let’s face it – getting old sucks!
A forever receding hairline, sorer muscles, and expanding waistline are a grim reminder that we are getting older and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
But, whether you are 30 or 55, one of the first signs that you are getting older will be through the development of fine lines and wrinkles on your face, particularly around your eyes.
Below we are going to explore all the options that you can employ today that will deliver real results in reducing the appearance of these fine lines within a few week’s time.
Now check this out:
We aren’t going to blow smoke up your ass promising the world, that’s not our style.
Instead, all these steps below are highly recommended by skincare experts around the world as they are both safe and effective at ensuring men will have healthier, tighter, and more radiant-looking skin.
So, let’s get started, shall we?
How Your Skin Differs From A Woman’s
We are lazy guys.
When it comes to caring for our skin, we are incredibly bad compared to our female counterparts.
In a recent study, scientists were able to determine that on average, a man’s skin will naturally look about 15 years younger compared to that of a woman at equal age.
But here’s the kicker:
Us men don’t really ever adopt a skincare regimen until much later in life.
Sound familiar?
The reason for this large gap in years is simply due to the fact that men’s skin is actually constructed quite differently.
First and foremost, the surface of a man’s skin is going to be much thicker and coarser than that of a woman’s. Therefore, it will need a unique set of products designed especially for men, that can penetrate the surface of your skin to get the job done.
Secondly, men naturally carry more collagen than women (i.e. higher collagen density).
Collagen if you aren’t aware, is a protein that is responsible for providing your skin with a tighter elastic feeling.
The earlier you adopt a skincare regimen, the earlier you can keep your naturally high collagen levels up and ultimately reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
So if you are serious about better-looking skin, you should adopt the skincare regimen below:
Proper Skin Care Regimen
In order to have tighter looking skin that will be largely absent of fine lines, wrinkles, and dark circles, it’s critical that you do these three simple steps:
- Wash daily with a facial cleanser or exfoliator
- Apply a light layer of sunscreen
- Apply an anti-aging cream before bed
Here’s why each one of these steps is so important:
Gentle Wash In The Morning With A Facial Cleanser
When you roll out of bed in the morning, instead of just simply hopping into the shower and blasting your face with hot water and a bar of soap, you will want to incorporate a face wash.
A quality face wash will have ingredients that naturally compliment your skin to retain moisture and give you a much more radiant-looking skin tone.
Secondly, face washes will be much more effective than your standard bar of soap at releasing the dirt and oil that may have been trapped into your pores from the previous day.
Be sure to pick up a quality face wash as it will provide the basis for the rest of the products to really shine and do their job.
Exfoliate – But Don’t Over Do It
When you aren’t washing your face in the morning, you should be exfoliating.
Exfoliators, usually containing an abrasive natural ingredient such as walnut powder or pumice, will work to loosen dead skin cells that may have been trapped in the surface of your skin.
But beyond completely removing any dead skin cells, exfoliators will be incredibly effective at reducing the appearance of large pores, especially those on your cheek and nose areas.
If you are dealing with acne or a splotchy skin complexion, exfoliators should also help to remedy these issues as well!
So, you might be wondering, why you can’t just use an exfoliator in place of a daily face wash.
Well, the truth is that since exfoliators contain abrasive ingredients, you should never use this product more than two to three times a week.
Over-exfoliation of your skin will lead to general dryness and irritation.
Therefore, you will want to use exfoliators and face washes in tandem with one another. A good schedule that I like to recommend for men is that they use an exfoliator Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while using a face wash on the remaining days.
Looking for a recommendation on a men’s exfoliator?
Light Application of Sun Screen via a Face Cream Before You Head Out The Door
While a face wash or exfoliator will help to provide your face with a much cleaner and even skin-toned base, they don’t do much in the way of prevention of wrinkles and fine lines.
This is where a face cream will step in and do its job.
Face creams are chalked full of moisturizers that will help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and crow’s feet around your eyes.
When browsing the marketplace for options, you will see that many of them are designed quite differently depending on your skin type. So be sure to pick up the right one should you naturally have sensitive, normal, oily, or dry skin.
Finally, some top-shelf face creams will also contain SPF to keep the UVA/UVB rays at bay.
We would recommend picking up a product with a rating of at least SPF 15. While SPF 15 may sound like it’s not very effective from the onset, however, a rating of SPF 15 will actually block out about 94% of harmful rays (source) which is way better than 0% if you aren’t using a product currently.
Retinol Should Be Applied At Night
Retinol at first may sound scary for some men. It sounds like it will be an incredibly abrasive ingredient that will melt your skin off Freddy Kreuger style.
But alas, this isn’t the case if you do things right.
Retinol is undoubtedly the secret weapon to having near-perfect skin.
So, what is Retinol?
Retinol is simply Vitamin A1 (source). When applied to your skin, Retinol will help to turn over your layer of the skin bringing a new fresh layer to the surface.
This turnover will melt years off your appearance as the fresh layer of skin will be much firmer than the previous older layer that it just shed.
But here’s the kicker:
As much as we love Retinol, you must be careful with your application.
While we men always love to overdo things, you must practice restraint when using Retinol.
Since it does help to turn over your layer of skin, you will only want to apply it once or twice a week at first.
As your skin gets used to the product, you can increase the number of applications gradually with time.
Since Retinol helps to shed old dead skin cells, the new skin underneath will be incredibly delicate.
Secondly, never buy a product containing Retinol that is in a glass jar. The key ingredient, Vitamin A1, can break down rather easily with direct exposure to sunlight, leading to unintended results.
Therefore, be sure to pick up one that is stored in a tube or dark container.
This is also why its recommend by dermatologists to apply Retinol only in the evening hours.
Healthy Lifestyle In General Will Naturally Tighten A Man’s Skin
While all the above products will help to tighten your skin and give you a much more youthful appearance, there is no denying that you need to be healthy yourself.
Therefore, regular exercise and a healthy diet will go a long way.
When it comes to diet, you want to make sure that you eat foods that are complementary to good skin health.
Some of the scientifically proven foods to help firm and soften skin include yogurt, fish, pomegranates, and nuts to name a few. Generally speaking, fruits and vegetables are often loaded with antioxidants that will fight damage caused by free radicals.
If ingesting the above foods aren’t your cup of tea, a simple vitamin concentrating on skin health could be a great alternative.
Understand The Limitations Of Skin Care Products
As we eluded to earlier, the perfect skincare regimen will only take you so far.
There is no “magic pill” so to speak when it comes to tightening your skin. However, the right concoction of products will make strides at largely removing fine lines, wrinkles, and dark circles on your face.
When you follow all the above steps, you should expect to see results after a couple of weeks of use.
This includes smaller pores, reduction in fine lines, absence of any acne, along a more even skin complexion.
If you are looking for production recommendations, be sure to check out our in-depth reviews where we put the biggest brands head-to-head to see which will work the absolute best for your skin.