Many women are guilty of obsessing beauty products, men are on the contrary – not using enough.
All they just use are a body wash, shampoo, shaving cream, and call it a day without knowing that poor skincare process is breaking havoc on their skin.
We have consulted five experts in men’s grooming to find a sweet spot between those two extremes and important, to not make our “minimalist men” overwhelmed when giving their skincare process an upgrade.
Guys, add these products to your arsenal and you are golden:
The Big Four
Start from the basics.
Here are all must-have items that every guy needs in his medicine cabinet. Once you’re getting used to this new skincare process, you can leverage it if wanted.
Remember, the most attractive men on Earth are who can take care of themselves.
Face wash
If you’re taking advantage of your body soap as a face wash, stop it!
Yeah, S.T.O.P-I.T!!!
Even though most face wash products for men are harsher than for women, the body soap is too much to use for delicate facial skin. It imbalances the pH levels and strip off natural lipid oil on your skin, making it drier and therefore, speeding up the aging process.
The most important to remember is choosing a face wash product suitable for your skin type. If you don’t know which is yours, consult this article.
Here are some reliable brands to invest in Garnier, Beardhood, Nivea, The Body Shop.
For guys with dry sensitive skin, Cetaphil is particularly the best brand to choose from because their products are made by the finest pharmacists and incredibly skin-friendly.
Nose Trimmer
While the hairs in your nostrils prevent foreign things – like pollens and allergies - from intruding your body, visible nose hair is really unaesthetic.
Fun fact: There are up to 46% of women in a survey saying that they’d rather talk to bad breath than a guy with some strays sticking out.
But the good news is, a simple fix can improve your face look significantly and that is frequent use of a nose hair trimmer.
Just pinch your nose, twist it to the right, and trim off all exposed hair. Then repeat on the left side and done. Painless, simple, and quick!
There are many different types of nose trimmer depending on how much exposed hair on your nostrils as well as your preference. But we don’t recommend trim them too short because you still have to let nature take its course.
Some reliable brands where you can find bang-for-bucks nose trimmers are:
- Panasonic
- Philips
- Groom Mate
- ToiletTree Products
Deodorant
Some guys might think they won’t smell as stinky as the others, however, you probably hear a different story when asking your friends or girlfriend in the gym.
While everyone has some sort of body smell, there will be some guys receive a lottery of giving off stronger natural sweat odor than usual.
The more you sweat, the more times you need to roll-on deodorant.
But take note that deodorant is just an efficient masking smell, meaning that it doesn’t help you stop sweating. The thing that can do it is antiperspirants. So if you want to eliminate your body smell optimally, select a deodorant product with antibacterial ingredients – such as triclosan, and fragrance.
For heavy-sweating guys, one extra thing to keep in mind is choosing an antiperspirant with a high volume of aluminum salts.
The best time to roll on deodorant is after your morning shower (of course, towel off completely before polishing your pits).
Some good brands to choose from are Nasanta, Gillette, AXE, Dove Men, and Baxter.
Sunscreen
It’s not about genders or ages when it comes to applying sunscreen but we know that some guys think this item is just made for women to protect their skin from darkening.
“Guys don’t need it because they love tanned skin”. Well wrong!
You’re misleading about the real benefits of sunscreen and let us help you correct it.
First, sunscreen doesn’t whiten your skin or retain its brightness. If your skin – after wearing sunscreen – is exposed under harsh sunlight for hours, it still gets tanned.
Secondly, sunscreen helps your skin well-protected against UV rays and sunburns. Depending on the type of sunscreen you choose, it can keep UVA, UVB, UVC rays, or all of them at bay.
When choosing sunscreen, what to consider are your purpose of use – when and how long your skin will be exposed outdoors – and your skin type.
Pay attention to the SPF - sun protection factor; it is a measure of the protection that each type of sunscreen provides.
Here are some trustworthy brands to consider: Paula's Choice, Clinique, CeraVe, and Cetaphil.
Bonus: If you also grow a beard, don’t dismiss the final section of this article.
In Case You Want To Upgrade Your Skincare Process…
Below are additional items but really worth-trying because they will change your appearance a lot, we promise!
Hair Styling Products
While a skillful barber plays a huge, huge important on your hairstyle, using the right hair styling product is similarly essential.
For newbies, it might be a bit surprising to know that there are different kinds of hair products depending on your hair type and style. But it’s true!
And before start considering the right one for yours, make sure you’ve known about these two terms – “shine” and “hold”.
“Shine” refers to your hair’s appearance while “hold” is about its flexibility after being applied a hair product. They are all dependent on the hairstyle you want to achieve as well as your preference.
The higher hold will keep your hair stiffer to be in style. And this relates to another additional term – “texture” – which is about how your hair feels after you’ve applied a hair product. This is an important term if you want to layer your hair for multiple styles.
Out of numerous hair styling products on the market, we’ll just go through some popular options which are versatile for almost men’s hairstyles:
Highlight Features | Strength | Weaknesses | Best for | |
Clay | Deliver a stickier feel Feature firmer hold than pomade | As its ingredients include many natural and hair-friendly substances, it’s known for repairing damaged hair Help you manage and retain frizzy hair Can add thickness to hair, making it look fuller | Have a lower shine Not easy to restyle | Long, curly hair Damaged hair |
Gel | The most common hair styling products for men Come in affordable price range, which is the reason teenagers love it | Can be applied on wet hair, which helps you save more time for hairstyling after showering Deliver unbeatable shine and hold to work on different hairstyles | Don’t give much flexibility Its ingredients commonly include alcohol, which makes your hair drier and prone to break or some scalp annoyances, like dandruff or itchiness | Various hair lengths, textures, and thicknesses |
Wax | Common ingredients found in men’s hair wax are beeswax, lanolin, and carnauba wax | Leave shinier and matte look More pliable than gel, allowing for frequent restyling during the day Can be used on multiple hairstyles | Just give a medium hold | Straight, short to medium length of hair, especially if the hairstyle you’re about to follow requires to use a comb |
Pomade | Creamier than hair wax but don’t make your hair as crunchy and hard as gel Feature two basic categories – water-based and oil-based | Give a nicely well-combed and slick look Let you restyle throughout the day | Just provide medium hold, but higher than wax | Curly or thick hair |
If you’re new to this item, we would like to introduce to you some well-worth brands to try: Smooth Viking, Rogaine, Reuzel, and Pura D’or.
Cologne
The fragrance is an incredible thing to remind the others about you, meaning that it’s a vital part of your personal style and characteristics.
It’s also an invisible but powerful magnet to attract women. According to a European study, the scent is one of the most critical factors for women to find their man. “Women love using their nose” – they say.
That makes the choice of cologne is even more important and worth-considering.
Scientific studies recommend picking a cologne working best with your natural body odor. In other words, it should complement your natural body scent over the period of a day. It’s best to try it yourself at department stores but remember, maximum of 4 kinds of scent each time (two on each arm).
Don’t buy until you’ve made up your mind, using others’ advice to question your decision or reinforce it. Do not blindly follow the suggestions of sellers, friends, or others.
If this is the first time choosing a cologne for yourself, we advise choosing a mini-sized bottle or getting a sample. Time will tell whether a scent is suitable for you or not, so don’t spend a bunch on the very first try.
While considering your budget, keep in mind how long it lasts on your body.
Here are some good brands for various colognes to try with long-lasting scent: One Million, Creed, Acqua di Parma, and Tom Ford.
For Bearded Guys
Here is an essential grooming kit for those who are serious about taking care of their beard:
Beard trimmer
While facial hair makes you look more masculine, overgrown and untidy beard gives reverse effects, which is the reason you need a beard trimmer.
Don’t worry if you are just an amateur because a beard trimmer is very easy to use. Although there are different types of beard trimmer out there, most of them include a bunch of attachments for multiple beard lengths.
If you need a few trustworthy brands to consult, here are some: Remington, Braun, Panasonic, and Philips.
Beard oil
We highly recommend adding beard oil to your arsenal because of its incredible benefits.
Made of many hair-friendly ingredients like argan oil, grapeseed oil, or jojoba oil, it helps moisturize your beard and hydrate the skin, making it softer and your facial hair grow healthier.
We guess, no men prefer shaggy, flaky, and dusty beard. We all prefer it to be well-groomed and look shiny.
So when is it the best to use beard oil?
Good question! It should be after you wash your face (and your beard, too) because this is the best time during the day when your pores and hair follicles are opened to absorb the oil better.
Many men’s grooming experts also advise using more volume of beard oil during cold weather or in the winter because your skin and facial hair tend to be drier than usual, which needs extra moisturizing.
Some well-known brands of beard oil to invest in are Viking, Bossman, Jack Black, and Cremo.
Beard Wash/Shampoo
The shocking news is, you just need to wash your beard twice a week.
And here is what the experts explained. Men’s body produces natural oil to keep his beard grow healthy and happy. Unlike your face which needs washing twice a day – one in the morning and another one is in the evening, washing your beard that much will make it potentially damaged.
However, that frequency isn’t applied solidly for every guy.
If most of your time is spent to work outside or play sports, consider washing your beard daily to keep it well-hygiene.
Here are some good beard wash brands to choose from: Professor Fuzzworthy, Billy Jealousy, Seven Potions, and Mr. Natty’s.
Conclusion
And that’s all for this article.
Above is everything about what grooming products should a man use, which is advised by men’s grooming experts. We’ve also analyzed and rounded them up to be as simple as possible to not make your skincare product bag not too big.
Thanks for reading and good luck!
