Think about your shower routine. How do you wash yourself? Simple bar soap to your arm pits, Ferris Bueller style, and call it a day? That's not the best way to take care of yourself, but it's not unusual either -- most men don't know how to give their skin the care it really needs to be healthy.
"Nearly everywhere I go, in fact, I'm approached by men seeking out advice," Chris Salgardo, the president of Kiehl's, writes in his new book, "Manmade: The Essential Skincare and Grooming Reference Book For Men."
Everyone, from a polished stock trader to a man's man, college student, artist or construction worker, tells him, "We all want to feel confident and attractive in our own ways."
The book, published on Dec. 1, explains how to deal with dry lips, puffy eyes, a wiry beard, when and how to shave and when to go to a pro, and many other topics, but it's Salgardo's list of skin care do's and don'ts that we consider required reading. Because when you care about your face, not only will you look better, but you'll feel better, too (and people will notice).
Here are a few from each side, with recommendations on which products we think work great.
Instead, do this eery morning and night:
Prepare by washing your hands, splashing warm water on your face to open spores, and put a quarter-sized circle of face wash in your palms with water. Rub them together to get them sudsy and apply the suds with your fingertips (there's more padding on your tips). Massage in circles.
Start with your forehead, work to the edge of your face, and make your way to your nose, under the eyes, and down the chin to the neck.
Rinse it all off with warm water and pat dry with a soft towel. Never rub, Saldardo writes.
We like Jack Black's Oil-Free Sun Guard Sunscreen($21), because it's made with zinc-oxide but still feels light to wear. Plus, it's water-resistant, so it'll stay on through intense activity, whether you're surfing or skiing.
Shaving with the growth of the hair will help minimize ingrown hair when it starts growing back in, as well as nicks and cuts.
The Icelandic Relief Eye Cream ($45), from Skyn, is made with the arctic botanical Saponaria Pumila, a flowering plant that survived the Ice Age by adaptation and contains stem cells that help stimulate cell rejuvenation.
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