Sephora

Ohmega1 · ‎01-15-2021

Okay, something that’s not always spoken about in wide media is men’s skincare for their faces. There are product lines all over the pace, Dove, Old Spice, Goodfellow, Dr. Squatch, etc. You try one it works for a bit, you try another, and it works for a bit. In men’s products they don’t focus on skin types. It’s all about just “smelling good” and “feeling good”. Stop me if you disagree, but I struggle to find good product that actually takes care of my skin. If anybody has insight, recommendations, simple ways to better take care of my skin? I’m all ears!

WinglessOne · ‎01-15-2021

Hi @Ohmega1 ! For starters, I recommend not focusing on "men's skincare products" vs. "women's skincare products." Most of the gender-specific marketing is just that: marketing.

Instead, identify any skincare issues you'd like to address or goals you'd like to meet for your own skin. What skin-related problems do you want to solve? Or maybe you quite like the current look/feel of your skin and just want to maintain it?

Part of this exercise involves getting to know your skin: does it behave very oily, very dry, a combo of those things... maybe it get super dry in winter but is "normal" or oily the rest of the year? Is it flaky in some places? Does it seem to be red and irritated often? Does your skin ever burn or sting while you wash it? Acne prone? Do your pores look larger than they usually do? Do certain types of products irritate your skin? The more familiar you are with your skin, the easier it is to identify any "issues" (using that in quotes because honestly, some "issues" like hyperpigmentation don't signify unhealthy skin, they're just a very subjective "beauty's in the eye of the beholder" thing) and figure out which products will work best for you.

Once you've done the above, you can figure out which skincare ingredients can address your issues/goals, and then look for products—regardless of gender marketing—that contain those ingredients. That's something several BIC members can help you with. 🙂

Ohmega1 · ‎01-16-2021

@WinglessOne First off, I would like to say that I you so much for the insight!

I have identified almost all of the “issues” or rather qualities of my skin in that it’s a combination. Just as you mentioned in your comment, some face washes leave my skin stinging or even dry. My skin can become very blotchy and red after a use of a cleanser and when applying a moisturizer feel clogged and then begin to breakout is certain areas.

In general I have good skin days and bad skin days, just like anyone else but lack the proper knowledge on the correct products to use I suppose. Knowing the proper ingredients to look for.

As for the gender comparison, I apologize if it offended. I merely was relating it to most marketing based on such that “men’s skin, is men’s skin” and “women’s skin, is women’s skin” which in most mainstream media is how it’s portrayed, instead of skin just being skin for all genders.

Thanks again for your insight!

WinglessOne · ‎01-16-2021

@Ohmega1 Oh, I didn't meant to imply any offense. I wasn't offended at all. I was just stating that gender-based skincare can be ignored because it's nothing but a marketing gimmick. You and I agree there. 🙂

Sounds like you need a gentle hydrating cleanser—something that won't strip or irritate your skin. Here are a few options to consider:

CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser - many people's favorite cream cleanser
CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser Bar - my usual body wash that I also occasionally use on my face at night
Paula's Choice Hydralight Cleanser - my usual PM low-lather cleanser
Paula's Choice Optimal Results Hydrating Cleanser - a no-lather cream cleanser I sometimes use in the AM
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser - I don't use it but some folks love it

Paula's Choice makes many cleansers for different skin types, so you might wanna browse their site and order a few foil samples or travel sizes to try. (Unfortunately, Hydralight doesn't have a sample/travel size.)

Which moisturizer(s) have you tried that make your skin feel clogged and cause breakouts? I don't wanna recommend one with an ingredients list too similar to one you've had bad luck with.

Lana4321 · ‎01-15-2021

Hey totally!! I alwags recommend to stick to a sinple routine and too many products is bad too. I recommend the Cerave hydrating facewash (find it on Amazon or a drug store or a walmart) and the cerave hydrating moisturizer or the ordinary Natural moisturizer. Both are amazing price for the quality and quantity. Thats all you need if you have normal skin. If you have other concerns like dryness or acne I can recommend a few other things. But if not, just stick to those and your skin will glow. Wash your face once a day every night then follow up with the moisturizer, and moisturize in the morning as well. Hope this helps!!

V21988 · ‎01-16-2021

Wear sunscreen and a hat, for me even a scarf around my neck but I do SPF on neck and hands too. Mineral SPF.

Let your skin breathe, no Dimethicone if possible (later I mention if you have to, be sure it's not listed in one of the first 10-12 ingredients). Sephora does have some without, look at Coola. Or really a lot less, there's one Supergoop where it's listed low. You need your skin to breathe and you don't want clogged pores.

Get sunglasses, an obvious way to protect the eye area and those crows feet. Mirrored lenses, 100% UVA and UVA B. Polarized too is recommended for the retina, not the skin but I go for both and do mirror and polarized lenses. Sunglasses go very far to protect eyes from sun damage.

I learned never to fly during the day. Folks have their window open 35,000 above ground when the UV is amped ⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆ up. Even though windows it's so potent up there it makes you dry, you do come out burned but pressure or cold burned (a combination always possible). Just air pressure evaporates to our skin's disadvantage as the spreading of atmospheric molecules dries and strips the skin, also rays give it skin cancer a lot. It need not be first-degree contact either because light and rays refract. True, they lessen intensity with each transference but they still bounce and reach us.

Moisturize in flight and apply your SPF hourly if forced to fly AM. Get a window seat, at least, so you man your own shade. Mandatory.

Get a hat, your SPF, your signature sunglasses (mirrored) to protect those eyes!

Do the obvious so the products have a base that is not so damaged. Eat vitamin C internally also. Tarter is better than sweet, for C in there so you stop the melasma, pigmenting, and itckness early.

Coola Organic Sprays I love. I will spray into my hand use on the face but normally get a face product. But these have no suffocating clog-poring ingredients.

COOLA Classic Body Organic Sunscreen Spray SPF 50-70 6 oz / 177 mL Fragrance-Free SPF 50

I use these for face but should get some that is really for face that gives me a spa experience, like I love the package, formula, texture, and really emollient so I look dewy. These are great for dew but I know better. Need something for my FACE, designated... for face. Thank you!No foundation, no photoshop. Good skincare and a lifetime of SUNSCREEN. I like COOLA. It's cool. Wore it today.

WinglessOne · ‎01-16-2021

@V21988 @Ohmega1 Just a quick clarification: dimethicone and other silicones in skincare products don't stop skin from "breathing." These silicones don't completely stop air and water from entering or leaving skin. Some folks think dimethicone forms an impermeable layer on skin but, in reality, that layer contains many gaps/holes that allow air and water to pass through. It's an occlusive ingredient, sure, but there are different levels of occlusivity. That's why moisturizers that rely on dimethicone as their sole occlusive ingredient don't work very well on the dry areas of my combo skin, but some folks with oily skin have great success with those moisturizers.

V21988 · ‎01-16-2021

I am waiting for some sunglasses.

24k gold MIRRORED & POLARIZED, protects 100% all rays even blue rays from devices (winning?). Love the tortise shell has primary colors drew me in right away. They are large cateyes but I am not tiny, slender yes, but some women are very tiny and small. These won't work if you're very petite. But go oversized anyway, some are a bit smaller.

They royally screwed up. They were in San Francisco and then the carrier says they flew them back to Baltimore, Maryland.

They're big and protect crow's feet. I saw pictures of them on models, and I forgot the measurements but they're right.

I won't be outside without them. Be militant about it. Then your skin will have the best chance. It makes a difference!

I don't apply any SPF on the delicate eye area. Some derms said it was the same skin as the rest on your face. Why are the buccal areas (cheeks) thicker with more fascia? The skin is denser and notably more weblike, larger, and intricate as it is sculptured around the zygomatic processes (your bone apple part of your skull). Some doctors are not competent. Others, who thought critically, said it was to be treated and handled quite different because the histology proved the epithelial tissues have differences. I go with the latter opinion on that.

Cateye (oversized) or whatever your taste, just mirror lenses that are not gradient lenses, or ones that use the 1-5 scale and they are a 1, 2, or 3. Go 4 or 5.

I like no one can see my eyes and I flip the bird to costly eye lasers! Good sunglasses block harmful rays from your eyes. It will save you product, and make what you use more effective by such a drastic degree (pun intended).

V21988 · ‎01-16-2021

@Ohmega1do you have sunglasses? A sunscreen to use? What about a hat?

Husband won't do hats but does the sunscreen. I do both and I starting to think scarfs.

For hats, I wear exclusively fedoras.

See those rays from the cell phone and big french doors. Light refracts, get dim shades in your home.

I wonder what lipstick I was wearing. My skin has improved. It looked bumpy.

Fine to use your skin to floss and look good but take care of it. I saw so many who could have looked so much less "premature prune," and instead much younger, with no malignancies or growths, discolorations, they happen early - the dermis is THICK, had they took care of their skin. Instead, at that time they would have looked younger and healthier.

That was a year ago. Habits die hard and are important.

Even through windows rays will getcha! I also wear Fedoras if not Safari hats. I even use parasols. I have three. Gosh my chin was lumpy then. Great hat, go wide rimmed. Get what is signature YOU. But I use my safari shamlessly anywhere. Even to dinners with "impressive" people - they are not anything more than me. And they know that because I don't even look. Famous people suck.

Ohmega1 · ‎01-16-2021

Hey @Lana4321 ,

Thank you so much for the suggestion I will look into that! I was also looking at the new Fenty Skincare line to give that a try. I have read several great things about it and wanted to give it a try.