For The Men

Men definitely have skin care needs, but you could never convince the vast majority of men to put even a fraction of the attention and energy into the issue that women do. One result of this lack of interest is that most men don't spend their money on wrinkle creams or products for their skin. While this monetary savings is significant, it probably means most men don't use sunscreen on a consistent basis, leaving their skin at risk for certain cancers, not to mention wrinkles or other signs of sun damage.

This also means most men don't know to stay away from irritating skin care ingredients in their shave products and end up with red, rash-like bumps and razor burn. Men wrinkle as much as women (any notion that they don't is a myth, and a bias about how much better men look with wrinkles than women do) and they, too, can have dry skin, breakouts, skin disorders (rosacea, psoriasis, seborrhea, eczema), skin discolouration, and oily skin. Men also have the additional concerns involving facial hair. Shaving can cause red, irritated spots, and ingrown hair.

So why don't men seem to care as much as women do about taking care of their skin? Probably because it is one of the last vestiges of legitimate machismo left to a man. The morning shave is a characteristic feature that starts the typical man's day. Most men's shaving creams and pre-shave products contain a high concentration of irritating ingredients such as alcohol, menthol, mint, potassium or sodium hydroxide, as well as camphor. These skin irritants make the hair follicle and skin swell, forcing the hair up and away from the skin. While this does make the hair stand up to some extent, supposedly allowing for a closer shave, the irritation and resulting swelling cause some of the hair to be hidden by the swollen follicle and skin. So while it might get the hair to rise to the occasion, it really doesn't make for a better shave because the swollen skin prevents the razor from getting close to the base of the hair. Additionally, after you shave, because some of the facial hair is hidden beneath swollen skin (which it does almost immediately) before the swelling is reduced; the likelihood of ingrown hairs is increased. Moreover, a razor gliding over the face abrades the skin -- granted not all that much, but enough to cause havoc when an innocent-looking aftershave with irritating ingredients is splashed over the broken skin. Think of splashing an aftershave on a cut or scrape on any other part of your body where you have an abrasion. Now, why would you want to do that to your face?

Basic skin care rule number one for both men and women: if the skin care product you're using repeatedly burns, irritates, tingles, causes the skin to become inflamed, or hurts, don't use it. Men's skin can benefit just as much as women's skin from quality skin care products and treatments like a spa facial, and they'd enjoy the facial massage too.

To help the men with a skin care regimen Le Petit Spa has Phytomer's men's skin care products line Phytomer Homme available in spa. They are formulated according to the specific features and functions of men’s skin, combined with simple, fast and effective actions that guarantee instant results.

Stay tuned for more men's skin care recommendations in tomorrow's blog!