Skincare… why do many men find it so difficult? Whether for reasons of insecurity or a lack of knowledge, a lot of men aren’t looking after their skin. And while older men see the value in looking after their skin. Younger men are less interested in taking care of their skin.
At Boldking we’ve tried to make skincare as simple as possible. Our No-fuss skincare routine has only 3 steps (face wash, face cream & sunscreen.) But many men still aren’t taking the time to look after their skin. So we decided to ask the softer-skinned sex what they think about male skincare. It's the second instalment in our ongoing series, What she said. Maybe the female perspective can change your mind on changing your routine.
Hell yeah!
We started with the obvious question: Should men have a skincare routine? Every participant, bar one, were onboard with male skincare. The one other answer was a maybe. Her explanation being it wasn’t necessary for all skin types. All the other ladies surveyed were very positive about the idea.
The most common reason given is that male skin also needs to be cared for –women already know the importance of taking care of their own skin. Personal cleanliness was also highlighted as a reason. And the need to give the right care for the skin type.
We also asked our female interviewees what mistake they saw in men. Not having a skincare routine was the main culprit. (Most of the comments were about a lot of the things that men aren’t doing.) Using the wrong product for the wrong purpose was also singled out, i.e. using body wash as a shampoo, or using hand soap to wash your face. The right tool for the right job, right?
We can't be getting it all wrong, right?
We then asked them what they thought men were doing better than women for their skin: Almost all participants said men were taking worse care. The one positive answer was that men don’t use a lot of makeup and other products. So we haven’t actively damaged our skin over the years. A lot of the time, less is more. And luckily for us, keeping things simple is more than enough to keep your skin looking young and healthy.
Does skincare make us wussies?
First off lose that language. It gets no-one nowhere. Now onto the elephant in the bathroom. Does taking care of your skin make you more feminine or less of a man? We wanted to get the female view of this long-standing idea that personal care is only for women. And our ladies really came through with their opinions.
The responses ranging from a skincare routine being a sign of sanity to a sign that you’re a responsible man who can take care of himself. The women we spoke to were universally in favour of men taking care of their skin. “I think it’s sexy. It’s a sign of maturity, shows he can take care of himself, i.e. he doesn’t need me to take care of him” and “Metrosexual men are generally a lot more secure in their sexuality.”
The only caveat is that it’s possible to go too far with skincare and tip into the world of vanity. Vanity doesn’t necessarily make you less masculine, just more pretentious. And is easily avoided by keeping your skincare routine simple.
