Skincare for men - is it necessary?

After I had some awareness on skincare, I would say YES, it it necessary.

At the very least, men need to use the sunscreen.

I know using skincare products seems girly to some men, but hey, for the love of God, I don't want my man looking like those Korean boybands and have prettier skin than me, but at least I want them to be healthy, and acne/scar free. If you've met Chaoi, you know he used to had acne problems, and now he had tonnes of acne scars. The surface of his skin is comparable to Malaysian road - potholes everywhere.
And there's always the case of sun damage.

So I give him the very very minimal thing to use on his own. And the rest I will apply for him (forcefully) or when he's asleep.


So the VERY BASIC step I encourage him to do every morning is the usual cleanse - moisturize - sunscreen.

His main problem is acne scars, so a lot of the product he uses is to combat acne from appearing again.
I don't include toner as to not give him a lot to do (he's already lazy even for these 3) plus he has oily skin, probably skipping toner wouldn't be a problem. But I will use it on him on Sundays when we did the weekly clay mask.

1. Nivea Men Ice Mud Serum Foam Cleanser
2. Loreal Men White Activ Volcano Icy Oil Lotion (As moisturizer)
3. Biore UV SPF50+++ 
(This one I really force him to wear everyday at the beginning and he seems to be a good boy about it now by wearing them everyday without me having to remind him any more.)

Malam pun I just ask him to just cleanse and use the same moisturizer.
The extra thing I used for him at night is The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin.

Banyak orang yang saya jumpa yang ada masalah parut jerawat memang bagi good review on this one, sebab dia boleh mencerahkan parut jerawat. So normally lepas cuci muka I will tempek this on his face, then put on moisturizer then baru tidur. Kalau sempat, most of the time I sleep later than him, tapi sometimes bila I penat and tertidur dulu then gone lah Alpha Arbutin.

And then I also do the same weekly thing I did, on him.

Wednesday nights pakai scrub, and Sunday mornings pakai clay mask. So far memang I can see the improvement sebab kulit dia sangat kasar and berminyak, Now after I tempek everything dia jadi lebih bersih and kurang berminyak.

I also use Niacinamide on him on Sunday since dia malas nk pakai everyday, sebab Niacinamide can regulate sebum from what I read. 

So that's all for men skincare.

Just the basic part everyday. Bukannak jadi Dewa Remaja pun, nak kulit sihat je.

Remember, 

CLEANSE - MOISTURIZE - SUNSCREEN

okebai~

Dya talks skincare

Skincare was never a topic of my interest since I was young.

But I do use them sparingly ever since I started high school.

I don't really have a skin issue but I do have that usual growing up acne on my teen years but its not something too alarming that requires me to get attached to a skincare routine.

I used the Johnson's Clean n Clear cleanser when I first got my acne but it feels to harsh for me and even made my skin cracks around the corner of my nose.

I remember sticking to Safi Balqis cleanser for the rest of my highschool years.

My first real experience with skincare was when I joined the school marching band and I got sunburned and I wanted to get rid of the sunburn.
At the time Fair 'N' Lovely was all the hype, this was around the year 2000-ish.
But I'm not too fond to try them cos those girls who use them, I noticed it made their skin lighter than their original skin. Seems too - for the lack of a better word- corrosive to me.
So I asked my mom, and she told me she used  this old Nivea lotion that has been around since my grandma time.

So I did my own research and I buy this Nivea Day and Night cream. 

Of course the packaging are different 17 years back. But it's a day and night cream.

So I religiously apply them, and within a week my sunburn is gone and my skin is back to its original color, not lighter, and some of my roommate notices.

So since then, I stick to these Day and Night cream from Nivea up until my twenties.

I don't use is everyday but its the only brand I go to.

And then after a while, I believe when you used a product for too long (about 10 years at the time), it stopped giving an effect to your skin. So I look for different brand of skincare.  I was around 27 when I got influenced by Yuna campaign for Olay, so I used Olay for a while. Yuna is my age so I assumed what works for her will work for me. haha.

Apparently it doesn't.

Then after a while I changed to Nutox range. This time influenced by Fazura. 

I am one easily influenced soul. *guilty*

It was when I was 30 that I started to use the full range of skincare, *baru nak ada kesedaran*

I used everything Nutox. Cleanser, day cream, night cream and serum. I started to learn the function of serum. And I fell in love particularly with the Nutox Serum Concentrate and its Night Repair Cream.

The first time I used them, my husband and friends noticed my skin actually glows.

Photo credit greenstoryblog.com

So I stick with them for 2 years.

And all these while, up until now, I haven't use any scrub ke apa ke, only the basic cleanse, tone, moisturize.

This year, at 32, I get more deeper into skincare, when, 

1. I took that damn 10 years challenge that highlighted how dull and tired my skin looks

2. My long time housemate Anne, started getting into skincare too.

3. I work with a 24 year old fresh graduate who is a skincare enthusiast.

So I start to study my own skin and what to do to make it healthier and better.

The first thing I need to know is my skin type. Since teenage years, I always thought that my skin is oily, by mid twenties, some skincare salesperson told me that I had a combination skin -oily & dry, but now, probably when I reached 30, my skin is actually a DRY SKIN.

I always said I don't want brightening, tak nak putih pun, just nak kulit yg smooth, sekata, clean pores and healthy looking skin. 

Basically my skin problems are,

1. Dull and tired looking skin (dry)

2. Large pores

3. Pigmentation (due to those visit to many many beaches in my mid/late twenties)

4. Fine lines on the forehead 

When your skin is dry, it becomes rough, sometimes flaky and when the surface of your skin is not smooth, it wont have the ability to reflect light, hence the dull looking skin.

So from what I read, what I need is hydration, and what I need for hydration is Hyaluronic Acid, and I goes berserk looking for everything Hyaluronic Acid.

The first thing I do is changing my Nutox cleanser cause it seems like it does nothing for me. 

So I look for Hada Labo range, cause they have everything HA. I never liked anything Korean before, but now I get the hype, Asian skincare is for Asian skin. So cleanser done.

Since I was already there, I bought along its toner/lotion. Believe it or not I stayed in Sunway Velocity Watson for my entire lunch hour that day just to read all the ingredients and comparing every product on the Hada Labo shelf. 

   

     

1. Hada Labo Shirojyun Premium Whitening Facewash 

Don't really care about the whitening but at first I bought the white one its too drying for my skin, then ada satu girl dekat Watson suggest I guna this one, and so far ok, not too drying.)

2. Hada Labo Gokujyun-Alpha Toner

Ni memang amik masa lama gila nak pilih mana satu, but last2 amik yg anti-aging sebab well, sis dah 30 plus. heh.

Both have high content of HA.

Then after few days, I realized the importance of sunscreen. 

Previously I just used Nutox Moisture Emulsion SPF25++ for a year and a half (its a moisturizer, I didn't know any better at the time). 

I couldn't get my 3rd bottle cos the Watson ran out of stock so I bought Nutox Solar Block SPF45++(now THIS is sunscreen, I didn't realized it's a sunscreen at the time). 

So in a way I was blessed the moisturizer ran out of stock.

I realized that I NEED to use sunscreen everyday when I AM already started wearing sunscreen-accidentally. 

But I don't really like the texture cos it gets clumpy when I apply compact powder afterwards, so after the whole tube is finished, I bought Hada Labo Air UV Fresh SPF50+++. 

Ni best sebab dia sangat light, cepat kering and ok je kalau pakai compact powder afterwards. 

Pun ada HA.  

Mahal sikit, but I realize sunscreen ni mmg lagi mahal lagi best. *nangis*

But I still don't have a moisturizer.

So I'm back to the stores and online, researching for the perfect moisturizer for me.

Remember I need HA. So far the reviews online, both Asian and Western review and also Anne (that long time room mate of mine) are saying good words on Neutrogena Hydroboost Water Gel. 

So I go and bought it the very next day. 

AND THIS FREAKING THING TURNED OUT TO BE MY HOLY GRAIL OF ALL SKINCARE.

THANK GOD FOR THIS!

Turned out HA IS what I need and what I've been missing for my dull and tired looking skin.

I apply it during the day and sometimes at night. I love the balmy feels of the gel, how nyaman it feels against my hot, dry face.

Even on Sunday when I'm at home, I'll re-apply it after my Zohor prayer and my skin feels like having its own air-conditioner.

I will apply it even more if I was wearing make up during the day.

And after few weeks, I can honestly feel the bounciness, my skin feel plumps and even though I still have those pigmentation and large pores, my skin feels smooth and supple. It looked smooth and supple.

Boleh rasa dia macam boink boink okay.

Compared to last time kulit muka rasa nipis dan melekat je dekat cheekbone.

For the night regime I still maintain my Nutox Serum and Night Cream cos I have no reason not to.

So since I already consistent with my cleanse-tone-moisturize-sunscreen routine, I read further for the extras.

Dull and tired looking skin is slowly gone, now I need something for my pores.

And I read a lot from Iman Abdul Rahim's blog , lengthy whatsapp discussion with Anne, and lunch-time chat with Alia (the fresh grad) I bought  some product for pores that I used weekly.

1. The Ordinary Niacinamide

2. Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid

3. Innisfree Super Volcanic Clay Mousse Mask

4. Laneige Perferct Pore Cleansing Oil (yang ni pakai trial bottle je dulu sebab just nk cuba)

I try to use TO Niacinamide everyday before moisturizer (haven't got around to it yet, bangun pagi selalu rush pergi office)

The other 3 I use every Sunday ikut step from Iman's post. So far baru 2 minggu / 2 kali pakai so belum nampak beza, still there on my nose like I purposely spill black pepper on it.

But it does work on Chaoi after 1 use, yes reading Iman's blog made me use all this on Chaoi as well.

Will blog about this next.

The rest of my skincare is, 

1. The Face Shop White Jewel Peeling (I used this once a week to get rid of semua kulit mati)

2. The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin (Ni beli kat Chaoi sebab dia banyak parut jerawat, but sometimes I use it in hope to reduce my pigmentation)

So my daily routine goes like this,

DAILY

AM

1. Hada Labo Cleanser (water based cleanser)

2. Hada Labo Toner

3. TO Niacinamide (serum) 

4. Neutrogena Hyrdo Boost (moisturizer) 

5. Hada Labo sunscreen

PM

1. Laneige Oil Cleanser (If I wore make up or banyak kena debu/pergi site that day)

 2. Hada Labo Cleanser (water based cleanser) 

3. Hada Labo Toner   

  4. Nutox Serum or TO Alpha Arbutin

5. Nutox Night Repair Cream

Yang paling kiri tu make-up remover, tersilap beli sebab mula-mula ingatkan dia cleanser. 

Tapi bagus jugak sebab dia pun ada HA.

Serum I alternate between TO Alpha Arbutin and Nutox Advanced Serum Repair, ikut mood.

WEEKLY

(SUNDAY ONLY) AM 

(Ni totally referring to Iman's post)

1. Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid (Apply for 20minutes)

2. Innisfree Super Volcanic Clay Mousse Mask (Apply for 10 minutes)

3. Laneige Perfect Pore Cleansing Oil

4. Hada Labo Cleanser (water based)             

5. Hada Labo Toner

6. TO Niacinamide (serum)

7. Neutrogena Hyrdo Boost (moisturizer)        

8. Hada Labo sunscreen   

(WEDNESDAY ONLY) PM

Ni sama je macam malam biasa just tambah scrub untuk buang sel-sel kulit mati.

 1. Laneige Oil Cleanser 

 2. Hada Labo Cleanser

 3. The Face Shop White Jewel Peeling (scrub)

 4. Hada Labo Toner     

 5. Nutox Serum 

 6. Nutox Night Repair Cream

Baru realize kalau tak buang sel-sel kulit mati, pakai lah skincare mahal pun, dia takkan boleh bagi kesan dekat kulit kita.

So there you go,  all the skincare that I use.

We'll see if I managed to improve the appearance of my pores, I know pigmentation is hard to get rid of.

In the future, I will consider using Retinol for the fine lines in my forehead, in the mean time, I want to maintain this routine and see the results after few months.


Till next post!