Men’s Skincare – Balance Men’s Dry/Combination Skin

Men's Dry/Combination Skin

Dealing with Men's Dry to Combination Skin

A BHA product is an alternative, even if acne blemishes and blackheads are not presenting men’s skin. The difference is that for drier areas, you may want to use a lotion- or cream-based BHA product. If you have blemishes over the dry areas, it is recommended that you should use a BHA product to clear any blockages in the pores, reduce blackheads and deal with pimple blemishes.

If you do not have acne blemishes and blackheads, a well-formulated AHA product may be applied all over the face or just over drier areas. For all-over use, use an AHA gel containing at least 8% glycolic acid. If you are using just over the dry areas, consider an AHA product that comes in a lotion or cream base. Both AHA and BHA products are excellent for improving the appearance and feel of sun-damaged skin and rejuvenating the skin by encouraging skin cell turnover.

A soothing, moisture-infusing toner may be applied after cleansing to strengthen the skin's lipid barrier and boost hydration prior to applying a serum or moisturizer. Apply the next product when skin is still damp from the toner.

When applying sunscreen, it should be rated SPF 15 or higher and should have a matte finish for your oily areas. Since a matte finish can exaggerate the dry areas, it is necessary to apply a rich serum or moisturizer to overcome this. For obvious reasons, keep such items away from oily areas.

Choose a moisturizer filled with antioxidants, water-binding agents, emollients and ingredients that imitate the structure and function of healthy skin. Make sure it is packaged in an opaque container to keep the antioxidants stable. Jars are not recommended.

A serum-type product may be all your dry areas need to look and feel better. More severe dryness will benefit from an antioxidant-rich serum paired with an emollient moisturizer.

Use a moisturizing facial mask as needed. Make sure it contains several emollients, like non-volatile plant or nut oils, and leave on dry areas as long as needed, including overnight.

If your eye area is the driest part of your face, you might need a richer cream or serum than what is needed for the other normal to dry areas of your face. Apply in moderation. At night, as an option, you might want to apply your regular moisturizer to the eye area and follow with a thin layer of olive, evening primrose or borage oil, which are all extremely emollient as well as potent antioxidants.

If acne blemishes are present over dry areas, use a product containing benzoyl peroxide, a topical antibacterial agent, over the acne prone areas. Start off with a 2.5% strength and increase the percentage if the acne blemishes are unresponsive. If you are sensitive to or your skin cannot tolerate benzoyl peroxide, then you might want to consider a dermatologist’s prescription options like clindamycin, erythromycin, tetracycline or Differin (adapalene) gel.

Keep men’s combination skin balanced with these skincare steps.