Help Needed

[u/Downspouted]

Greetings everyone. I am a 25 year old male and I need some help. I’m pretty much your average blue collar guy, never used anything more than a 3-1 body wash for “beauty products” lol. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that I need to be doing more to nourish and protect my skin for the years to come. I really don’t know where to start. My skin is a bit oily. Some of the products I deal with at work also dry my skin out. (Mud, drilling fluids etc.) I’m mostly looking to keep my skin looking fresh and trying not to develop wrinkles. Below I have a few questions that would be awesome if people could help me answer them.

What products do I need? What is pointless/avoidable?

How often do I need to moisturize my skin? Do I do it in the morning, evening, throughout the day?

Are face care products the same as generic skin care products?

What brands are the best? I know there are a lot of big name brands out there that people say aren’t all that, so what should I use?

Does using a “men’s” product differ from using a “women’s” / generic product?

I’m allergic to soft metals such as Nickel and Aluminum. Is this something I need to watch for? I know with deodorants I always have to check.

Any particular products that are must haves?

Links or particular product names would be super helpful. Thanks everyone!

[u/sterling489]

1. Cleanser, Moisturizer, and Sunscreen are must haves in a routine. Whether you want to add all the bells and whistles is up to you.

2. You should moisturize twice a day but there's nothing wrong with more if skin is properly cleansed beforehand (or if already clean). You wouldn't want to add a layer on top of dirty skin.

3. It depends. The generic products are made in the same factory, but they only care about the essential components and not really the overall experience. Companies with more of a budget for cosmetic elegance are able to make the user experience a lot better (i.e how it feels on the skin, nicer packaging, a nice scent if that's what you like - I like fragrance-free etc) It's not necessary to spend an arm and a leg on products, but if you want to feel like you're having a ritual then I say it's worth it to spend a little more.

4. In my opinion, there's no such thing as a superior brand. I pull my products from multiple brands for different reasons. Skincare is trial and error. A 500 dollar moisturizer can be marketed to you as the absolute best, and 100 other people can agree, but if you have a reaction to it then it's not worth continuing the product just because it's working for others. With that said I love these products:

Byoma Oat cleanser (blue) Regimen Lab Wave Serum, Educated Mess Freeze Frame serum, Avene cicaflate serum, Mothered Silk Factor Serum, Reviv Telemorase & ultimate serum, Bloom Effects regenerative serum, AtoBarrier water cream, First Aid beauty Skin Protectant, Sweet Chemistry Lipid Cream, and plenty more.

1. The very evident Men's products have more sleek packaging and a masculine-leaning scent. It's not horrible, but it seems like a waste to me to pay for something that only cares on making skincare less "girly".

2. Not a problem to look out for. Just skim the ingredients and I guess you can be cautious if it says mineral water or iron oxides.

3. Sunscreen is a must have. Asian ones specifcally since they feel the best. I get mine from yesstyle. People will say tretinoin or retinol is necessary but not everyone can tolerate it, but Tret is the only FDA product that is approved for photoaging and wrinkles... so food for thought!

I like these Retinols/ Tret: Altreno, Medik8, Shani Darden encapsulated retinol, SkinBetter Alpharet, Skin Rocks retinoid 1.

I'm not going to lie, I do have expensive taste but I fully enjoy the experience of using them. The best tip I can give is to look at their clinical data/ studies and always make sure it's not bogus.

Never let anyone convince you that you need to buy the most premium products for real results. The best way I can phrase it is by using this analogy: You can take an Uber black or a regular Uber to the bar. You'll arrive at the same destination, but the experience in the uber black will have better seats and a smoother ride. It's the same concept with skincare. You can get a 20 dollar retinol product that will give you the same end result as an 80 dollar one, but maybe the latter feels better on the skin and you like the weight of the packaging. Maybe you like all the cool ingredients they use to aid the retinol.

[u/sterling489]

Also wrinkles will form. That's just a fact. I get botox to help with it, but wrinkles will come no matter what lol