I would like to know what your routine is in general, but I'm also specifically curious about what products you use, if you use them, and what the rationale is behind each product.
My routine:
Morning
- Rinse face with warm water.
- Scrub face and neck with warm, wet washcloth.
- Apply facial moisturizer with SPF (I use CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30) to face, neck, and hands.
Evening
- Shower.
- While in shower, scrub entire body with an exfoliating mitt (ie this one).
- Apply a retinol (I use Retin-A (tretinoin 0.05%)) to face, neck, and hands.
- Apply facial moisturizer (I use CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion) to face, neck, and hands
- Apply body lotion (I use CeraVe Moisturizing Cream) to whole body, excluding hands, and face.
I have used, and considered continuing using a BHA (also AHA?) liquid exfoliant (I have read that it shouldn't be used at the same time as retinol due to PH requirements, ie use it in the morning and retinol in the evening) (I previously used Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, but I no longer because I have lost trust in Paula's Choice overall due to their borderline false advertising regarding their retinol product [1]), but I am unsure of what a good product would be, and the rationale behind it. I have also heard about Vitamin E, though I've never used it.
References
- "[Research] Study: The Ordinary and Paula's Choice retinols are unstable". toa20. r/SkincareAddiction. Reddit. Published: 2023-01-26T17:49:01.223Z. Accessed: 2024-10-29T05:16Z. https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/10lxshy/research_study_the_ordinary_and_paulas_choice/.
Men, it's okay to care about your skin. It's not feminine, it's human. If your answer to this question was 'I shower' or something else snarky you may want to consider looking up simple skincare routines for people your age and skin type. Just a tiny bit of attention to your skin can do so much for not just for how it looks and feels now, but for the difference it can make compounded through the years. Of enough soapboxing.
This ~30 lady's routine:
I use a non alcohol toner in the morning followed by Kiehl's moisturizer.
In the evening I use a daily enzyme face wash, hyaluronic acid serum, and the daily moisturizer.
I rarely see the sun, I never wear makeup. When I did those things woooo boy were there more steps.
PSA consider using a daily SPF moisturizer. I promise it doesn't feel like that crappy beach sun block. Give it a try, skin cancer is no joke. Fuck I'm on my soapbox again.
I find this "feminine" argument silly. So what if it is feminine? Is there something inherently wrong with femininity? It's one thing to simply be somewhere on the spectrum of femininity and masculinity, but it's another to fear that position and to force another based on one's insecurity of the perceptions of others.
That is my answer, though. I shower in lukewarm water and a little bit of dilute Castile soap where needed, and wear wide-brimmed hats in the sun. I get compliments on my skin softness, people guess that I'm 10 years younger. Honestly, it seems to me that a good half of people's elaborate skin-care routines are just trying to undo the damage caused by the other half. Our skin is really remarkable in taking care of itself, if you let it.
This has to be genetic, though - my mom's skin was so bad, and mine was bad until I started taking care of it; and my husband's routine was yours - he started taking care of it when he started to look a lot older than me.
But there is no rule, you should do whatever you are most comfortable with.
Maybe it's genetic, but also, my skin improved vastly after I stopped doing the things that harm it, primarily long, hot showers, scrubbing/exfoliating, and overuse of strong soaps. Plus, bonuses like no more oily hair, no more stinky socks, and greatly reduced pit odor. These things are backed up by good science; I just saw a WaPo article the other day with these recommendations from dermatologists. I see a lot of talk about exfoliating, and I know from experience that most people take long, hot showers, so I figure it's worth passing that information along.