Clear skin is an indicator of good hygiene and health. However, like every good thing in life, you’ve got to work for it! Maintaining healthy skin comes down to diligence, patience, and consistency.
While the products you use play a significant factor in your skin’s health, your lifestyle choices can also significantly impact your skin. If you’re looking to up your skincare game, developing a basic routine that you can stick to, and a healthy lifestyle is vital.
Not sure where to start? Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Here is an in-depth skincare guide for the modern man so that you can look and feel your best.
(Image source: Bing Image Creator 'black man rubbing in body lotion')
Build A Basic Routine
One of the most common misconceptions about skincare is that it is for aesthetic purposes. However, it’s essential to realize that your epidermis is your body's largest organ. Its primary function is to protect your body from external stressors such as bacteria, pollutants, and dirt. Basic cleansing and moisturizing will keep your skin in good condition and functioning correctly.
Skincare doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. A basic routine will allow your skin to flourish. However, consistency, diligence, and patience are vital to seeing results.
Here are the barebone basics of an effective skincare routine!
Wash Daily
Cleansing the skin is the most crucial step of an effective skincare routine. If there’s only one thing you take away from this guide, let this be it!
Throughout the day, your skin collects dirt, bacteria, and pollutants on its surface. Daily cleansing of your face and body will remove these impurities. It will also help to loosen up any dead skin cells from the skin’s surface.
Failure to do so can make your skin more prone to acne-flare ups caused by excessive bacteria or fungus sitting on the skin. It can also worsen existing skin conditions or lead to even more severe conditions such as dermatitis.
We recommend washing your face twice a day, once in the morning and again at night, and showering at least once daily to keep your skin clean. For your showers, consider using the DABA Body Wash, a gentle cleanser packed with hydrating ingredients.
Exfoliate
Do you suffer from dry, flaking skin? Or perhaps you struggle with painful ingrown hairs?
Consider adding a weekly exfoliation into your skincare routine. It’s a critical step that’s often neglected, but its benefits can’t be overlooked!
When you exfoliate your skin, you are sloughing away the dead skin cells stuck to the epidermis's surface. This is especially important because it will allow your products to penetrate the skin more deeply, reduce the occurrence of painful ingrown hairs, and eliminate roughness.
A gentle exfoliation before you shave can also help you get a closer and smoother result by lifting the free edges of shorter pieces of hair that might be trapped beneath the skin's surface.
We recommend exfoliating no more than three times weekly to prevent over-exfoliation.
Moisturize
Keeping your skin adequately moisturized plays a vital role in its health. Excessive dryness can lead to an uncomfortable tightness and itchiness, leaving your skin feeling raw and irritated. However, if the dehydration becomes prolonged and chronic, it can lead to more severe issues.
Your skin can lose its elasticity and flexibility over time when it’s not adequately hydrated. This chronic dehydration cycle can cause the skin to age prematurely, causing you to look older than you are. It can also lead to cracking skin which can introduce infection-causing bacteria into your body.
Keep your skin hydrated and flexible by following up any cleansing session with a daily moisturizer on your face and a body lotion daily or after you shower.
Sunscreen
Sunscreen is a vital part of your skincare routine that you do not want to skip. When your skin is exposed to UV rays for a prolonged period without protection, your risk of developing skin cancer increases tenfold.
There is a common misconception amongst people of color that melanin makes them “immune” to the sun. While melanin does offer a layer of protection from the sun, it’s not an impenetrable shield. While you may tan easily and be less likely to burn, your skin is still experiencing damage on a deep cellular level from the UV rays.
People of color who develop skin cancer are more likely to receive their diagnosis within the later stages of the disease. It’s vital to protect yourself by educating yourself on sun safety and closing the sunscreen gap.
Even when it is overcast, you should still wear sunscreen daily as the sun’s rays can penetrate through the clouds. It is also important to remember to reapply your sunscreen throughout the day so that way you always have a barrier of protection over your skin.
Lifestyle Habits for Healthy Skin
(Image source: Leonardo.Ai 'black man waking up from sleep')
Now that you have a better idea of a basic skincare routine, it’s also essential to understand how your lifestyle habits can affect your skin’s overall health. While many things contribute to your overall health, here are two of the most crucial habits that will immediately impact your skin’s health.
Drink enough water
Water is essential to the proper functioning of our organs and bodily systems. More than half of the body’s overall composition is water. When dehydrated, your skin is the first area to show signs of distress.
You may experience an uncomfortable tightness, itchiness, and an overall dull-looking complexion.
Get enough sleep
Your body heals itself through sleep. While you’re in the deepest phase of the sleep cycle, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that work to repair your body on a deep cellular level.
Chronic exhaustion can lead to many physical, emotional, and mental symptoms. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body is slower to heal. You will notice a slowing in cellular turnover, leading to a surge of dead skin buildup, resulting in a dull-looking complexion and excessive dryness.
The emotional and mental symptoms of exhaustion can also manifest in a physical way. When you’re exhausted, your resilience to stress is significantly reduced. You may notice that you’re experiencing more stress-induced breakouts and that these breakouts take longer to disappear.
Be diligent, consistent, and patient!
Like every great thing in life, you have to work for it!
Taking care of your skin doesn’t have to be time-consuming or intricate. If you develop an effective daily routine that you can quickly execute and make some lifestyle changes, you will see positive changes in your skin.
