A custom personalized skin care routine for men that targets your skin's problems is important for males of every age and ethnicity.  Caring for your skin is important at every age, but the younger you begin preventative skincare, the healthier your skin will be. The key to slowing skin aging in men is to begin a custom skincare routine with products that are right for your Baumann Skin Type. The right skin care routine can help men look their best, prevent skin damage, and reduce common skin issues like acne breakouts, razor irritation, wrinkles, and dark spots. Follow this skincare routine guide for men to find the regimen that fits your age, lifestyle and skin type.

Whether you want a basic skincare routine, or a comprehensive skin care routine to target all of your skin's problems, you will get better results if you build a custom skincare routine based on which Baumann Skin Type you are.  (There are 16!) This blog will review skin care for men in each decade.  Skincare for older men should contain antiaging ingredients, while skin care for younger men should focus on targeting concerns like redness, acne, skin oiliness, or dehydration.

The easiest way to build a custom skincare routine for men is to identify your skin type with our dermatologist- developed scientific questionnaire.

The most important skin care routine steps for older men and young men are:

• Cleanse
• Protect
•  Repair

When you choose to build a skin care routine with us and you choose our basic simple routine with the fewest steps for men, these are the steps your routine will contain. You will choose from a list of medical grade products to fill in each of these skin care routine steps. The CPR of skincare routines are the critical steps needed to revive your male skin. Products must be layered in the proper step order in your face care  routine so products have the highest amount of efficacy.

If you want fast results from your face care routine, then you need to use a skincare routine with more steps so you can target all of the issues that are  affecting your skin's health.

When you build a skincare routine using your Baumann Skin Type- we make it very easy for men to choose products for your a skincare routine that really work. These routines are used by over 250 doctors and medical providers in the USA and even more around the world. 

Your cleanser should be chosen based on your Baumann Skin Type. Cleansers dramatically affect skin hydration, penetration of other skin care products into the skin, exfoliation, and the cleanliness of the skin.

There are several types of cleansers and each affects the skin differently. So your basic facial cleansing routine should include 1 or 2 of these cleansers:

• Low pH cleansers
• Soothing Cleansers
• Moisturizing creamy cleansers
• Cleansing oils
• Foaming deep cleansing cleansers

To learn more about cleansers for men- here are some blogs to guide you:

• Cleansing Tips
• What water to wash your face with?
• Why 2 different cleansers?
• What step in skincare routine should men shave?

There are many things you need to protect your skin from. Our quiz asks you questions to ascertain which of these you need to be focusing on.  Of course- daily sunscreen is important for men of all ages!  If you want the most basic routine possible- you can use a moisturizing sunscreen and then you only need to cleanse and apply the hydrating SPF every morning.  You would be shocked how effective those 2 easy steps can be to slow skin  aging.

Here's a list of things your skincare routine may protect you from:

• Acne
• Allergy
• Clogged pores
• Hyperpigmentation
• Inflammation
• Loss of collagen
• Loss of skin elasticity
• Sun sensitivity

Using the wrong skincare products for your skin type can lead to inflammation, breakouts, dark spots, and faster skin aging.

Repairing any underlying skin problems is the most important role of a skin care routine. When you choose skincare products for your routine- the “treatment serum” and “moisturizer” steps should contain ingredients to target any underlying problems. These are the types of issues the “Treatment Product” and Moisturizers in a skincare routine  for men should target:

• Acne
• Facial redness or Rosacea
• Skin Stinging
• Dehydration
• Oiliness
• Razor Rash
• Uneven pigment with sun spots

• Wrinkles

When we choose the best skincare products for your regimen, these are the issues our dermatologists have considered when choosing the products to go in your routine. In a basic routine, you will not have enough steps to target all of these issues so we focus on the most import ones like dehydration and inflammation because they tend to cause the other issues on the list.

A custom comprehensive skin care routine for men must have more steps than the basic routine- especially if you have one of the more complicated Baumann Skin Types.

As you add more steps to the routine, the order that you use the products becomes even more important because you do not want one product to inactivate the other products in the routine.  For example, hyaluronic acid and peptides tend to affect the entire skin care routine, so most be used properly.

Read our blog about whether to shave before or after showering.  This will help you better understand these steps if you shave your face.

Which brands and products to use for each step will vary based on which Baumann Skin Type you are.

Morning Skincare Regimen Steps:

1. Wash face
2. Shave
3. Wash face again to remove hairs and shaving cream
4. Apply eye cream
5. Treatment product to target skin problem
6. Moisturizer
7. Sunscreen (can be combined in same product as moisturizer)

Night Skincare Regimen Step Order:

1. Wash face
2. Apply eye cream
3. Treatment product to target skin problem
4. Moisturizer
5. Treatment serum like a retinoid

These are general comments, you will get better advice if you take the skin type quiz.  In general- here are skincare routine tips for young men.

If you get a lot of sun exposure, then you should consider using an antiaging skincare routine for young men.

Learn more about anti-aging skincare in your 20s here.

Oily and acne-prone skin benefit from cleansers with salicylic acid to remove excess oil and prevent clogged pores.

Dry or sensitive skin types should avoid foaming cleansers which can strip the skin—instead use a gentle, creamy cleanser or cleansing oil to maintain moisture levels and repair the skin moisture barrier.

Our data of over 400,000 patients tells us that most people are wrong about if they are oily or dry.  Make sure you take our skin type quiz to see if you are dry or oily before buying any products.

Apply an oil-free, lightweight moisturizer if your skin skews oily or acne-prone. You can find a list of acne causing ingredients to avoid here.

Here are some non-comedogenic light face moisturizers for men.

Dry skin needs rich barrier repair moisturizers containing lipids to nourish the skin barrier damaged by environmental exposure.

These are our favorite barrier repair moisturizers for men with dry skin.

Find a light sunscreen that you are willing to wear every day. This is the very best way to keep your skin looking good.  Use it every day- even in winter.

We also like these light untinted noncomedogenic mineral sunscreens for men:

If you are over 30 years of age or you get a lot of sun, you are a Wrinkle-prone Baumann Skin Type and you need to add antiaging ingredients to your skincare routine.

As you see, there are 8 different skin types that an older man might be.  Which antiwrinkle serums are best depends on which of these skin types you are.

Unless you have skin stinging or rosacea, then a retinoid is probably right for you.  However, you must combine it with the right cleansers and moisturizers for your skin type and use the retinol properly so you do not get side effects.

Here are some good starter retinols for men:

Finding the best skincare routine for men is challenging unless you let us help you by taking the quiz. Once you know your Baumann Skin Type, we will help you build a skincare routine from the best medical grade skincare brands.  You will also receive emails with custom personalized skincare advice.  There are 16 skin types and 4 sensitive skin subtypes-  so take the quiz and let me help you choose the best products for your skin- no matter what age you are.

1. Baumann L. Antiaging Ingredients in Ch. 37 of Baumann's Cosmetic Dermatology Ed 3. (McGraw Hill 2022)
2. Baumann, L. Cosmeceuticals and Cosmetic Ingredients (McGraw Hill 2015)
3. Deubler, G., Swaney‐Stueve, M., & Koppel, K. (2022). Using in‐depth interviews to explore perceptions and opinions in men's skin care. Journal of Sensory Studies, 37(1), e12716.
4. Lee, Y. B., Ahn, S. K., Ahn, G. Y., Bak, H., Hong, S. P., Go, E. J., ... & Goo, J. W. (2019). Baumann skin type in the Korean male population. Annals of dermatology, 31(6), 621-630.