The Guy’s Guide to Grooming

While it’s been a very common and a joke that male grooming begins and ends with a guy washing his face with water a bar of soap, if even that, we know that there’s so much more that goes into being well-groomed for men, women, and non-binary folk alike. 

In recent years, partially due in thanks to the rise of TikTok-fueled skincare trends and the increasingly open-minded attitude of Gen Z individuals, beauty expectations for men have shifted from the traditional standards of yore. 

In fact, according to a market research study published by Custom Market Insights [CMI],  the global men’s grooming market is predicted to reach $110 billion by 2030. 

Here are some skincare and beauty tips for guys that are looking to explore the wonderful (if somewhat overwhelming) world of male grooming.

Basic Skincare Routine.

He, she, or they, any individual can get overwhelmed by what steps should go into a skincare routine. Aside from shaving, essentially male and female grooming products are interchangeable (or should be) aside from marketing, packaging, and the pink tax. Here’s an essential breakdown of basic skincare routine that any person should follow:

Cleanser. 

Wash your face once in the morning and once in the evening using a gentle facial wash, like the Joah Beauty Heal Me Cic Gentle Foam Cleanser ($10.99).

Moisturizer.

Repeat after me, everyone needs to use moisturizer. Some men I’ve met have been under the impression that because they have oily skin, adding in moisturizer will make their skin feel greasy or breakout, which is absolutely false. If anything, your skin will only produce more oil to overcompensate for hydration. Go in with a nickel sized amount of a non-oil and non-alchohol based cream that feels comfortable to your skin and you should be more than fine. Apply once in the morning, and again in the evening. If your skin is on the dryer side of the spectrum, you can go in with a heavier cream, like the Joah Beauty Morning Glow Hydrating Overnight Mask ($14.99), since you won’t be moving out and about and your skin can soak up the thicker product overnight. 

SPF 

I cannot emphasize how much everyone needs to wear sunscreen, but especially to men. According to the American Academy of Dematology Association, men are much more likely to develop melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer, than women. This is largely due in part to women being more conditioned than men to protect their skin from the sun, for both vanity and safety reasons.  

Bonus skincare tip: If you find yourself feeling oily throughout the day, resist the urge to touch your face with your hand or “wipe” away the oil with your forearm. Go in with the Joah Beauty Clean Slate Blotting Paper ($3.99) or an oil-blotting sheet to soak up the excess oil. 

Makeup For Men

While colored makeup can still be a bit intimidating for the average guy, at least for now, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t more subtle makeup products and techniques that the everyday bro can get into. 

A few years into my skincare and beauty journey, I worked as a retail employee at a fairly well-known South Korean beauty retailer in 2018/2019. The consumer base was primarily teenaged to middle-aged women, who oftentimes took their male partners and friends along with them. To my surprise, majority of the men were intrigued by the products, like essences and toners, I was explaining to their friends and partners. A few of them were even interested and ended up purchasing a cushion foundation, a foundation preference in South Korean beauty culture, for themselves. 

At the end of the day almost everyone has acne, acne scarring/hyperpigmentation, or other skin blemishes and most of us feel self-conscious about them. If a non-harmful product is available to help cover up our insecurities and help give a confidence boost, shouldn’t everyone be entitled to try it out?

Beauty Products for Everyone

There are a few makeup products that can be used to achieve a fresh, no-makeup makeup look to the skin:

Color Corrector

Versus using a foundation or a concealer, which can look heavy or unnatural when applied by an untrained hand, try going in with a color-correcting product. Color correcting comes from the principle of color theory, the body of guidance for color mixing and the visual effects of specific color combinations. Essentially, one color cancels out the other. 

For instance, if you have pale skin and have rosy cheeks or intense pink/red patches you would like to cover up, you would use a green color corrector (green and red are complementary colors) to help cancel out the red. 

Or, if you (like me) have dark circles onto your eyes, you would use a light salmon-colored color corrector (lighter skintones) or a more orangey-red color corrector (deeper skintones) to balance out the blue-ish tones under your skin, as orange and blue are complementary colors.  

Expert Advice

I reached out to style and grooming influencer Jeff Yamazaki for his thoughts and recommendations on male grooming tips and products.