I get asked many questions about facial skincare, and in this past month, I have encountered the most number of men reaching out to ask their burning questions - questions some of them said to be "too shy to ask" at the beauty and cosmetic counters.
One of them told me, "I would feel so out of place if I were to walk into Sephora and ask all the questions I have about facial skincare."
From the questions many of them asked me, I noticed there are several frequently asked questions by most guys which I believe could be questions that many more others would like to know the answer as well.
So in this and the coming skincare stories, let me share some of these questions with the best answer I could help with to empower you with better knowledge on facial skincare.
Q1: Are men's facial skincare products different from women's?
A short and direct answer to this is: No. Most of the products carrying a label 'for men' are just label gimmicks. Of course, for the ones that did formulate the products differently for their men and women consumers, they may cater to unique skin conditions like facial hair or the relatively oilier skin for men doing laborious work outdoors.
Ultimately, the right skincare products for men (or women) still depend on what the current skin condition is as well as the past history of the skin (e.g. any unusual breakout? Trauma? Laser treatments?) or skincare routine.
So, if what you would like to know is whether you can use the same facial skincare products as your wife, from V Magic® biotech skincare products suite, I would say yes if both of your skin conditions are similar and require similar treatment.
V Magic® skincare products are formulated by specific functions to meet certain needs of the skin (to repair, awaken, activate, regenerate), not by gender. Because the truth is, some men have tinier pores than many women or vice versa, and depending on lifestyle and living environment, men and women can both be exposed to sun damage, or pimples and acne problems, or lines and wrinkles issues.
Take my husband and me for example, we both use the same V Magic® Aqua Makeup Remover (to remove my sunscreen, to remove his sunscreen and air pollutants caught on his facial skin from his workplace at the processing plant), the same V Magic® Brightening Cleanser, our respective V Magic® Vigor Tonique toners (the moist one for my current dry skin condition, the light one for his current oily skin condition), the same V Magic® Nuit-Hydrating Pre Serum (for deep-layer hydration), then I go on with my V Magic® White Serum (accelerated repair for skin damage done in the past) while he goes on with his V Magic® Bee Venom Age-Frozen Créme (light moisture while preventing further lines formation), and we both can use the same V Magic® Premium Sunscreen SPF30 for day time or I sometimes opt for the SPF50 variant with medium cover in place of foundation or BB cream.
Before you wonder, how would a man handle so many products in a daily skincare routine, the good news is my husband only takes 2 minutes or less each morning to apply his light toner, H serum, créme, and sunscreen. And the reward for his consistent daily routine? Always coming home telling me another colleague told him about his face glowing. Ha! Keep it up, my man.
So what facial skincare products suit you? Your first step is to get your face analysed for your current skin condition, then you will be better informed to understand which skincare products (their formulation, ingredients, safety and effectiveness levels) would do good or bad to your facial skin.
I do 1-on-1 facial skin analysis and it is complimentary for my members, so feel free to reach out to me when you are ready to learn more about what your skin needs and which skincare products are suitable for your current skin condition.
Q2: Do men need to put on Sunscreen - when we are not going to the beach?
Of course! This is so important, especially in a country with high exposure to harmful UV rays like Australia.
The biggest mistake for anyone is to think that they remain indoors and therefore don't need to put on sunscreen. Today's UV rays penetrate through the windows, glass doors, and anything that gives you natural light during the day. That's why, if you drive frequently, the UV spots on your right face would naturally be higher than the UV spots on your left face (data-proven via facial skin analyser machines).
So, you need to put on Sunscreen as long as it's still daylight, even after you shower in the late afternoon.
Along the three premium sunscreen variants from V Magic®, from my local (Australia) record as well as the global V Magic® records, the V Magic® Premium Sunscreen SPF30 (no color and safe for babies) are the most popular choice among men, with a small percentage of them preferring the SPF50 variants with light to medium cover - these variants are most popular among guys who used to apply foundation or BB cream.
Now, is SPF30 enough? SPF stands for sun protection factor. The higher the SPF number, the stronger and longer the product can protect your skin. Does it mean the higher the SPF number the better? Actually, the higher the SPF number, that means the UV protection ingredients in the sunscreen could be more clog-causing to your pores.
Most sunscreens in the market today are made with not-friendly ingredients (avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, octisalate, homosalate). That's why as a responsible biotech skincare brand, V Magic® took it seriously to formulate a premium sunscreen that is capable of providing sufficient protection under most cases while using only safe ingredients. All three variants of the V Magic® Premium Sunscreens are anti-inflammatory and are among the gentlest effective sunscreens available in the market today - a market that has already been so saturated with commercial-focused products rather than safe & effective products.
So, the SPF30 variant is enough to provide you with sufficient protection for 7+ hours, and you can re-apply the sunscreen to extend your protection. While for the two SPF50 variants, the protection they can provide can last for 12+ hours.
Now that you know this, if you haven't been putting on Sunscreen, you should seriously consider doing so soon. Of course, that means it should come together with adequate cleansing every night and morning.
Like these?
Do you find these answers helpful so far? Stay tuned for the next episode on more facial skincare questions men are asking, and answered.
Or do you have a question? Reach out to me and ask away!
