Skin care for men: what are the most suitable daily routines and why?

Far from the dominant clichés of past decades, modern man knows how to take care of himself. If it is becoming more and more clear to public opinion that a quality life requires a body in great shape, including as we age, the means to achieve this still seem unclear. However, the commonplaces developed by holistic medicine have made implementing a tailor-made beauty routine more accessible than ever.
But then, what are these tips to follow to maintain vibrant, healthy skin at any age?
As you might expect, the MyPureSkin team has thought of you by putting together a few tips that will help you be better in your body to feel better in your head.
From simple tips to the underlying mechanisms, including explaining the risks that our contemporary lifestyles pose for our skin, our team supports you on the path to creating a beauty routine that makes sense, adapted to your needs. of the modern man that you are.
Doubts about what to do? Questions about the processes at work in your organization? Having difficulty choosing an effective, practical and easy-to-use product to help you in this adventure?
MyPureSkin gives you the secrets of masculine skin that radiates at every stage of your existence to enjoy your daily life and preserve your quality of life over time.

Simple gestures and habits with universal reach

Regardless of our specificities, we all have a body envelope that we seek to take care of. In fact, if an experienced dermatologist is able to refine the treatments he prescribes on the basis of a precisely established skin profile, there are still some tips that remain true for each of us such as:

• Promoting quality and sufficient sleep helps prevent the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles;
• Hydrating every hour to reach 2 to 3 liters of water per day helps preserve skin elasticity;
• Slow and gentle self-massage helps, through pressure and rotational movements, to stimulate blood circulation, thus promoting the delivery of nutrients to even out the complexion;
• Using an exfoliant on a regular basis (choosing a suitable formula if your skin is considered sensitive) using gentle application (without excessive friction) allows the pores on your face to breathe more effectively.

In short, the most important thing is to listen to your skin as much as possible. By ensuring, for example, its reaction to the moisturizing creams you use, you put all the chances on your side to preserve its softness and resistance, suppleness and firmness. In this regard too, it may still be useful to recall a few essential points:

• Alcohol-based products tend to irritate the skin, so be wary of aftershave lotions which can attack your skin (locally causing redness which can become chronic);
• Shaving itself is a procedure that must become gentler over the years, avoiding damage to skin that is increasingly weakened by the aging process (especially since the renewal of your cells slows down in this context).
• If we all tend to touch our faces, the increased risk of loss of effectiveness of the immune system in the face of senescence should lead you to adopt new habits that limit the supply of bacteria to the skin and the friction that occurs. too often cause its touch (apart from self-massage which must be practiced with perfectly clean hands, as much as possible).

Skin aging in men: how does it work?

Just as for women, skin aging is an inexorable, progressive and multifactorial process. To be convinced of this, you just need to remember that the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, which become more and more visible over time, is subject to elements such as:

• A genetic and epigenetic component (if your parents have fragile skin, it is likely that your skin is fragile too, and this fragility can be revealed or worsened by certain events or external agents such as stress or specific chemicals);
• Air pollution (which, in addition to being an epigenetic factor, affects all skin to a greater or lesser extent);
• Exposure to the sun (which, depending on the phenotype of the individuals, can more or less drastically reduce the quality of the skin depending on the frequency and duration of exposure);
• Oxidative stress (which can result from prolonged exposure to the sun but also to pollution, lack of sleep, dietary deficiencies and many other elements);
• Malnutrition and overeating (because we now know without reservation that dietary imbalances in terms of quantity and quality have a large say in your skin health).

But what weight does each of these skin aging factors have?

Your skin versus genetics and the environment

The complex organism of modern man was built after millions of years of evolution. It is the result of plural cooperation and even synergies with species different from ours.
In other words, you are partly made of entities that are not you. This is true for your digestive system but it is also true for the surface of your skin.
The structure of your skin is the combination of colonization by pathogens (such as staphylococcus aureus omnipresent on the epidermal surface), and layers of various cells among which the most visible are keratinocytes (dead cells constituting the surface of the skin). outermost part of your skin, serving as a “shield” to pathogens).
As surprising as it may seem, staphilococci aureus, to name but a few, have their uses. Indeed, as long as their population remains stable in number, their presence prevents, among other things, the proliferation of certain fungi (mushrooms) that our body would have much more difficulty fighting.
In this sense, the skin is an organ perfectly adapted to its... natural environment!
This precision is important because the rapid transformations brought about by the industrial revolution, while they offer their share of comfort, have an impact on the composition of the air that surrounds us or even on the state of biodiversity on a microscopic scale. , two problems that are now at the root of many skin health problems (among others).
Furthermore, the genetic code varies from one individual to another, the product of a long adaptation inherited from previous generations. This means that no two skins are the same but tend to be adapted to their ecosystem. This is why we were able to establish “phenotypic” categories to account for common strengths and weaknesses.

Not all ethnic groups are equal in the face of aging

From phenotype I to VI, there is a world. Indeed, if your complexion is punctuated with ephelides (freckles), it's a safe bet that your skin is not able to withstand too much sunlight.
Conversely, if your skin has a duller complexion, you probably tend to sunbathe more willingly without suffering too serious consequences.
The notion of consequences, precisely, of overexposure to risk agents (sun, atmospheric pollutants, etc.) varies from one skin to another depending on its phenotype.
In other words: learning to know your skin and its specific characteristics is the first step towards developing healthier habits and implementing a beauty routine adapted to your needs.

Aging: another source of disparities between men and women

Furthermore, if ethnicity is one of the key factors in disparity between skin types, it is not the only one.
The simple fact that you're a man means that your routine will definitely be at least slightly different from Madam's.
While men and women obviously have many points in common in this regard, sciences such as biometrology have made it possible to highlight sufficiently notable differences that they can serve as a basis for more targeted care.
As revealed, for example, in a meta-analysis published in 2018 by S. Rahrovan's team (1), almost systematic differences are observed in the skin of subjects studied on:

• The level of sebum which is higher on average in men (the production of sebum being linked to sexual hormonal activity);
• The level of pigmentation which is generally significantly higher in men;
• Skin thickness, also considered much greater in male subjects;
• Facial wrinkles and, in a way, sagging of the face much clearer in men with particular emphasis on the lower eyelid area;
• The PH level is significantly lower than that of women.

Beyond these "inherent" disparities, there are aggravating factors, further widening the gap between individuals depending on their place of birth and life and depending on the choices they adopt to remedy possible skin problems. that they encounter over time.

Epigenetics or “when your environment gets involved”

From this perspective, the factors have a considerable impact on the skin but in a way that is generally little suspected.
Indeed, it is thanks to studies such as that published in 2018 by Donata Orioli and Elena Dellambra (2) that we are able to put into perspective the effect of the environment on the skin aging process.
Indeed, cellular regeneration follows, like all metabolic processes, the code available in the genetic heritage of the cell.
In this regard, many recent discoveries suggest that the "instructions" of the genome are much more complex than previously thought just 10 years ago.
By simplifying the key concepts at the heart of these discoveries, understanding the complexity between genetic code and environment requires distinguishing two constituent elements of the genome:

• The genetic code;
• Epigenetic mechanisms.

If the genetic code offers the cell in some way the "construction and functioning plan" of the elements which concern it (which includes, among others, for example, the collagen produced by fibroblast cells), epigenetic mechanisms play a role in them a role of support or even, to a certain extent, of arbitration.

One of the most common metaphors (in the context of the most relevant body of knowledge currently on the subject) is that of switches.

Indeed, the genes "written in full" in the genetic code would act as a manual for your organism while the epigenetic mechanisms which accompany it would in a certain way be the "reading grid" giving the cell the conditions to applications of genome instructions.

It is in this context that it becomes possible to understand why, for example, sugar consumption increases the risk of appearance, recurrence and severity of cancers (all types) at any age.

Thus, if nutrition itself plays an essential role in skin maintenance (as we will see later), it also represents from an epigenetic point of view a lever of action on the maintenance and preservation of your health preemptively.

In this sense, the environmental factors to which the genetic code of your cells is subject must be considered with caution if you are seeking to prevent the appearance of skin disorders or if you wish to preserve relatively young skin for as long as possible.

But then, how do these environmental factors act through epigenetics on the health of your skin? And what is their individual impact on it?

Polluting agents and their impact on your epidermis

Whether PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) or other particles present in pesticides, the pollutants to which the skin is exposed have a considerable impact on your epidermis and dermis, in particular:

• More likely or more frequent episodes of dry skin;
• The appearance of blackheads and pimples (by production of excess sebum, a common cutaneous mechanism that the skin mobilizes to try to protect itself from external aggressions);
• A dullness of the complexion (consequent to poor nutrition of the skin due to the accumulation of polluting agents whose small size prevents natural evacuation by the body, especially in the case of fine particles suspended in the air );
• Increased epidermal sensitivity (which increases the risk of eczema, itching, redness or even allergies in the case of the development of autoimmune skin diseases);
• Accelerated or even premature aging of the skin as a result of one or more of these disorders;
• Ultimately, increased risks of skin cancer.

In a study published in 2020 by Wendy Roberts (3), we note the most common effects of air pollution on skin health.

Not content with being an increasingly important factor in comorbidity among the populations of today's industrialized societies (affecting the lungs, the brain, the cardiovascular system and many other functions of the body) , polluting agents also affect the skin and... in a clearly visible way!

Melanomas, atopic dermatitis, lentigo, psoriasis, acne and other dysfunction of the epidermal barrier can be added to the long list of skin problems caused by polluting agents present in the air.

However, it is on a positive note that the researcher concludes her publication, by highlighting some avenues for prevention and support for the skin in its fight against these aggressions, among which we note that:

• Nutrition is the best way to contribute to the prevention of skin problems, especially in the face of air pollution, which implies a diversified and balanced diet but also adapted in quantity;
• In this context, increased consumption of antioxidants is the key to “anti-pollution diets” whose effects seem to be convincing.

The sun: its benefits and dangers

Vital among other things for the fixation of vitamin D, exposure to the sun is an essential element of an effective beauty and health routine. However, it is important to avoid too long and too frequent unprotected exposure (i.e. without a screening agent such as sunscreen and/or fabrics filtering UV rays).
While duration and frequency limits will of course vary based on the factors discussed previously (ethnicity, gender, geographic area, specific health conditions, etc.), a good approach is to remember:

• Always apply a sunscreen whose index is adapted to your phenotype;
• Always go out covered for areas of the skin not protected by screening agent (with UV filtering capacity);
• Always be sure to keep an eye on exposure time;
• Systematically clean gently when no exposure is expected in order to allow the pores of the skin to breathe;
• Apply a moisturizer after cleansing.

These necessities are not linked to anecdotal skin weaknesses, but to underlying mechanisms directly linked to the premature aging of your skin.

One of them, well known to those familiar with nutricosmetics, is one of the elements that MyPureSkin products tirelessly combat: oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress: an omnipresent factor in premature aging

Ubiquitous biological phenomenon, oidative stress

Nutrition: an underestimated factor in whether your skin gets worse...or better!

Why and how skin food supplementation: MyPureSkin products enhance your skin

Nutricosmetics as a skin health booster

1. Meta-analysis of comparative biometrological studies of male and female skin: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6116811/
2. Research by Donata Orioli and Elena Dellambra on the role of epigenetics in the regeneration of skin cells in the face of skin aging: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6315602/
3. Assessment of the links between air pollution and skin dysfunction: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7838324/