Men's Skin Care vs. Women's Skin Care
OK. So why "men's skin care at all"? Isn't this
just one more example of gay male misogyny? Are we just trying to inscribe women within a discourse of the phallocratic
will to power? Are we ignoring the social construction of reality, identity and night cream?
To which we say: True, but irrelevant.
99% of skin care products in the world were designed for women, and so take their physiology into account. This
is why the vast majority of skin care is for people with acne and oily skin. This is because women's monthly hormonal
changes often result in pimples on their faces. And women fear pimples more than they fear just about anything
else except wrinkles and those few extra pounds.
What does this mean for men? Namely, that many creams, particularly day creams, will be very drying for men. If
you're a man with dry skin, it's best not to use most day creams, as they are designed to present a "matte"
finish for women and avoid pimples at all costs.
Likewise, women wear makeup and, consequently, most facial cleansers are fairly strong in order to remove all traces
of that oil free matte foundation with SPF 15. As a result, many cleansers can be too harsh for men, whose faces
are covered only in beer foam and flecks of dried mozzarella cheese. Once again, the lesson for men is to choose
the gentlest cleanser they can find.
Unless of course, you're a man with oily skin, in which case there are very few adjustments you need to make to
the world of women's skin care.
One last difference. For some reason unknown to us, women love strong scents. I'm sure you've noticed this. If
your coffee room at work offers flavored coffee (yech!), guess who's drinking all the raspberry Irish creme flavor?
Women, of course. The same excessive taste applies to scent. This is why many facial creams have a strong scent,
one that you might be trying to avoid as you masquerade as a top at the local clubs. If you don't like strong scents,
by all means avoid the Sisley line. It's nice in many respects, but everything they sell smells like your great
aunt's décolletage.
There are some men's skin care lines, such as Nickel from France and Zirh. These are formulated especially for
us, so you generally won't encounter the same problems with them. But if you pick and choose carefully, even lines
aimed especially at women have products that can be useful and fun for the guy on the go.
-Niall
