A Simple Skincare Guide for Modern Men (Updated 2024)

I’ve spent years looking for the best men’s skincare routine…and I’ve tried a lot of different products. The problem is often times that the only products that work cost $300 a month…and even then, very few of them actually do work.

I’ve always had pretty bad skin—in fact, I even went on Accutane when I was 16 years old, to no avail. I remember being extremely frustrated that even dermatologists couldn’t help me.  I felt like I would’ve been way more attractive if I just had better skin.

I was put on tons of different men’s skincare routines by different dermatologists, but none of them worked. In fact, some of them seemed to make my skin get even WORSE over time.

Salicylic acid, isotetrin, Cetaphil, Benzoyl Peroxide, Clindamycin…the list goes on and on. Why couldn’t I find a men’s skincare routine that actually worked, even after dumping hundreds of dollars into a so called professional’s pocket?

The answer is that 99% of Dermatologists don’t know shit.

How Most Dermatologists “Think”

There’s a lot of problems with the medical industry; don’t even get me started on it. For the sake of this article, however, I’ll present a brief explanation of why most dermatologists can’t provide you with an adequate men’s skincare routine.

Western Medicine, although this is changing slowly, generally treats the causes, not the effects.

In other words, doctors are programmed to prescribe “X” when you have “Y” symptom, rather than looking at you as a unique individual with different needs.

They don’t realize that with medicine, and skincare is a part of medicine, you have to start from the ground up. It’s better to wash your face with simple, natural ingredients than some sort of weird man-made chemical that doesn’t exist in nature (because our bodies weren’t exposed to it, they aren’t designed to process it).

Because corporations pay massive amounts of money to dermatologists who recommend their products, obviously they’re going to be extremely biased and want to recommend some garbage lotion if it gets them a $5,000/year bonus.

And even if they aren’t greedy, the studies and medical research in dermatology is all funded by, you guessed it, massive corporations that sell dermatology products. This is why their textbooks are loaded with corporate bias. So what do you think the textbooks are going to say? Obviously that “Accutane,” or “Cetaphil” works wonders.

The stupidity of most dermatologists was really drilled into my head when I had a horrible reaction to Accutane. I was literally bedridden; I couldn’t move, because my joints felt like they were going to explode the second that I moved them. And do you know what my dermatologist recommended?

To “stick with it” for another month. Fuck off. We don’t need stupid advice that doesn’t work, we need a men’s skincare routine that’s simple yet effective.

Fitness for Skincare

Skincare is one of the most important components of looksmaxing, so be sure you get this guide down pat. Follow all of the advice.

First, you should get a few things in order, though:

1. Your diet
2. Your fitness
3. Your lifestyle

These serve as the foundation for whether or not you’ll have good skin, so you want to perfect these before moving onto the actual men’s skincare routine. Sometimes, simply changing your diet up and following a good workout routine is enough to eliminate 80% of your skin problems.

1. Your Diet

If you have problems with acne, I consider going on either a low-carb or ketogenic diet. Carbohydrates have been shown to cause inflammation in the body, which will only exacerbate your acne.

My favorite ketogenic diet is called the Bulletproof Diet, which is basically a modified version of the paleo diet.

When I follow the bulletproof diet to a T, I notice a huge reduction in the amount of acne that I have—this is because the low amount of carbohydrates lessens inflammation, which means less acne.

For some people, it may even go down to zero. Keep in mind though, being on a paleo diet isn’t ideal for bulking or trying to get jacked. In general the rule is this: paleo for focus and overall well-being, high-carb to bulk up and get huge.

If your number one priority is to get better skin, however, doing intermittent fasting is absolutely mandatory.

2. Your Fitness

Being physically fit also plays a large role in reducing acne. Our bodies are meant to move and they’re meant to be put under some eustress (good stress). They don’t function too well when you sit at a desk all day (cough, like me) and write articles.

Ideally you should be combining some sort of muscular training with cardiovascular training—unfortunately most workout routines don’t do this. Body of an Alpha, however, does—it’s designed specifically to combine high intensity interval training with two types of muscular training: hypertrophy and strength training.

Regardless of what routine you do, however, there’s an endless number of ways to design your fitness life, but the point is that you should be doing something that you enjoy and that gives you benefits. I know that when I do cardio regularly, my skin gets MUCH better.

3. Your Lifestyle

This basically has to do with the amount of stress in your life. Are you constantly worried about finances? Do you have the sex life that you want? Do you live with people who don’t see the best in you, or who are stagnating rather than improving?

If so, it’s time to make a change. Change is slow, though, so I recommend learning how to meditate in order to reduce some stress while you’re trying to change your life. If certain people stress you out, then stop hanging out with them. If your job is highly stressful, get a different one.

Make sure that you also sleep for 8-9 hours a night and drink plenty of water, too. Spend some time in the sauna frequently, and learn to relax. Just doing these things alone will help to improve your complexion.

The Skincare Routine

This men’s skincare routine consists of three separate components:

• Soap/scrub
• Moisturizer
• Tanning

For best results, do all three.

Soap and Scrub (Mandatory)

This is the bread and butter of my men’s skincare routine. You cannot get good skin without doing some form of cleansing and exfoliating.

For the soap, I recommend Nubian Heritage African Black Soap. It’s by far the best soap that I’ve ever used for the price; I mean look at the ingredients. No artificial chemicals, no filler, no bullshit…just good old natural ingredients. Coconut oil, Shea butter, vitamin E, and more.

Now what you’re going to do is lather it all over your face, then use this Activated Charcoal Konjac Facial Sponge to gently scrub away excess skin, dirt, and oil.

When I first starting using African Black Soap and the Konjac Facial Sponge I was actually pretty skeptical. How could just a soap be so effective when hundreds of dollars worth of dermatologist prescribed medication didn’t even do anything?

I was completely wrong—this shit works.

I noticed immediately that my skin was way more glowing. It’s hard to explain, but it just looked more…alive. It was brighter and more vibrant.

Within a week my acne and blackheads started to go away, but I found out the key is to scrub GENTLY. This is your skin we’re talking about, not a fucking piece of iron.

If you gently scrub your face with African Black Soap and a Konjac Facial Sponge once or twice a day for a few weeks, your skin will improve drastically.

Moisturizer (Optional)

I find that I can go without a moisturizer, because the soap is just THAT good, but I still moisturize occasionally and get some of the benefits. Moisturizing is great if you’re prone to dry skin, or if you find that the soap dries your skin out.

I recommend using a dab of Coconut Oil as a moisturizer, for a multitude of reasons. It contains vitamin E, which is a natural anti-aging compound, so it’ll decrease the fine lines and wrinkles on your face (or protect you from any in the future!).

It also has various anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal properties, which makes it phenomenal for fighting acne. Pimples are caused by an overgrowth of bacteria under your skin, so a natural anti-bacterial will help to combat those little buggers.

Just take a dime size amount and rub it all over your face—in fact, you may not even have to use that much. I recommend doing it right after you use the soap and the facial sponge to cleanse your face, that way there’s no dirt blocking the coconut oil from getting absorbed.

Protip: you can also use a high quality humidifier to prevent your skin from getting dry in the first place.

Tanning (Optional)

Tanning was the last nail in the coffin of acne, for me. I don’t think that the medical community places enough emphasis on the importance of tanning when you’re trying to get rid of acne. The benefits of tanning are twofold: not only does it actually destroy bacteria, but it also creates a more even skin-tone so it’s hard to see if you have acne or not.

I recall talking with a dermatologist who was actually on the cutting edge of medicine, and he told me about recent research that showed how UV rays somehow actually killed bacteria that caused acne. My experience has done nothing but support this claim.

For tanning, I recommend going to your local gym and buying a membership there to save yourself time and money. Tanning outside is best, but most men don’t have time for that shit.

Places that only specialize in tanning, like Beach Bum or Hollywood Tans, tend to jack up the prices for their beds. It’s not uncommon for them to charge outrageous fees of $150+ per month. At my local gym, however, they only charge me $25/month for unlimited tanning. That’s not a bad deal.

You’ll also save time by tanning at your gym. I love to hit the gym hard, have a whey protein shake while soaking in the hot tub, and then go tan before I go home. This is much more preferable than having to drive all the way to a different location just for tanning.

The tanning lotion that you use is extremely important—don’t buy lotion from your tanning salon! They charge you like $50 more than Amazon.

Tanning Salons often overcharge you (read: they always overcharge you) because like many other stores, they’re too dumb to realize you can just go on Amazon and buy the same lotion for half the cost. My favorite tanning lotion so far is Solid Black 100x, because it’s extremely effective and surprisingly inexpensive for the quality.

You can tan outside if you want, but it isn’t always practical. Sometimes the days aren’t sunny so you can’t tan when you need to, sometimes it’s cold out, or rainy, and tanning outdoors always takes far longer than using a bed.

Once I started tanning, I noticed a HUGE reduction in not only my face acne, but my body acne as well. Plus I noticed more girls checking me out with a bit of a tan.

If you’re having trouble getting rid of acne, I would highly recommend tanning using the lotion that I mentioned. I promise that you won’t regret it—it will help by leaps and bounds, because UV rays have been proven to decrease acne.

Men’s Skincare Tips

Although my men’s skincare routine should be enough to get rid of any acne or blackheads you have, there’s also some extra things that you can do to speed the process along. If you have particularly bad acne, you may want to consider following all of these.

Sweat It Out

Be sure to go to the sauna regularly; I prefer going after I workout to relax my muscles. Again, be sure to have a high quality protein shake, though. You shouldn’t wait more than 30 minutes after working out to have one, because that’s when your muscles are literally starving for nutrients.

When you go to the sauna and sweat like a dog, your body releases toxins that would normally be trapped in your skin. When I started going to the sauna 3x a week for 10 minutes a session, I noticed a huge improvement on my face and body. Just be sure to wash your face afterwards to get all that sweat off.

One thing that I enjoy doing as well is going to the sauna and then taking a cold shower right afterwards. This way, you get the benefits of the sauna plus the benefits of taking cold showers—the best of both worlds.

Don’t Pick or Pop

It’s incredibly tempting to pick and pop your pimples, but DON’T. Popping your pimples only makes them worse, because it further damages the skin which will either cause scarring or cause the infection to get even worse.

Plus, ask yourself: do you want to have pock marks for the rest of your life? I certainly don’t. Most of the time if you just leave your pimples alone, they’ll subside. It may take a week, or a month, or even a few months, but it will happen eventually.

Anti-Aging Serum

If you’re trying to get rid of wrinkles especially, I’d recommend using Hyaluronic Acid multiple times a day. “Acid?” you may be thinking. Yeah, yeah, I know—it sounds like it’d be really harsh on your skin, right?

Nope—it isn’t a harsh acid, and it’s actually been shown to moisturize your skin. I’m not a scientist, and I don’t know how it works, but I know that when I slather this stuff on my face 3-5x a day, I see a huge decrease in the lines on my forehead.

I actually thought about making this an essential, mandatory product in my men’s skincare line, but since it’s mainly for anti-aging, I decided to pass. That being said though, I highly recommend that you use it, because your skin will be way more supple and you’ll look way younger.

The Bottom Line

You now have all of the tools that you need to get better skin. So stop reading and take action. I know it can be difficult to make a purchase when you’ve been sold a bunch of bullshit before, but trust me on this—it works.

I remember always thinking “Will this work, or will I be short another $35?” after reading a product recommendation. Fortunately, I decided to take a bet on these products, and it paid off MASSIVELY.

Since I’ve been using African Black Soap, gently scrubbing my face with a Konjac Sponge, and gotten a tan, both my face and body acne have become almost nonexistent. Don’t forget to have a strong foundation, however—it’s important to also reduce stress, drink lots of water, get enough sleep, and work out regularly.

Good skin is a manifestation of a good lifestyle, and bad skin is a manifestation of a bad lifestyle. So live a good lifestyle. And if you don’t have one, start developing one. Cultivate good habits, work out regularly, eat a healthy diet, and you’ll see the results. I promise.

If you guys have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to let me know. And, as always, I’ll see you all next time.