What Men With Sensitive Skin Should Change About Their Skin Care Routine

All men need to look after their skin and give it proper care and attention. However, if you have especially sensitive skin, you may need to take extra precautions. 

Here are some things you may need to change if you're serious about keeping your sensitive skin smooth and keeping it in its best condition so you can combat visible signs of aging. Taken together, these tips add up to a daily routine that's hard to beat.

Tips for Men With Sensitive Skin

If you have skin sensitivity, don't worry! There are some simple steps you can take to look after your skin and keep it healthy and good-looking, keeping signs of aging like wrinkles and fine lines to a minimum (without causing flare-ups). 

These tips involve using the right products and in the right quantities and conditions. 

Avoid Skin Care Products with Washing Detergents

Some ingredients in skin care products are bound to lead to dehydrated skin — which can easily become irritated skin. Harsh laundry detergents can often lead to rashes and contact dermatitis. 

But some skin care products can have ingredients in common with washing detergents, including:

• Certain preservatives
• Chemical fragrances
• Thickeners and emulsifiers
• Parabens

Ingredients like Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) can be used as a foaming agent but can also inflame the skin, eyes, and lungs. SLS is commonly used in many skin care products, and can be irritating to those with sensitive skin (not to mention that it can impact the environment). Harsh ingredients can also wreak havoc on stress hormones, provoking redness and inflammation on the epidermis. If you have a skin condition like eczema, these ingredients can make it flare up.

Instead, look for ingredients derived from natural, non-irritating (and even soothing) plants like coconut and aloe. 

Sensitive Skin Is Often Dry Skin — Use a Hydrating Daily Moisturizer

Dry skin needs care and hydration. As you age, your natural collagen production slows down, requiring a boost from ingredients like sodium hyaluronate, which encourages the body's natural hyaluronic acid production — one of the substances that keeps the skin firm and youthful-looking. This helps add hydration from the inside.

In addition, a daily moisturizer helps lock in moisture. Ingredients to look for that can make a world of difference to dry skin (and therefore make it less prone to unnecessary irritation) include:

• Soluble Collagen, which sinks in so your skin can absorb it.
• Hydrolyzed Elastin, also known as marine collagen, a natural protein harvested from fish. Hydrolyzed elastin also acts as a humectant, that is, a substance that traps moisture.
• Niacinimide, a form of Vitamin B3, which helps the body maintain healthy cells. When it comes to skin, helps the body manufacture keratin, a protein that helps the skin retain moisture, increase skin elasticity, and acts as an antioxidant that helps treat redness and reduce the appearance of irritation.

A good combination of moisturizers in the morning (preferably containing SPF to stop harmful UV rays from creating sun damage, which sensitive skin is particularly susceptible to) and evening should have ingredients like these that work in synchrony to keep sensitive skin healthy and smooth. 

Avoid harsh fragrances, which can be highly problematic — and not even specifically labeled on cosmetics. "Parfum" could be anything. Instead, look for products that will not lead to allergic reactions, naturally soothing ingredients like aloe, and fragrances derived from plants like lavender and eucalyptus, which can have additional antibacterial and antiseptic effects.

Use Lukewarm Water Rather than Hot Water on Your Facial Skin

This is a simple tip that can still save you a lot of aggravation and unnecessary irritation. Don't shower in boiling hot water, or wash your face in hot water, either. This can lead to skin dryness, and thus, increased irritation — even rashes and itching. No one wants visibly inflamed skin.

Use cool water or lukewarm water to wash your face. And don't use too much product. A nickel-sized amount should do the trick. Just give your skin what it needs to feed it and keep it clean — but not overwhelm it.

Take Extra Care to Maintain Healthy Skin in Cold Weather Conditions

Cold weather can lead to even drier, more sensitive skin, as anyone who's braved an East Coast February can attest. Peeling and flaky skin is not uncommon. 

To combat winter skin if you're already sensitive, include a good exfoliant into your quality moisturizing routine. 

If you have sensitive skin, you may be skeptical about using an exfoliant, and you're right — you shouldn't use a harsh chemical one, or one that contains plastic microbeads, which can tear at your skin (and also pollute the environment).

However, a good, gentle exfoliant will remove dead skin cells, allowing fresh skin to thrive. Ingredients to look for include:

• Willow Bark Extract, or salicylic acid, more commonly known as aspirin. It's natural and gentle, leaving your skin with a feeling of calm and freshness.
• Citric Acid, naturally found in citrus fruits like grapefruit, oranges, and lemons. Citric acid provides a gentle peel which removes dead cells and stimulates production of healthy new skin and collagen, thanks to its Vitamin C content.
• Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Seed Powder, a natural exfoliant in powder form which removes dead skin cells without damaging fresh underlying layers of skin. In powder form, it's very mild, and also helps unclog pores.

With the right gentle skin care — a mix of cleaning, moisturizing, and exfoliating — you should be able to keep your skin looking great over the winter months.

Update Your Skin Care Routine to Complement Your Skin Type

If you have sensitive skin, you've probably had a lot of trouble with products over the years. Maybe you've come to the conclusion that no routine is better than any skin care routine. 

But your skin is important to your appearance and self-esteem. You need to properly take care of it, which means a consistent and daily routine using quality products.

Tiege Hanley makes uncomplicated skin care products, designed to be used together for maximum effect. 

Tiege's products are formulated to help sensitive skin stay healthy and youthful-looking and avoid stress. They take men's skin care seriously — particularly sensitive skin care for men.