“Toxic masculinity ruins the party again!” It’s a cry you may hear around negative behavior some men exhibit toward women, but toxic masculinity also affects males. For many men toxic masculinity means overlooking self-care and medical care, leading to more negative health outcomes. Men are less likely to see a physician unless they are already seriously ill and more likely to lie or omit information because they don’t want to feel judged or hear that they need to make lifestyle changes. This lack of self-care spills over into everyday behavior like skincare rituals as well. Men are less likely to take care of their skin than women, yet it’s just as important for them to have skincare practice. Here’s why.
Skincare Is Part of Healthcare
When you engage in skincare you’re engaging in healthcare. The Gundry MD Dark Spot Diminisher ingredients may make you more attractive to a potential partner, but applying SPF daily can actually prevent skin cancer. You’ll become more familiar with the texture and look of your skin so when something changes you’ll be immediately aware.
Looking for changes in moles can help you catch skin cancer before it is life-threatening. If you see your undertone has gone grayish, you’ll know that something is affecting your blood flow and it’s time to get to the doctor. When you engage in self-care, you’re creating a mindset that feeling your best is valuable and you’re creating a baseline for knowing yourself so you can judge changes as they occur. It’s good for your physical health but also your mental health.
Skincare Helps You Look Your Best
Taking care of your skin has other benefits as well. What did women find most attractive about a man in a 2012 study? It wasn’t a regularly handsome, ruggedly masculine face; it was men who had visibly healthy skin. Also, consider that good-looking men make more money than their peers. Looking your best pays off in the bedroom and the boardroom.
Besides these traditional values for looking good, technology has upped the ante. Photos are no longer a special occasion feature. Everyone has cameras all the time and those photos are made available to the entire world via the internet. If you want to put your best foot, or in this case, face, forward every time you are in a selfie or group photo, take care of your skin.
Skincare Doesn’t Have To Be Gendered Anymore
For years, men didn’t have a lot of skincare options that wouldn’t be a challenge to traditional masculinity. If cold cream was marketed to women, it certainly wasn’t something that most men wanted to put on before bed. Now there are lines marketed specifically to men and many lines that are completely gender-neutral. Dr. Steven Gundry’s Gundry MD line, Paula’s Choice and Stratia all offer gender-neutral packaging and a focus on effective ingredients above marketing gimmicks. As the notion of what constitutes masculinity has changed, men feel more secure in using and enjoying skincare, even if it does come in a pink bottle.
Here’s How
You’re convinced that you should take care of your skin, but how do you go about it? The first thing to know is that washing your face with bar soap or whatever you use to wash your hands isn’t the way to go. Invest in a decent face cleanser with a low pH that will maintain the healthy biome of your skin and keep you from getting overly dried out. Use a face lotion and use a daily SPF. Those last two can be combined in one product. That means you can maintain your skin in as few as two steps. Of course, once you start, you may find yourself drawn to products that reduce fine lines, lighten dark spots and treat myriad other conditions.
The most important thing is to get started, build a basic routine and stick to it. Your partner will thank you, your wallet will thank you and your health will thank you.