Men's Acne Skin Care: The Movember Edition
Men's acne skin care needs to take into consideration the unique qualities of a man's skin. This includes the fact that men have more sebaceous skin than women due to the male hormones that influence oil gland output. They also shave daily, which can cause skin problems such as microabrasions, irritation, razor burn and even pimples due to skin infections.
Men require unique and specific acne skin care because of the differences in their sebum output and shaving needs.
The acne treating products that will perform well and feel good on a man's skin will be different because of this. Movember is the perfect time to highlight the unique considerations in creating an acne treatment skin care routine for a man's skin.
Movember is an annual event in November to focus attention on men's health issues such as prostate disease - and why not acne. Acne can be a serious issue for men, and it's common.
Why is Acne Skin Care a Concern for Men?
Acne is especially troubling for men since testosterone increases oil production in your skin glands. Products that feel thick or tacky are often too heavy on a man's oily complexion. The other complication of men's acne skin care is how to balance potentially harsh acne skin care products that have the potential to sting or irritate skin without aggravating your beard area.
Dr. Bailey tackles men's acne skin care issues in her original blog post, Best Men's Skin Care for Clogged Pores and Acne. Dr. Bailey has outlined a simple men's acne skin care routine that takes into consideration their specific needs. As she says in her own words:
The bottom line is that it takes just a few low-maintenance, but targeted, skin care steps for a man to have healthy and attractive skin that looks well-groomed and youthful.
The simplest acne treatment for men
Washing with a medicated Benzoyl Peroxide Cleanser at the highest concentration of 10% is the simplest and most efficient way to treat pimples and blackheads. It is easy on the beard area but tough on acne causing bacteria. The foaming cleanser will remove excess sebum and leave behind medicated benzoyl peroxide, the best topical medicine to kill C. acnes, the bacteria that causes acne.
Wash with Benzoyl Peroxide 10% Acne Treatment Cleanser twice a day to treat acne fast and efficiently. This is a medical-grade acne treatment like what you would expect from a dermatologist.
Men's Acne Skin Care Basic Regimen
For stubborn acne, Dr. Bailey stresses that the best skin care results happen when you use the right products for each of the 4 essential skin care steps, especially with a problem as tenacious. These steps are:
- Cleanse (to remove oil, dirt, debris and old product)
- Correct (the skin issues that lead to acne such as blackheads, acne causing bacteria and yeast, inflammation etc.)
- Hydrate (to prevent skin dryness and irritation)
- Protect (skin from UV that can pigment acne scars and even trigger acne for some)
Stubborn acne can apply to the two common types of acne:
- Acne vulgaris (the most common form of acne seen as blackheads and pimples primarily starting in the T-zone and spreading to the rest of the face, and
- Pityrosporum 'fungal' acne (bright red itchy/tender pimples and small skin bumps accompanying acne vulgaris often starting on the hairline, jaw and forehead.)
Dr. Bailey targets each step with the right acne-healing products in an acne routine.
Men's acne care for acne vulgaris
If you have acne vulgaris, her Ultimate Acne Solutions Treatment Kit is ideal. She combines a medicated 2% salicylic acid and glycolic acid cleanser that treats blackheads with 5% benzoyl peroxide cream to treat the C. acnes bacteria. This concentration is appropriate for the entire face, including the beard area. Any skin dryness is controlled with the Daily Moisturizing Face Cream applied where needed in a light layer such as the beard area. Ideally, you would want to add an SPF when you expect to be in the sun.
Men's acne care for fungal acne
The Pityrosporum yeast can team up with the C. acnes bacteria to create this unique form of acne. Dr. Bailey has taken the guess work out your acne treatment skin care routine in her Pityrosporum Folliculitis Kit. The kit treats both types of acne with the addition of an important pyrithione zinc soap to target the yeast and the right SPF because the yeast can leave brown marks on the skin where pimples have healed.
Men's Acne Skin Care Bottom Line
Dr. Bailey's men's acne skin care regimens give you three options for acne care: 1. simply washing with medicated Benzoyl Peroxide at the highest treatment concentration allowed, 2. Ultimate Acne Solutions Kit and, 3. Pityrosporum Folliculitis Kit to cover all of a man's acne skin care bases. These are simple skin care regimens without too much fuss that make it easy to maintain clear and blemish-free skin.
Written by Angela, a member of the Dr. Bailey Skin Care Team for many years and now a Nurse Practitioner extraordinaire!