Most skincare sold to men is the same formula in a darker bottle with a stronger scent. The differences between male and female skin are real and few, and a routine that accounts for them is shorter than the shelf suggests.
What is different
Testosterone makes skin somewhat thicker and a good deal oilier, with larger pores on average. That means more shine and more clogged pores, and it also means the skin tolerates most products well.
The other difference is the razor. Shaving removes surface cells along with the hair, and it does so on the same skin every day or two.
Everything else works the same. Pigment forms the same way, sun does the same damage, and the same ingredients do the same jobs.
The routine
Morning. Wash the face, moisturise, apply sunscreen.
Night. Wash the face, moisturise.
That is a complete routine. Each step has one point worth knowing.
Use a face wash, not the bar of soap from the shower. Bath soap is alkaline and leaves facial skin tight and irritated, and it does nothing to reduce oil for the rest of the day. Face wash and soap compared explains why.
Moisturise even if your skin is oily. A light lotion or gel is enough, and skipping it does not reduce oil.
Sunscreen is the step most often missing and the one that does the most. It prevents the tan lines, the dark patches on the cheekbones and most of what later gets called ageing. How to use sunscreen on the face covers how much and when.
Add one targeted product only if there is a specific problem to solve, and add it at night.
Shaving
Shave after a shower, when the hair is soft. Use a sharp blade, a proper lather, and strokes in the direction the hair grows. Rinse with cool water and moisturise afterwards.
Skip the alcohol aftershave. The sting is irritation, and it dries skin that has just lost its top layer.
Razor bumps are hairs that curl back into the skin. They are common with curly beard hair and close shaves. Shaving less closely, or switching to a trimmer, prevents most of them.
The dark marks they leave along the jaw and neck are pigment left by inflammation, the same kind described in acne marks and acne scars. They fade once the bumps stop. Bumps that keep coming despite all this are worth showing to a dermatologist.
Under a beard
Wash the skin beneath it, rinse thoroughly and dry it. Flaking and itching under a beard are often seborrheic dermatitis and not dry skin, and if a gentle wash does not settle it, a doctor can.
Common mistakes
Scrubbing hard to get rid of oil. Using body lotion on the face, which suits some faces and clogs others. Trying five products at once after years of none.
One deserves its own warning. Fairness creams marketed to men are widely sold in India, and some that work fast contain steroids. How to tell whether a cream contains a steroid lists the signs.
Do men need men's products?
No. Choose by skin type, not by the label. How to work out your skin type takes one evening, and the format finder turns the answer into gel, lotion or cream.
Where the Cham range fits
Nothing in the Cham range is made for one gender. The Brightening Face Wash covers the cleansing step, the serum is light enough for oily skin, and the cream suits drier faces and winter. The routine page shows the order to use them in, morning and night.
Cham makes no sunscreen and no shaving product, so the step that matters most here has to come from somewhere else.
