There was a time, not too long ago, when men and women had to accept the fact that they were losing their youthful appearance. It was a part of life that was irreparable and unchanging. But that was yesterday. Today the science of skincare has evolved almost as quickly as the tech industry. There is so much more than a man can do today so there’s no need to look or feel older. Here in this definitive guide to men’s skincare over 40, we’ll show you the science behind the products that will help men look younger and have pride in their appearance and renewed self-confidence.
A lot of men in their 40s don’t “feel” like they’re in their 40s. A lot of us have learned that it takes a bilateral approach. One without the other won’t work but combining the two will yield powerful differences in the way you look and the way you feel!
This two-pronged approach involves eating and exercising routines on the one side, and how you treat your skin, and which products you use, on the other side. Being proactive and starting a regimen with the goal of healthier, younger-looking skin will yield results in as little as a week. We men can look many times better than they do now by talking about a dozen common sense steps.
Table of Contents
Why Does Skin Age?
Aging, as well all know, happens to everyone and is a normal part of life. There are changes to the skin that begin to occur. Some of these are hormonal changes, and your approach to sex may be different. When you have a hangover, it may be more intense than it was when you were in your twenties.
Men in their 40s need to take extra care of their teeth due to an increase in tooth decay. And there are common changes to the skin, such as age spots, wrinkles, and rougher skin, in some cases, leathery to the touch. In the past, we’ve accepted aging as gracefully as possible.
Today, we know that many of the normal aging symptoms that occur, especially changes to the skin, can be slowed down significantly, and in some cases, reversed, if we do the right things. However, nothing is set in stone. If you have the desire to look and feel younger, you can. Think of the male celebrities you know who are in their 40s. They look great for their age, yes, but how they accomplish a youthful appearance is no secret.
At the age of 40, the skin is thinner and the natural protective barrier of lipids in the skin that protects the skin from external, or things in the air and the environment, is not as conspicuous. The skin also becomes dehydrated and drier.
Normal skin that is healthy has an outer layer that prevents injuries from the world outside. Collagen, an important protein that is found in the connective tissue of skin cells, is found abundantly in the skin.
As we move into our twenties we begin to produce about 1% less collagen every year. Slowly, out tight, healthy skin begins to loosen as we lose collagen, and our skin becomes thinner by degree as the fragility of the skin goes up. Oil and sweat glands that release perspiration don’t function like they did when younger. Elastin production decreases. The result of the slowing of all these processes and less protection form collagen protein results in wrinkles and thicker skin.
But there are other factors outside of changes in the body. Air pollution ages the skin, as well as drug and alcohol consumption. Some drugs prescribed by your doctor may result in an older appearance.
Drug and alcohol abuse takes a savage toll on men’s appearance. Not only does drug abuse affect the teeth, hair, and organs of the body, it heavily impacts the skin, the body’s largest organ. Not only do drugs cause bloating and swelling of the body, stretching the skin, it also causes sunken eyes and covers the skin with an unhealthy pallor.
When the skin looks unhealthy, it is a sign of other medical problems. Stopping drugs like cocaine, alcohol, methamphetamine, and painkillers will change one’s appearance for the better within two weeks. Drugs are just one of the external factors that impact the appearance of the skin.
Smoking ruins one’s looks. Smoking causes premature wrinkles, and it’s estimated that smokers look almost two years older than non-smokers. Many of us can pick out smokers in a group of people just by the appearance of their skin. The blood supply to the skin is interrupted, giving a ghostly, unhealthy pallor.
The sun is a major environmental cause of older looking skin. It is healthy for your skin to be exposed to the sun, but many men stay out too long under the sun’s ultraviolet rays. By the age of 40 and over, men must use sunscreen that protects the skin from both UVA and UVB rays. Protection must be every day, year-round, and the sunscreen should be a quality product with an SPF of 35 or more. Our editorial staff recommends Elta-MD sunscreen which has an SPF of 46.
How To Look Younger And Healthier
Aging no longer has to be a death sentence for your skin, nor your overall appearance. Buying the best products to soften, strengthen and brighten your skin is the first step. Then you will establish a regimen of cleansing, exfoliating and moisturizing. Lastly, eating right, exercising, drinking and smoking less, and avoiding other environmental factors, will help the products you use to work better and yield fast, noticeable results. All the information you will need follows.
Wash Your Face More Often, Especially Morning And At Night
We wash our faces when we shower, but the skin, especially facial skin, needs more cleansing than this. Oil, dirt, grime and air particles collect on the skin and lodge in the hair follicles, preventing dirt and oils from going out of the body in the form of sweat. Keeping skin pores open is critical to healthier-looking skin.
Skin is under constant “attack” by free radicals, the culprits responsible for the appearance of aging. Free radicals “steal” electrons from the atoms that help protect the skin. The agent that fights free radicals the best is antioxidants. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, preventing them from destroying skin cells.
It is of utmost importance that men over 40 wash their face at night before going to bed. During the day, your skin is under constant attack from air pollution, hydrocarbons, particles that came through the earth’s ozone layer, bacteria, dust, and even air conditioners.
Sunlight wreaks havoc too, breaking down skin cells and removing the protective layer of skin. All the buildup of pollutants are like gunk on the face and it should be removed every night.
Antioxidants are found in vitamin C, but also in vitamins A, B and E. When washing your face, try to avoid soap; not only is soap harsh on the skin, but it doesn’t contain any antioxidants to fight free radicals. There’s no doubt that soap cleans the skin very well, it’s just that on your face, soap strips away natural oils that protect the face and leaves a soapy film that rinsing won’t remove. Besides, neither soap nor body wash contain antioxidants or glycolic acid, another agent that works to remove skin wrinkles and discoloration.
Your Face Washing Regimen: Morning
Wash your face in the morning with a hydrating facial cleanser that contains ingredients to fight free radicals such as vitamin C. A product we highly recommend is CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser. This product contains not only Vitamin C, but also ceramides, which help build up the layer of lipids on the skin. Lipids are found in the skin’s protective layer which decreases as we age.
Another key ingredient is hyaluronic acid, which is found in many of the better quality skincare products. Hyaluronic acid is naturally produced in the body but its production decreases over the years the same as ceramide. It works to rebuild the connective tissue of the skin, building up the levels of collagen protein and helps to build the skin’s connective tissue. Hyaluronic acid keeps skin tissue healthy and lubricated and helps skin retain water.
After washing your face, apply moisturizer. Don’t worry, applying it takes seconds and it protects the skin from the elements outdoors. Make sure to get a moisturizer that contains SPF sunscreen.
We recommend Neutrogena Age Fighter Anti-Aging Moisturizer. Not only does it contain Vitamins C and E, but it also has retinol, which has been used by dermatologists for decades.
Wash Your Face At Bedtime
Washing your face at night serves the purpose of removing all the free radicals and environmental pollutants that clog the pores and removes the skin’s daytime protective layer.
Washing before going to bed reduces wrinkles due to the free radicals bombarding the skin during the day. Also, the skin has been exposed to UVA and UVB rays, which break down collagen production, resulting in fine lines.
One of the best facial cleansers you can buy to remove these harmful pollutants from the surface of your skin is Chamuel Men Facial Wash. The scrub cleans out pores and repairs skin cells, two processes that contribute to aging skin.
It is recommended that you moisturize your face twice a day after washing.
Drink Lots of Water Throughout The Day
Our skin stays healthy when it is hydrated, and drinking water serves to hydrate all the body’s organs including the skin. Just like a car engine needs oil to run and perform, so we humans need a constant supply of fresh water in our bodies.
It is recommended you drink about two and a half liters of water a day. This translates to a little over two and a half quarts of water or about 80 fluid ounces.
There has been a lot of talk about water that has high ph content, and the fact is that water low in ph content can cause damage to the teeth and the skin, and also releasing free radicals. It is advised that you drink water with a high ph content.
Drink water that has a ph content no less than 6.9. Unfortunately, many popular water brands sold by supermarkets under their brand name brand name are low alkaline and low ph. Water with high ph content costs a little more, but it is worth the extra expense to protect your body and improve your skin. Besides, the taste of water that has a high alkaline content tastes better. You will notice it after taking the very first sip.
The following brands of bottled water are alkaline rich and have high ph content.
- Zephyrhills: ph content 7.5
- Evian: 7.0
- Fiji: 7.5
- Evamor: 8.0
- Nestle Pure Life: 7.3
- AquaHydrate: 9.0
Bottled water is extremely popular, but the bottles present an environmental hazard. The plastic bottles water comes in is petroleum-based, so it takes oil to make them. They are not biodegradable.
It takes approximately 450 years for a plastic water bottle to degrade. Worse, the bottles are only used once and discarded, so they end up in landfills and ultimate, in the ocean.
Besides the environmental pressure plastic bottles put on the environment, many of the chemicals that go into making water bottles are unknown. It is believed that softer plastic is healthier. Regardless of what kind of plastic the bottle is made with, these chemicals leach into the water and go into your body, and it isn’t known what kind of impact it makes.
Exfoliate
Exfoliation removes dead skin cells from your face. It is a face scrub and exfoliating your skin a few times a week will give men in their forties younger and healthier-looking skin.
Men’s skin is noticeably thicker than women’s so the benefit of scrubbing your face is even greater than it is for women. Exfoliating softens thick skin and tones it while removing built-up grime and dirt that goes under the skin and into hair follicles and sebaceous glands underneath the top skin layer.
Exfoliating scrubs out dirt and grime that face washes and moisturizers don’t get to. The process rejuvenates skin cells and makes it clean and healthy-looking.
Exfoliating not only rejuvenates the skin, but it also raises the hair in the hair follicles, making it easier to shave. Men will get a closer shave and shaving will be easier and faster.
Scrubbing reduces the bags under the eyes which begins appearing on men in their 40s. Regular, diligent face scrubbing a couple of times a week will make fine lines disappear, too.
Exfoliating scrubs contain beads that make contact with the face as you exfoliate, removing deep pockets of dirt and residue. Jojoba beads unclog the pores of your skin and help remove ingrown hairs that can be shaved after the scrub.
Our editors highly recommend Brickell Renewing Face Scrub to give a deep, cleansing face scrub.
The Brickell face scrub here uses pumice in addition to jojoba. The jojoba softens the skin, but the pumice is more abrasive, so it cleans deep and removes all impurities within the skin cells. It has a very appealing scent that combines green tea and patchouli.
How to exfoliate
Depending on your skin type, you should exfoliate two to four times per week. Men with oily skin build up more sebum on the skin which is a naturally occurring oil. However, too much sebum will clog pores. It is recommended that men over 40 with oily skin use a face scrub twice to three times a week.
Men with dry skin have a large buildup of dead skin cells. These are removed when you do a face scrub. It’s recommended that you scrub once to twice a week before shaving.
Men who have normal skin have a buildup of scrub as well as a lot of dead skin cells. It’s recommended you exfoliate twice a week.
Applying Exfoliating Cream
Wet your face with lukewarm water. Apply about a quarter-size amount of face scrub from the jar to cover your entire face.
Rub gently the facial scrub all around your face, being careful not to get any in your eyes. Be sure to cover the areas around the nose, then under the eyes, followed by your cheeks and forehead.
Apply a moisturizer such as the one recommended above to protect your pores. Skin pores will open after you have scrubbed your face with the Brickell Face Renewing Scrub.
If you plan to shave after exfoliating, hold off applying the moisturizer until you’ve shaved.
Shaving: Best Practices
There will be days you will shave without exfoliating. Some men shave every day, and others skip and shave every other day. Here are some tips to get a better shave that won’t damage the skin underneath the razor blade.
- Wet the beard thoroughly. Dragging a razor blade across dry skin will damage skin cells and will hurt afterward. Make sure your face is hydrated completely before shaving.
Try to wet your face in the shower if possible. The steam from the water opens pores, causing short hairs to stand up and stick out of the pores, making it easier for a razor to cut them.
Use a conditioner instead of shaving cream and apply it in the shower. Hair conditioner not only does the job better than shaving cream, but it also has oils that will soften the skin while you shave, helping to prevent cuts.
Shave. You can stay in the shower and begin your shave (with practice, you won’t need a mirror). You can shave the areas you missed after you get out of the shower.
Rinse the blade often. You can remove hairs you cut from the razor under the shower water and tap the razor against the wall of the shower until all the hairs are removed.
Rinse your face..
We do not recommend aftershave due to its high alcohol content. Alcohol will dry the skin and cause it to be irritated. An alternative is tea tree oil or plain water.
We recommend you use razors designed for sensitive skin. A great razor is the Schick Hydro 5 Blade disposable razor. It includes a hydrating gel that is designed for sensitive skin and is ergonomically designed. You get a close shave without the rough feeling of the blade against your skin. The blade flips to work as a beard trimmer too.
Try Not To Stress Out
When men are anxious, depressed or under a lot of pressure, it is felt in the mind, but it also affects the body. As the years pass, scientists link more and more physical conditions to emotional stress.
It is critical in the modern world to maintain and even emotional balance. Dealing with stress is a behavioral learning process. You can train yourself not to react too strongly to stresses put on you in everyday life.
Walk away from stressful situations. Give yourself 10 minutes to be alone. Take slow, deep breaths and stop thinking about the problem that is causing this stress. Close your eyes when breathing and decrease it so you can slow down your heart rate.
If there are emotional triggers in your life, seek the help of a therapist with whom to discuss them so you can learn to deal with the triggers healthily.
Stress can give the face an unhealthy pallor. Anxiety and depression are closely linked, and both make men feel physically weaker and unable to function normally. The skin sags and becomes drawn, and the frown that accompanies anxiety can form wrinkles around your lips.
The body has a chemical response to stress, and the skin becomes highly sensitive. Also, the body releases a skin-damaging hormone called cortisol, which is associated with eh “fight or flight” response. When cortisol is released, the skin glands produce more oil. Acne can follow when the oils clog hair pores and the sebaceous glands underneath.
It’s important to consider the effect stress has on other parts of the body. These too can affect the skin. Stress can cause gastrointestinal ailments, spikes in blood pressure and these symptoms will affect the skin’s appearance. Our skin reflects – and reacts – to how we feel inside.
Exercise and Its Impact On Skin
One of the greatest side effects of exercising is sweating. Perspiring is the best way to rid the body of impurities like toxic chemicals in food and the environment.
Exercising increases the flow of blood through the body. It supplies the cells of the body and the skin with oxygen, and it removes dead skin cells and replaces these dead cells at a much faster rate.
We mentioned how stress releases cortisol, which negatively impacts the skin. Exercising reduces cortisol spiking by releasing other hormones that maintain normal cortisol levels. Collagen, the primary protein of skin that bonds skin cells together, is reduced by cortisol spikes. A vigorous workout increases collagen production, making the skin supple and firm.
The Glow
Have you noticed that, after working out, your skin has a healthy glow? Making the heart pump faster releases a rush of oxygenated blood to the skin, and the skin begins producing its natural oils at a faster rate, moisturizing the face, giving it a healthy glow.
Exercise can help protect the skin against ultraviolet skin damage because a good exercise that gets your heart pumping causes the skin to repair itself more easily because of the increase in collagen production.
If you have ever worked out in the past, you would have noticed that the more muscle tone you developed, the better your skin looked. Skin is by far the largest organ in the body, and when it’s supported by increased muscle tone, it looks healthier, because it is healthier.
Exercising is an activity that makes your skin look better without having to use artificial means to improve it. Your workout makes you look better naturally. Combining a robust workout regimen semi-weekly face scrubs and moisturizing the skin to protect the pores, will change your appearance. You will look in the mirror with renewed confidence because you have become who you always wanted to be. You will appear more handsome naturally, you think quicker, your reflexes are faster, and you have higher reaction times. This is living optimally, at your full potential.
Jumping rope is an amazing aerobic exercise that gets your heart pumping. Playing basketball also increases heart rate. However, if you belong to a gym, everything is there for you to get physically healthy, making your skin healthy at the same time.
If your gym has a pool, use it to swim on days that you aren’t using the treadmill or lifting weights.
You can start by running the treadmill, then moving to free weights. Remember that repetition is the key to building muscle mass. Always do three sets of ten repetitions each. Don’t overextend; only lift what you can. Weightlifting isn’t a competition, it’s you doing for yourself.
Afterward, head to the sauna to remove impurities from your body. Finally, take a shower and when you return home, apply moisturizer to protect your skin pores. The pores opened from the heat your body produced during your workout.
Eat Healthily
Some foods keep your skin healthy and can improve your appearance. These foods contain little or no chemicals and are rich in what the skin needs: antioxidants, omega 3, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and vital proteins to keep skin tight,
Avoid processed food, fast foods, and fatty foods. Avoid any sweetened drink or food that contains high fructose corn syrup. This is a cheap substitute for cane sugar and has been positively linked to obesity and diabetes.
The most popular cola product in the world now uses high fructose corn syrup. If you wish to drink this tasty cola, which is okay now and then, we suggest you purchase the product as it is drunk in Mexico. It comes in glass bottles and it contains real sugar and not a trace of high fructose corn syrup.
Here is a handy list of foods that help improve the skin, especially for men in their 40s.
Fruits and Vegetables.
- Avocados
- Sunflower seeds (Loaded with Vitamin E and zinc).
- Bell peppers, red or yellow (Vitamins A and C).
- Tomatoes (lycopene and Vitamin C)
- Red grapes (resveratrol, linked to slowing the effects of aging)
Other Foods for skin benefits
- Dark chocolate (high antioxidant content)
- Fatty Fish (salmon, herring, mackerel)
- Green tea (antioxidants)
It is important to remember that the skin is under attack every day by internal forces, such as the foods we eat or alcohol we consume, as well as the damage caused by smoking cigarettes. Externally, the air is full of particles that can lodge under the skin surface and cause a duller appearance.
The way we wash our skin also can impact negatively on its health. Using harsh spas peels away the top layer of skin, exposing it to harmful agents. The key to keeping skin looking healthy is to use products, like those listed here, that are loaded with antioxidants, and necessary vitamins to help boost collagen production.
Taking care of yourself by working out helps the skin rejuvenate and look healthier.