Men Skin Types: How To Indentify?

To properly start taking care of your skin, there is one thing that you need to know very well: your skin type. After all, this whole skin care thing shouldn't have to take up your time and none of us want to go around talking about men skin care products with the guys during the football game commercial break.

Skin is your body's largest organ and a crucial defense against bacterial infection. It is an incredibly resilient piece of work, and one that adapts very well to its rapidly changing environment. You therefore may exhibit symptoms that can be attributed to skin types other than your own. But these may simply be your skin's reaction to the sun, pollution, medications, stress, or a variety of other natural and artificial influences. Knowing your true skin type — that is, the type of skin you have under ideal environmental conditions — is the first step to selecting the products that meet your unique needs.

Every man's skin is different and many of you will have a combination of different skin types i.e. dry on the cheeks and oily on the nose and forehead. It's useful to identify each type of skin to help select the best products to look after it.

Basically, you have to determine your skin type based on these 5 categories:

Normal Skin - You know you have a normal skin when it feels perfectly balanced (not too oily, not too dry). Pimples are rare and pores are small. Normal skin has an smooth and firm even tone. Skin care is easy for people with this type of skin. All you have to do is use some daily cleansing-toning-moisturizer combo on your face and you’re done.

Oily Skin - When a guy has oily skin, the skin is usually thicker and firmer than others. Your pores can be medium to large, which causes them to get filled up with "blackheads" or blemishes. Men skin care products for oily skin is usually oil free, so make sure you get something like that and not only for your face but for your body too!

Dry Skin - If you have dry skin then your skin tends to feel tight and by the constant amount of flakes you can dust of your face it's always snowing around you. Dry skin can get irritated very easily. Use products for dry skin but if you have a severe problem going on see a dermatologist.

Sensitive Skin - Most men know when they have sensitive skin. Cheap shaving creams, perfumes, alcohol based products and such causes sever skin reactions, sting and itchy feeling. If this is you then make sure you choose your skin care products carefully. Use glycerin soap, no fragrance type soaps. Sensitive skin can have different reactions to diffferent products. If you see something is not working stop applying it.

Combination Skin - This is when you have a combo of two types on your face. Some people usually refer to it as having a T zone (forehead, nose and chin) and the part out of the T zone are the cheeks and eye area. Your T zone can be dry and have greasy cheeks and eye areas or vice versa. So the solution here is simple, use what is needed for the area. If you T zone is greasy use skin care products for greasy skin in that area and so on.

General guidelines for men's skin:
1. Cleansing is the first step in any skin care regimen. Cleanse your entire face and neck area by a gentle cleanser before applying a treatment at nights.
2. Moisturize your skin everyday when you wake up in the morning to protect your skin against environmental harshness. Use of sun blocks is also very crucial.
3. Exfoliate your skin once every week with a gentle exfoliator using your circular fingertips motions. Hot bathes may be quite useful once every week as they could loosen scales on your skin and make exfoliation more effective. Also they help to deep cleanse your skin. Use plenty amount of moisturizer after a hot bath. Cold showers everyday are very refreshing.

Men's skin is a fraction thicker than women's and is therefore a little more robust, which is just as well considering the rigors of shaving and the harsh concoctions that people slap on to it. Whatever your type is, a good skin care routine is all you need to keep it looking healthy, fresh and clear. That's a gentleman should have.