I’m 36 and really starting to show my age these days. I’ve never really given a much thought to skincare, and moisturizer isn’t making a noticeable difference. What do you guys do, and does it makes enough difference to be actually worth doing? I’m white, which feels like it might be worth mentioning, and aging like a fine yoghurt.
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God help us if there’s a war
I’m not a guy but I know basic skincare…first, get a good face wash. There’s plenty out there, a generic good one would be Naive peach ceramide face wash or any Senka whip. I don’t know your budget, both are inexpensive. Second: sunscreen is super important, there’s lots of brands out there, I think Nivea has some good ones for men that are not too sweet smelling or make your skin look very white. Wear it daily before you leave the house. If moisturizer isn’t doing enough to help your skin it might be time for retinol and vitamin C. You apply a retinol serum at night at night after face wash and apply a basic moisturizer over it. Yeouth has a good basic retinol serum. Lots of vitamin C serums at the drugstore here, Rohto Melano is a good one. Apply the vitamin C under your sun screen in the morning. I also take vitamin C supplements and fish oil to help my skin. Best of luck, hope this helps.
There are a lot of products here, like most Asian countries where colorism is prevalent and gullible housewives have too much money. You can check out subreddits like Asianskincare for recommendations that are Japan specific.
But the reality is this: the only clinically proven treatments that are recognized by actual dermatologists are sunscreen and retinoids.
There are a ton of great sunscreens that feel like wearing nothing at all and are much more effective than my home country (America). Do be aware that if you use them and do laundry with oxiclean they will stain your light clothes.
I import Adapalene/Differin from the US. You might be able to get a script for Tretinoin if you ask a dermo, but I’m not sure if they’re as liberal with handing it out here. If you choose a retinol product, do research onto how much it actually contains and be SURE to phase into it and wear sunscreen. You can really mess up your skin otherwise.
Sunscreen and moisturizer. I’m late 40s, but look younger than my coworkers in their early 30s.
Use moisturizing face wash in the bath, don’t scrub too hard, otherwise you’re not really getting a benefit.
After your shower, you should use either body milk or a facial cream. I use Oxy or Nivia Men, depending on whether or not I shaved that day.
They don’t sell them here, but I sometimes use an under the eye roller. [https://www.gentlehomme.com/products/eye-roller-serum-for-men](https://www.gentlehomme.com/products/eye-roller-serum-for-men)
I’m a bloke only a few years older than you, and this is my routine-
Men’s Biore face wash
Kiehl’s ‘Facial Fuel’ (skin toner)
The Ordinary ‘Multi-Peptide’
The Ordinary ‘Niacinamide’
Skin Aqua ‘Super Moisturiser Gel Gold’ (sun screen)
Kiehl’s Facial Fuel (Moisturiser)
It might seem a lot, but basically- face wash, toner, some serum, sunscreen, then moisturiser.
/r/AsianBeauty and search the following words
Japanese Cleanser
Japanese Toner
Japanese moisturizer
Japanese Serum
Japanese Sunscreen
and then make a list of products, head down to the nearest drugstore, and go ham.
Personal budget rec is can’t go wrong with Hada Labo products.
Ritsumeikan University recently published research that showed lifting weights is fantastic for your skin, thanks to improved circulation. You don’t even need the gym, body weight exercises would be plenty. Do that, drink plenty of water, take your fish oil, and you’ll likely be set.
In addition to skin care products:
* get enough sleep
* drink enough water
* don’t smoke
* don’t party too hard
* wear sunscreen
Suncream and moisturiser, sun damage is the single thing that will age you most.
/r/SkincareAddiction is a pretty good sub.
First, understand your skin. This determines what style of soap and how much mousturizer. My quick way: If you feel your lips being dry and your face not oily, you have skin that’s more naturally dry, so a moisturising soap and heavier lotion is better. If not, more oily skin, and stronger (foaming) soap and less lotion is better. People fuck this up all the time and start getting pimples like crazy. Some people, like me, can also have complex skin where I get more oily in summer, dry in winter, and have to adapt.
Cerave and Cetaphil are some of the top good, no BS brands. Cerave is harder to find in Japan; Cetaphil can be found online, Costco, ect.. For Cetaphil, they have their ‘Gentle skin cleanser’ which is non-foaming and more for dry skin, and their ‘foaming’ one that is for oily skin. I don’t do their normal facial lotion, but get the tub of body lotion and water it down in bottle. You can spend 5000yen for a kit, but that should last you a year or so.
I’m simple; wash my face in the shower or after a shave, add lotion and done for the day.
I never had issues before coming here. One is the water being more acidic compared to back home. This had a big impact on me (because we drink and use to bathe daily)
To fix this I started using shower heads with filters. Water is noticeably softer and less acidic. Filter comes out brown after a few months.
Same for kitchen faucet. Filtered. Water always boiled too.
Summers are mostly fine for me, but winters are brutal. It gets really really dry here. Use humidifiers at home. Keep them running all day. Check humidity levels throughout the house. 55% is optimal.
When going out use lots of hand and skin lotion.
Thats it for me.
Nivea for men has never done me wrong, but despite their product range, none of their deodorants are in Japan.
Get a girlfriend and use her skincare products. I do sometimes and I feel like a fucking princess. I even used a facial mask once.
Start wearing a wide brimmed hat or carry an umbrella on sunny days.
Bear in mind that sleep, hydration, alcohol and smoking have the largest impact on the state of your skin.
Having said that, I do most of my skincare when I shave. Lush has some great shaving creams. After shaving, I usually wash my face with a face foam (Biore) and apply an aftershave lotion (Auslese).
Don’t be afraid to try out face masks. You can leave them on for quite a bit longer than the recommended time, just remember to take them out once they are dry. I like the ones by Cica.
In summer, remember to wear sunscreen.
I get asked about my skincare routine a lot but I really only do the basics that every dermatologist says to do (other than generally trying to live a healthy life):
1. Use sunscreen. Every day.
2. Wash my face with some kind of cleanser for acne prevention (cheap is fine) especially after working out.
3. Retinol (I usually buy some bottles that last a long time when I go home, but iherb works too)
4. Moisturize
Exfoliate every day/every other day
Drink a lot of water every day
Avoid dairy/milk
Sleep on clean pillowcases
Biore face wash – 400yen
Nivea oil control moisturizer – 900yen
That’s all I’ve been using for 10 years and my skin is great . I moisturize every morning and evening.