For years, men's skin care boiled down to two gestures: shaving foam and aftershave. Today the scenario has changed. Men's skincare is no longer a niche: it has become a daily habit like brushing your teeth, and the market tells the story well with the boom in complete face sets, designed for those who want to start without getting lost among dozens of bottles. The direction for 2026 is clear: fewer products, more consistency, targeted formulas.
The good news is that you do not need a full shelf to get started. Three steps are enough to build a solid, quick routine suitable for practically everyone. Let's look at them one by one.
Why men's skin calls for a dedicated routine
Men's skin has some recognisable characteristics: it tends to be thicker on average, with more active sebaceous glands and generally more abundant sebum production. The result is a surface that is often shinier in the T-zone, with more visible pores and a greater tendency to blemishes. To this is added shaving, a repeated gesture that mechanically challenges the outermost layer and can leave the skin tight, flushed or sensitive for a few hours.
You do not, however, need an arsenal of products to answer these needs. What you need is a gesture repeated every day: consistency counts more than the number of products. Three steps, morning and evening, take less than two minutes.
Step 1 — Cleanse
It is the step that opens everything and the one most often neglected. Hand soap, used on the face out of convenience, has a pH poorly suited to the skin's and risks leaving it feeling tight. A dedicated face cleanser removes excess sebum, sweat, smog residues and shaving products, without stripping.
Wash your face in the morning and before bed, with lukewarm, never scalding water, massaging for a few seconds and rinsing well. If you shave, cleanse your face before shaving: on clean skin the blade glides better.
Step 2 — Hydrate
Even oily skin needs hydration: they are two different things, and dehydrated skin can react by producing even more sebum. The practical rule is to choose the right texture rather than skip the step. Those with combination or shiny skin will do well with a light gel cream, which absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy film; those with dry or reactive skin may prefer a richer texture.
Apply it to face and neck after cleansing, with the skin still slightly damp. After shaving, it is the gesture that restores comfort to the most challenged area.
Step 3 — Protect
It is the step that makes the difference in the long run and, statistically, the one men skip most. Daily sun exposure — the drive to work, the lunch break, the weekend outdoors — contributes over time to the appearance of wrinkles, dark spots and loss of tone. Sun protection applied every morning, even in winter and even when the sky is overcast, is the simplest form of prevention there is.
Choose a high, broad-spectrum SPF and apply it as the last step of your morning routine. If you spend time outdoors, reapply every two hours, and in any case after sweating or swimming.
How to fit it into your day
- Morning: cleanser, moisturising cream, sun protection.
- Evening: cleanser and moisturising cream. No sunscreen needed.
- On shaving days: cleanse first, hydrate right after, avoid intense fragrances on freshly shaved skin.
- If you want to add something: do it after a few weeks and one product at a time, so you understand what really works for you.
Recommended Chrissie products
To build the three steps with formulas designed for male skin too:
- Foam Cleanser – a foaming cleanser for daily cleansing morning and evening.
- Time Balance Gel Cream – a gel cream with a light texture, handy on combination and shiny skin because it absorbs quickly.
- SPF50 for the face – high protection to close the morning routine.
You will find a dedicated selection in the Men's skincare collection. And if you are wondering whether sunscreen is really needed all year round, we have covered the most widespread myths about sun protection.
In short
- Men's skin tends to be thicker and more sebaceous, and is challenged by shaving.
- Three steps are enough: cleanse, hydrate, protect.
- Cleanse morning and evening with a face product, not hand soap.
- Hydrate even if your skin is oily: change the texture, not the step.
- Apply SPF every morning, all year round, and reapply every two hours outdoors.
- Add other products only once the base is stable.
