Before starting a skincare routine, you first need to know your skin type. You wouldn’t put diesel gas in an unleaded vehicle, because it just wouldn’t perform, right? The same is true for your skin. Most men don’t know their skin type, but in order to customize your skincare routine you need to know the type of skin you are working with. Depending on the characteristics your skin exhibits, you can choose skincare products that enhance your skin effectively.

Skin Type Test
Gently wash your face with MenScience’s Daily Face Wash and wait 15 minutes. Using standard tissue paper, press a different piece to each area of your face– the forehead, cheek, nose, and chin. Hold it in place for 10 seconds. If oil transfers to the tissue paper, you have oily skin in that area.

Find the characteristics that best describe your skin below, and then look for products containing the active ingredients listed. We’ve given a few MenScience product recommendations specifically designed for your skin type, too.

• Normal Skin
  Characteristics: Never too oily or too dry, your pores are small. Skin is moderately thick, smooth, and firm. You usually don’t have oily patches. What ingredients to look for: Try products that will remove impurities and oily residue in the skin, and contain glycolic acid, peptides and green tea.
  
  Skincare tip: Avoid over scrubbing, picking at, and overworking your skin because this will stimulate oil production in your face and change your perfectly normal skin into a more complicated skin type. Wash once a day with MenScience’s Daily Face Wash and follow with Advanced Face Lotion and Anti-Aging Formula. Instead of washing your face again at bedtime, simply tone it with Advanced Face Tonic to remove impurities. Spot treat the occasional pimple with Acne Spot Repair.
  
  
  
• Oily Skin
  Characteristics: Thicker and more firm than normal skin, your pores are medium to large and can become easily clogged. You have oily areas all over your face and tend to be acne-prone. What ingredients to look for: Oily skin responds best to products containing salicylic acid, tea tree extract, retinol and witch hazel to maintain a clear, oil-free complexion. Moisturizers should be oil-free and non-clogging (called non-comedogenic.)
  
  Skincare tip: Oily skin needs regular attention. In addition to washing your face twice a day, consider using MenScience’s Facial Cleansing Mask a few times a week, and Advanced Face Tonic daily to remove oily residues. To eliminate acne completely use MenScience’s Acne Treatment System.
  

• Dry Skin
  Characteristics: You’ll know you have dry skin if you experience flaky patches and your skin feels tight. You sometimes experience irritation and redness. You don’t have oily areas on your face. Dry skin is often thin and dull-looking. Mature skin also typically falls into this category. What ingredients to look for: Products containing humectants (such as glycerin) are ideal for dry skin because of their ability to absorb moisture from the environment. Hyaluronic acid and aloe are also beneficial for dry skin. Hyaluronic acid is a “hypermoisturizer” that will improve the overall appearance of the skin, and aloe is used to treat dry skin conditions.
  
  Skincare tip: To care for this type of skin, wash your face in the morning and at bedtime with a gentle cleanser like MenScience’s Daily Face Wash and toner such as Advanced Face Tonic that won’t irritate the skin. Then lightly work in Advanced Face Lotion. Target the fine lines and dry patches around the eyes with Eye Rescue Formula. Be sure to drink eight glasses of water per day to stay hydrated and wear a waterproof SPF 30 UVA/UVB sunscreen, like MenScience’s TiO2 Sunblock, every day.
  
  
  
• Sensitive Skin
  Characteristics: You sometimes have moderate to severe reactions to the sun, wind, temperature extremes, laundry detergent, fragrances, perfumed soaps, and alcohol-based skin products. Red and blotchy skin is fairly common. You may have some oily patches of skin. What ingredients to look for: It’s imperative to use fragrance-free, alcohol-free products on sensitive skin. Moisture is important to sensitive skin, so look for hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Products containing aloe and allantoin are ideal for sensitive or stressed skin because of their soothing properties.
  
  Skincare tip: Cleanse your face once a day with a gentle cleanser that moisturizes. Work a hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, and fragrance-free moisturizer, like Advanced Face Lotion into the skin. Finish with an anti-aging product and use a UVA/AVB sunscreen daily.
  
  
  
• Combination Skin
  Characteristics: Most combination skin consists of an oily "T" zone (forehead, nose, and chin) with dry or normal cheeks and eye areas. What ingredients to look for: Use a non-comedogenic moisturizer so that you won’t clog your pores. Allantoin is perfect for sensitive, irritated, or stressed skin because of its anti-irritant properties.
  
  Skincare tip: Don’t over clean your face. Use a purifying clay facial mask a few times per week. (MenScience’s Green Matcha Tea and Clay Facial Cleansing Mask is ideal.) Gently clean the face once a day with a gentle facial cleanser, and replace 1-4 cleanings per week with Microfine Face Scrub. Get quick and easy oil control where you need it by using Advanced Acne Pads 1-3 times during the day. Apply only to the oil-prone areas.

If you’d like to learn more about skin types and how to choose the best products for you, see our article called "Choosing Men Skin Care Products 101" and our blog post "Stop Men’s Skin Care Disasters Now!"

Don’t let your spare tire keep you from having fun in the sun. For better or worse, summertime means less clothing. For the guys with six-pack abs, it’s great; not so much for the “gut-conscious”. Follow these tips to help get rid of that extra layer around your waist.

1. Cut back on empty carbs – it’s not called a beer belly for nothing. Beer and refined carbs are simple sugars that help accumulate as belly fat when not burned. You don’t have to cut carbs out completely, complex carbs are important to body function. Get beneficial carbs from w"ole grains, beans, fruits and veggies. To learn more, read our article “The Truth About Carbohydrates."
   
   
2. Consider how much protein you are currently eating. Proteins are vital to building muscle in the abdominal area and keeping your blood sugar levels steady. Good protein sources include lean red meat, nuts, seeds, chicken, and fish. Complementing your diet with a conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplement can help you metabolize fat and support lean muscle build.
   
   
3. Cut "bad fats". Drop the saturated fats and transfats from your diet by eliminating the prepackaged convenience foods, fried fast foods, high fat meats and full-fat dairy products. Use extra virgin olive oil in cooking, read labels to identify foods that are high in fat, and use low fat dairy and meat products.
   
   
4. Work out with cardio! You can’t just work abdominals and think you will lose the gut. You have to do cardiovascular exercise in addition to weight-bearing exercise. Try fun summertime cardio like jogging, swimming, and hiking to get some fresh air as well as a workout.
   
   
5. Strengthen the transverse abdominal muscle. When this muscle is weak, the belly looks out-of-shape and bigger than it needs to be. Regularly working the abdominal muscles will give you the flat stomach-look of “sucking it in” without having to hold your breath. Abdominals are part of the body’s core muscles, and strong core muscles improve your appearance by enhancing posture, tone and stabilization. Target the transverse abdominal muscle with exercises that isolate the muscle such as lower-abdominal crunches, ab-specific gym machines, or yoga poses like the plank. To do the plank, simply position yourself like you were going to do a push up. Keep your back and body straight resting only on your toes and your forearms. Hold that position for 2 minutes and breathe deeply.
   

To find out more about how to get better abs read MenScience’s article called "About Abs – Get Six Pack Abs by Summer."

• Step 1 - Inspect the Hair:
  Before you start your shave, check the direction of your hair growth. The general rule is to shave in the direction that the hair grows which is usually downward toward your neck. But on the neck, hair typically grows in the direction of your chin. If you want a really close shave, you could consider shaving against the direction of hair growth, but reapply more shaving product, and don’t try it if your skin is sensitive.
  
  
• Step 2 - Prepare the Face:
  Wash your face using a daily face wash and a face buff brush to prep the skin and whiskers for shaving. Either take a warm shower or use a very warm, damp facecloth compress to open your pores and soften your beard. Hold the soaked facecloth to your face for a few minutes.
  
  Exfoliating will prepare the face for shaving by removing buildup, clearing pores and prepping the follicles. Apply MenScience’s Microfine Face Scrub to your warm, damp skin. Use circular motions to gently exfoliate dead skin and surface skin cells. Rinse thoroughly with warm water.
  
  
• Step 3 - The Shave:
  Next, apply a gentle shave formula in a thin, even layer on your face and neck. Allow the formula to soften your beard for a minute or two. Be sure to cover the shaving area evenly.
  
  For the closest shave, start with a new razor. At the very least, razors should be thrown away after three or four shaves. A triple blade razor is recommended by most barbers for a close shave without damaging the skin.
  
  Throughout your shave, use your free hand to keep your skin taut and as flat as possible. This will give you a very close shave, without cuts or nicks. Use short strokes, and glide the razor over the skin. Start with the sideburns, and then move to the cheeks and neck. Finish with the upper lip (stretch your top lip over the teeth to make the skin tight) and chin.
  
  Frequently rinse your razor under hot water. If necessary, tap it on the sink to remove clogged hair and shave formula. When you're done, rinse off your face with cool water. Gently pat your face dry. Do not rub.
  
  
• Step 4 - Protecting & Repairing the Skin:
  Finish off a shave by closing your facial pores with a splash of cool water. Use a soft towel to pat dry the face, then always finish with aftershave product like MenScience’s Post-Shave Repair. Be sure to avoid products containing alcohol as they will over dry the top layer of the skin. Aftershave’s purpose is to encourage healing and to re-condition the skin.

You can learn more about shaving in MenScience’s articles "How To Reduce Razor Burn and Get a Closer Shave" and "Foolish Skincare and Nutrition Mistakes."