Facial Moisturizer? (Thats what SHE said!)

CangoFett

I figured I'd get the obvious joke out of the way in the headline.

So, yeah. Every time I wash my face in the morning, my cheeks get really dry afterwards, like skin sorta flaking off dry. Its really nasty. Is there some sort of moisturizer or something I could use/get to help this, and still feel secure in my masculinity?

Hooraydiation

Wouldn't pretty much any moisturizer help with dry skin?

I personally use Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturizer because of the acne medication and the fact that it's oil-free and, I assume, non-comedogenic. You probably want to avoid stuff that will clog your pores, so look for those two on the label of anything you buy.

As for feeling secure in your masculinity, I suppose you could grow a beard and stuff your pants with a tube sock.

Serphimera

Before you buy any moisturizer, you probably want to try a bit on your hands to make sure you're ok with the way it feels. You don't want to buy a whole bottle of something you'll never use. I personally like St.Ives the best.

CangoFett

Hooraydiation wrote: »

Wouldn't pretty much any moisturizer help with dry skin?

I personally use Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturizer because of the acne medication and the fact that it's oil-free and, I assume, non-comedogenic. You probably want to avoid stuff that will clog your pores, so look for those two on the label of anything you buy.

As for feeling secure in your masculinity, I suppose you could grow a beard and stuff your pants with a tube sock.

I cant grow a beard and theres no room for a tube sock in there.

Little Blarg

A) Nice there with the whole tube sock thing.

I use Nivea creme. Its really thick (somewhere between silly putty and pudding) but it rubs in well. Your skin doesnt feel oily afterwards either which is nice if you're me. I dont think it can do anything weird to your skin either, considering I have psoriasis (causes dry skin) and the Nivea doesnt set it off, it actually helps it a bit.

EggyToast

Try some Dove, too. Your soap is probably, well, just soap. Dove includes moisturizers in it, about 25%. I used to have the same problem with annoyingly dry skin after taking a shower and scrubbing up, and Dove fixed the vast majority of the problem. I still get dry skin when it's dry outside, or when I've been doing a lot of biking for long distances, but it's fixed the day to day stuff.

Since you gotta use soap in the shower anyway, it could be a good first step.

Hewn

Any moisturizer for your face should be oil free. You want it to not clog your pores, thus causing breakouts and generally oily looking skin.

And another step you can take is stop using soaps that dry out your skin on your face. You'll find all sorts of brands of facial scrubs that advertise cleaning the face without over drying. Again, search for one that specifically says it won't dry out your skin. You really shouldn't be using normal body soap on your face if you're getting drying to the point of flakes.

Which brand works best will be a matter of trial and error for you. I'm fond of the Nivea for Men line of products, myself.

Nexus Zero

I'm not sure what everyone means by 'soap' here, maybe that's what American's call shower gel too. However, if you are using soap bar as opposed to gel, that's probably your first mistake as Eggy said. Soap is really awful, I will never understand how or why anyone uses it, ever. If you switched to any gel it'd help, but I should imagine Dove would be the best. For moisturiser, I use Nivea (for men!), it is, as far as I can tell, quite different to normal Nivea cream and isn't so dry. You'd think they'd make the For Men stuff thicker and dryer so we still feel like we have penises, but no, this stuff is way more hydrating. I shrug off the comments because my skin is, at the end of the day, silky smooth.

Szechuanosaurus

There are lots of masculine toiletry brands that make moisturisers. Nivea, L'Oreal, Gillette etc. will all have their manly man man moisturisers with aggressive looking packaging. I use Clinique, my face is silky smooth.

The Cat

Man, fuck anyone who thinks that not taking care of yourself is girly. That attitude is why you fuckers don't go to the doctors often enough, and then you up and die young on us! It is both manly and generally rad to not care what people think of you for doing stuff

Seriously though, most moisturisers have roughly the same ingredients in them - have a scroll through the ingredients lists and you'll spot the patterns pretty easily. All you really have to think about is a) is the stuff all greasy and gross, b) do i like the smell, and c) am i allergic/sensitive to it? Oh, and d) is the price non-ridiculous :P

For the first and second, just try a little bit in the store - a lot of places have tester tubes, and even if they don't, no-one's going to shoot you for sniffing it or rubbing a teeny bit on your skin. For the third, its kind of trial and error, but many chemists and health food/hippie shops stock all-natural style products for comparable prices to the normal gear. For the last, never pay more than $10 or so for a 200g tube, as a rule of thumb. That probably errs on the side of luxury, given exchange rates and such.

I do like St. Ives' stuff, to second that recc, although I usually use their face scrub because I have the opposite problem to you. Dove products are generally good for the dry-skinned.

Szechuanosaurus

The Cat wrote: »

All you really have to think about is a) is the stuff all greasy and gross, b) do i like the smell, and c) am i allergic/sensitive to it? Oh, and d) is the price non-ridiculous :P.

Clinique M Lotion is non greasy and unscented but OHGOD IT COSTS £20 A BOTTLE.

HiredGun

I use a Dove soap and an Aveeno moisturizing lotion. It keeps my (normally quite dry) skin wonderful when I remember to use it.

The Cat

Szechuanosaurus wrote: »

The Cat wrote: »

All you really have to think about is a) is the stuff all greasy and gross, b) do i like the smell, and c) am i allergic/sensitive to it? Oh, and d) is the price non-ridiculous :P.

Clinique M Lotion is non greasy and unscented but OHGOD IT COSTS £20 A BOTTLE.

That's like AU$60! You're either mad or rich. Or both!

Janson

The BBC magazine wrote an article recently on moisturisers and apparently whilst they are good for you, there's very little difference in function between prices and brands.

Nivea do lovely big, cheap jars of the stuff, and I've never had it irritate my skin; plus the packaging is very neutral.

Kewop Decam

I have the same problem and can't put lotion or any kind of moister on my face because it cause me to break out.

I just wash my face waaaay before I leave the house and by the time I'm ready to go, my body has already produced some moister for my skin.

EskimoAzn

Are you sure you don't need a facial exfoliator?
Your skin may be flaking, not only because of dehydration, but also because you're shedding some dead skin cells.
My cheeks used to be flaky after cleansing, until I started using gentle exfoliator once every two days.
I also use a moisturizer afterwards...
As for the right moisturize, try whatever looks cool on your hand.
If it feels too light or greasy, move onto the next brand.

Lux

My neck kind of gets like that after every shower. I use this stuff I got at CostCo called Amlactin. Works really well, even burns a little bit.

What's her face

I third St. Ives products. I used to get what you're describing and after much trial and error I settled with their products, the whole line really.

I hate to brag but I have great skin now. People always assume that I use department store brand stuff, but nope. St Ives is really inexpensive and easily found.

You have to remember that exfoliating is just as important as moisturizing. Some people I've suggested the apricot scrubs to found them to coarse so maybe you'd like to alternate them with a wash. Also be sure to pat your face dry, don't rub, right after you get out of the shower and immediately apply the lotion for best results.

Samuel

Lux wrote: »

My neck kind of gets like that after every shower. I use this stuff I got at CostCo called Amlactin. Works really well, even burns a little bit.

I'm not entirely sure a burning sensation is an indication that something is working well.

Anyway, I use moisturisers from Simple, mainly because they're good for not having any extra additives in them. If I'm going to be rubbing stuff into my face every day, I'd rather it wasn't full of any more chemicals than absolutely necessary.

witch_ie

The Cat wrote: »

Szechuanosaurus wrote: »

The Cat wrote: »

All you really have to think about is a) is the stuff all greasy and gross, b) do i like the smell, and c) am i allergic/sensitive to it? Oh, and d) is the price non-ridiculous :P.

Clinique M Lotion is non greasy and unscented but OHGOD IT COSTS £20 A BOTTLE.

That's like AU$60! You're either mad or rich. Or both!

I use Clinique too. It may be expensive, but you only need a tiny bit of it to moisturize your face (seriously not more than what can fit on your finger tip).

FyreWulff

I had to clean up at my mom's house the other day, so I decided to try the generic Noxema they had got.

My face felt like it was on fire!

Actually, it just felt like I lathered Icy Hot all over my face.

But damn if it didn't do a good job of getting my face clean. I'm going to have to pick some of that up...

Dalboz

I shave with a hand razor rather than an electric one because it gives me a closer shave. This also seems to exfoliate (sort of) my face and helps keep the skin cleaner and no noticeable drying, or so I've noticed. It wasn't this way before I started with a hand razor, or at time that I've grown a beard and stopped shaving. I also drink a lot of water, so my tissues remain hydrated from the inside.