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make me clean!
permapensive
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
For years I've used nothing but bar soap and generic dandruff shampoo, and I think I could do a better job with my morning shower. My criteria:
-Soap/Body Wash: something moisturizing. I have rather dry skin. I still get the odd bit of acne at 23, so anything that finally puts a stop to that is a plus. Bonus points for solid recommendations for a separate facial soap that I can use in the evening. A clean, subtle, and above all manly scent would be nice.
-Shampoo: I have terrible hair. Flat, wiry, resistant to brushing, and I get dandruff. Tried several conditioners to no remarkable effect.
[I am unconvinced by ads for Axe products, they smell terrible and I don't need random women throwing themselves at me (this seems terribly inconvenient)]
I am open to trying a few things to find something I like, though this should ideally be as gentle on my wallet as the scrubbing of... okay I can't really make that simile work without getting weird.
-Soap/Body Wash: something moisturizing. I have rather dry skin. I still get the odd bit of acne at 23, so anything that finally puts a stop to that is a plus. Bonus points for solid recommendations for a separate facial soap that I can use in the evening. A clean, subtle, and above all manly scent would be nice.
-Shampoo: I have terrible hair. Flat, wiry, resistant to brushing, and I get dandruff. Tried several conditioners to no remarkable effect.
[I am unconvinced by ads for Axe products, they smell terrible and I don't need random women throwing themselves at me (this seems terribly inconvenient)]
I am open to trying a few things to find something I like, though this should ideally be as gentle on my wallet as the scrubbing of... okay I can't really make that simile work without getting weird.
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Suave Men's Body Wash (it smells awesome on my bf) or a good moisturizing alternative is Lush's Honey I Washed The Kids soap, which is supposed to be awesome.
Have you considered using lotion for the dry skin thing? I know it's an extra step, but seriously, just putting on some Burt's Bees lotion can do awesome things for your skin. A soap alone is going to strip away some of your skin's natural oils, no matter what you do, unfortunately.
As far as shampoo, I'd keep using a dandruff shampoo to control that ish (I am completely unaware of anything related to dandruff). An excellent conditioner would be anything by Dove. It smells pretty...vague? Not really masculine or feminine, just good. And the effects of the conditioner (any of their conditioners, in my experience) are amazing and almost immediate.
To keep my skin from not being too dry, after showering i follow up with Vaseline's Intensive Rescue lotion- not strongly scented, and keeps the skin moisturised for long periods.
Face-wise, i never use any soap, just warm water. I used to get a lot of spots, until i realised it wasn't because of not washing my face, but rather not keeping my hands as clean as i should have. Sounds weird, right, but thinking about it, it makes a lot of sense- going on the bus/ train whatever, holding onto the handrails that EVERONE has touched, handling money when in shops etc., and then subconsciously touching my face, rubbing my forehead, whatever- it adds up to a lot of exposure to crap, that gets avoided by washing my hands when i get home/ to work. (YMMV)
I use Nivea for Men body lotion. The unscented version of Neutrogena is good to. Both won't leave you feeling greas (if you use an appropriate amount) and neither leave you smelling like lavender or some shit like that.
At this point I use Oil of Olay body wash and soap, the green one smells pretty neutral. Body wash on a puff thing for the body, the bar soap for the more delicate bits like the face. Pantene shampoo and conditioner (separate) has always treated me well for hair.
If you really want to deal with dry skin you have to lotion like people said above. I like using Curel or Aveeno (the least oily brands I've found) immediately after the shower on -everything-, it might seem like a pain at first but if you do it regularly right after you've patted yourself down from the shower your skin really gets a lot less dry over time. If you have problems with your hands and feet cracking and being rough Neutrogena, Curel, and I think Aveeno all have "Intensive Care Foot Cream" you can use on your feet right before you put socks on. It's greasy feeling so the socks help you to not drive yourself nuts with having it on your feet, and it locks it in so it really works into your skin. You can do the same thing with undertaker gloves and your hands if you need to -- the least offensive smelling hand cream for doing it that I've found is Burt's Bees Almond hand cream. You put it on right before you go to bed, really slather it all over your hands until touching anything would coat it in the goop, then put the gloves on. It really smells strong when you put it on but by morning the smell pretty much disappears and you don't get as much residue that you have to wash off. First thing when you get up, you just remove the gloves and wash your hands, just save the gloves from night to night and as the insides become saturated with lotion you'll stop having to slather quite so much on your hands.
Sorry, that was a little long on the lotion explanation, I just really wanted to reiterate that it does work if you can make yourself do it every day. Now the only times I crack and bleed are in the winter when I forget to put that extra intensive care stuff on.
I just buy cheap shit for soap and deodorant though...
i have some johnson and johnson moustrizing lotion, through it on and BAM good as new.
i also hate dry skin on my hands, and the lotions does wonders for that too.
How many of you use soap on your face? Also, do you use anything to exfoliate the areas you don't shave?
I currently use Dr. Bronner's liquid soap (Almond scented) and like it but it does dry out certain areas of skin on me.
As for the acne, I'm wondering if your diet might be affecting that. My skin gets a lot more healthy looking when I'm eating a well balanced healthy diet.
I also shave my head every other day which helps exfoliate my scalp. For that I just use Barbasol shave cream.
I use it and it works, but its effect on the appearance of my hair leaves something to be desired. Better than flaking everywhere, but any time I've used other shampoos I've liked the end result for a few days until my wool coat starts getting snow on it when it's sunny outside.
I'll try these, but I am very averse to lotions. Anything that leaves a residue of sorts just weirds me out. I understand I may have to change this habit, but if getting slightly cleaner/clearer skin involves feeling like I've slathered sunscreen all over myself all day every day I'll live with the monthly pimple.
But I'll give this one a shot.
I've noticed this correlation but it never goes away entirely. Plus, I'm a broke college student with a job and eating healthy is more difficult than I'd like sometimes. Which is a pity because I love cooking and enjoy healthy foods.
I thought I'd try shower-related therapies first as it seems like plain old bar soap is probably Doing It Wrong (tm) when it comes to acne treatment.
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Body lotions don't leave a residue—if they do you are wearing way too much. It should just get absorbed. A little goes a long way, I use about a nickel sized dab on each limb and then a little more on my back/chest.
Can you recommend some brands?
I just use the Nivea for Men stuff, it's relatively cheap and does the job and my wife thinks it smells nice. When times were better I used to use Anthony Logistics, which is about three times more expensive than the basic stuff but is very nice. Aveda sells stuff for men too, I think. I would just find something that you like and isn't too expensive. Everything I've used did the job well, whether I got it at CVS for $5 or Nordstrom for $20.
You do want to get something marketed as "for Men" though. It's not just advertising mumbo-jumbo; men's faces need a tougher cleanser and scrub than women's. And definitely use a facial moisturizer with SPF. You'll thank yourself 30 years from now.