Men’s skin care products – the ultimate conundrum

It’s quite funny talking to other men about skin care. You both edge into the conversation, testing the water wondering if the other guy’s going to take the piss.

Once the guard’s down, there’s about five minutes max before: “[cough cough], yeah, so, see the game last night? Yeah. Cars. Boobs. Yeah. Beer. [Cough.] Let’s fire up that barbecue.”

It’s like admitting to using face cream will cause an instant skirt to appear where pants once were.

I’m lucky in that my mum made me try things like moisturiser from an early age. I’m skin-care emancipated. I don’t have a cosmetics cupboard or anything on that scale, but I do have a couple of bits and pieces I use to help fend off the wrinkles.

Show a guy an exfoliating scrub and he’ll get very grumpy. But shaving is a form of exfoliation.So why don’t men like skin care products?

Give him a moisturiser and he’ll sulk for ages. But every time he puts sunscreen on, he’s moisturising.

This tells us it’s not what you’re selling, it’s how you sell it.

It’s a semantic problem cosmetics brands are trying so hard to break into. After all, by nature’s law of averages 50% of humans are men – think of all those un-moisturised faces to tap into!

One brand I think is doing a pretty good job is L’Oreal’s Men Expert range. Their Hydra Energetic X-treme Cleanser is a great idea. It comes out black like mud – you put mud on your face to wash! Brilliant! It appeals to the inner boy we all have: mud pie time!

And this is the virtual truth.

It contains charcoal powder, which helps purify the skin. You plaster it on and once you give a rub, it foams up into a big manly froth and cleans off everything – even makeup. Just kidding.

I love this stuff and I use it every few days. My only reservation: the instructions say to use a walnut size blob. I think that’s way too much. I get a good clean face with about the size of a pea or hazelnut.

So if you’re trying to get your man into a basic face-cleanse routine – or if you are man looking for where to start, this stuff’s perfect.

$13.99 AUS (Priceline)
$6.39 UK (Boots)
$8.49 US (online)