4 Men's Self-Care Tips for 2021

As you make your way into the new year, you might find yourself reflecting on all this past year has brought. While it may have felt stressful, lonely, exhausting, or chaotic at times, it was also a year to slow down and focus on yourself. With an unexpected amount of free time, many have turned to focusing on self-care. When you hear those words, you might automatically think of indulging in bubble baths or making green smoothies. However, self-care really means taking care of yourself so you can be healthy and feel your best— things that everyone needs to focus on. Here are some self-care tips that you could add to your daily routine.

Skin-care

Men often overlook Skin-care, but it’s more important than ever to start incorporating this into your routine. Having to wear a mask all day (or even short periods of time) does not do any favours for your skin and causes breakouts. Face masks create an occlusive environment that increases moisture to the area that’s covered, leading to dreaded acne or skin irritation. Similar problems can result just from touching your face too often. Fortunately, you can resolve these issues with a simple 2-step process in the morning or before you go to bed. 

Step 1: Wash your face with a daily facial cleanser with some gentle exfoliation from a Konjac Sponge. Exfoliation helps to remove dead skin cells and the build-up of dirt from your mask. Not only is this beneficial for keeping your skin clean, but it also makes for a smoother shave.

Step 2: After you pat your face dry, you should always apply a smooth facial moisturizer. The simple act of applying moisturizer will help hydrate the skin, prevent wrinkles, and reduce the appearance of blemishes or breakouts. This is especially important during the winter months when the skin is prone to cracks and dryness. 

That’s it! You don’t have to do anything fancy with your skin-care routine; stick to the essentials. All in all, this won’t take you more than a few minutes, so there’s little excuse not to create a habit of it.

Hand-care

An act of self-care that is commonly overlooked even more so than skin-care is hand-care. As if having dry hands during the winter months wasn’t already a pain, now there is the added layer of constantly washing your hands or applying hand sanitizer. Fun (or maybe not so fun) fact of the day: as soon as you dry your hands after washing, airborne germs can start to irritate your dry skin. As unpleasant as that is, luckily, there is a way to avoid it. Our two tips for avoiding dry skin:

Tip 1: Purchase a hand cleanser with ingredients, such as aloe or glycerin, that focus on moisturizing your skin instead of dehydrating it. 

Tip 2: After cleansing your hands, lather up with an intensive hand cream that will soothe your dry, cracked skin.  

Keep these two products tucked safely in your car for when you’ve just left the grocery store, and your hands will be clean and moisturized all day long. 

Vision-care

When you think of self-care, taking control of your vision probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Eye problems tend to go unnoticed because our vision seems to change over time without us realizing it. You don’t recognize you have a problem until you have to hold a book a few inches from your face as you read, or you’re driving at night and notice you can’t see that stop sign as well as you used to. Fortunately, upgrading your eye care products for your ever-changing vision needs is a perfect task to tackle in the new year.  

Eyeglasses offer a unique way to frame the face and become a stand-out accessory for men who may typically avoid adding extra flair to enhance their look. But if you wear a mast, it feels uncomfortable and bothersome to wear glasses, given the lenses' fogging and slipping off your nose. As someone that loves wearing stylish glasses, I've been saddened by the constant pain of fogged-up glasses this past year. Instead, try supplementing with contacts if you experience these hassles from wearing a mask. You’ll also likely find that contacts help combat dry eyes during the colder months, making winter the perfect time to make the switch. Daily, weekly, or monthly contact options are available as well—making it easy to switch back and forth with eyeglasses depending on your day’s schedule. 

Hair-care

I don't know about you, but I've used the past year as an excuse to grow out my hair and try a longer style. But, with long hair also comes maintenance. Like the new skin-care routine that you (hopefully) implement, hair-care only requires two steps to keep your locks looking clean and healthy. 

Step 1: Shampoo. There’s nothing more overwhelming than standing in the hair aisle at the drug store and trying to decide which shampoo is best for you. Instead of wondering what type of hair you have, grab The Only Shampoo You Need. It's locally made, and guaranteed to leave your hair feeling cleansed and healthy. You can use this shampoo every day, and if you find that your hair is feeling dry, try switching to every 2-3 days. Gone are the days of stressing over 17 different shampoo types. 

Step 2: Conditioner. This step is wildly uncommon in the men’s hair industry. It only takes an extra minute to lather your hair with a moisturizing conditioner. While shampoo washes out sweat and dead skin cells, conditioner offers a layer of protection and makes your hair feel softer. If you have longer hair, you can relate to the pain of brushing through your tangled hair after a shower. Conditioner will make that process much smoother (no pun intended). 

Implementing these self-care tips geared for men is sure to give you success to feel and look your best. There is no shame in prioritizing yourself to put your best foot forward, and what better time to start than in this new year!