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The best skin care for men varies from one guy to the next, because no two fellas have the exact same needs. Someone with dry skin has different demands than somebody with extremely oily skin; ditto anyone with sensitive, acne-prone, or aging skin. But the principles are the same for most of us: start with the essential products, then build up as needed based on the variables that apply to you.
All of which is to say, it can be a lot to manage. So right here, right now, I'm going to help you build a baseline routine, and guide you through what to add from there (whether you're motivated by genuine interest, or the need to address issues like acne and dryness). Then I'll direct you to the best men’s skin care products in each category—or, at least, the ones that I've found to be most helpful to the most amount of guys—based on a decade-plus of testing them out.
And because, once again, it can be a lot to manage, I also sought advice from the pros on how to shop smarter for your skin care products, soliciting tips from dermatologists, aestheticians, and a licensed skin care physician’s assistant throughout. What you're left with, in return, is a terrific, sustainable, and results-oriented skin care routine—minus the headache.
The Best Men’s Skin Care Products, at a Glance
- The Face Wash: Cardon Purifying Clay Cleanser, $20
- The Moisturizer: PrettyBoy Revival Moisturizer, $40
- The Day Serum: Medik8 Hydr8 B5 Liquid Rehydration Serum, $54
- The Exfoliator: Herbivore Prism 12% AHA + 3% BHA Exfoliating Glow Serum, $54
- The Face SPF: CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30, $15
- The Eye Cream: Blue Lagoon Skincare BL+ Eye Cream, $165
- The Night Cream: Kiehl’s Recovery Cloud Cream, $62
- The Night Treatment: Doctor Rogers Night Repair Treatment, $98
- The Retinol Treatment: Apostrophe Customized Tretinoin Formula, $25
Take me to: How to Suss Out Your Skin's Needs | How We Tested | About Our Experts | FAQs
The Simplest Skin Care Routine for Men
A rock-solid foundational skin care routine should be your absolute baseline, and it really only involves 3-4 products; you can combine some of the below into dual-purpose formulas.
Wash, rinse, repeat—morning and night, as the first step in your regimen. Do it after sleeping on your gnarly pillows all night, and after a long day’s buildup of sweat, oil, and grime. Don’t put a lot of agency into this product beyond purifying, cleansing, and soothing purposes (and sometimes, exfoliating purposes, too). “Many active ingredients like hyaluronic acid and antioxidants are more effective as leave-on products since they require time to penetrate the skin,” says board-certified dermatologist Dr. Brandon Kirsch, founder of Kirsch Dermatology in Naples, FL. “In other words, they are not likely to be effective when formulated in cleansers.”
There are various ways to remove dead skin cells from your mug, namely “chemical” acids and physical scrubs. Some face washes even have exfoliating properties. Exfoliant intensities vary, and typically shouldn’t be used daily. Follow the brand’s advice, and the doctor’s too: “While many people like physical exfoliants, I usually recommend the daily use of chemical ones,” says Kirsch. “Chemical exfoliants like alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) or beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs) work by gently dissolving dead skin cells, offering a more uniform exfoliation. In addition, they tend to be less abrasive than physical exfoliants (like scrubs), reducing the risk of micro-tears in the skin.”
Moisturizer provides skin with nourishing, hydrating benefits so everything stays soft, but it also builds up skin’s barrier-like defenses to help trap moisture inside, and to block skin-aging pollutants from getting inside.
You need to apply SPF every day—that is, if you want the best steady and lasting defense against skin-aging UV rays. Trust us here: the simple act of applying facial SPF each morning will knock 10 years off your mug by the time you’re 50 or 60. And, like our top moisturizer on the list below, you can often combine these two steps together (with SPF-packed moisturizers) to get your dose of SPF 30+. Dr. Kirsch, who touts “sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen” as his top skin care mantra, advises reapplying your SPF 2-3 times daily, too, since its strength wears off after a couple hours.
The Best Face Wash for Men: Cardon Purifying Clay Cleanser
Why It's the Best: I want as many people as possible to know how fantastic this cleanser is. From its marshmallow texture to its gentle and refreshing rinsing, there is no face wash I can better recommend to the largest group of individuals. Usually I'd say to choose something that promises to hydrate or promises to deeply cleanse, depending on your skin's oil levels, but this one honors the most oily and the most dry at the same time thanks to its nutrient-dense clays and skin-soothing cactus extract. Good work, Cardon.
The Best Moisturizer for Men: PrettyBoy Revival Moisturizer
Why It's the Best: When it comes to recommending the universally best face products for men, I think of the most finicky among us. Does the product satisfy the most sensitive-skinned individuals, without suffocating oily skin and while deeply replenishing dry skin? That's the framework here, and Pretty Boy clears all of those bars easily. They've got a soothing gel formula that is rich in ingredients like niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides; it received the National Eczema Association's Seal of Acceptance, which is also why I recommend this to guys as a multitasking superhorse. It's also an exceptional post-shave remedy, which will save you some coin on that product category, if you're in the market for some skin care consolidation. (I'd even happily endorse it as a night cream). When I think of all the moisturizers I've recommended to friends, this one comes back to me the most, in terms of rave reviews and thank-you-for-the-suggestion.
The Best Day Serum for Men: Medik8 Hydr8 B5 Liquid Rehydration Serum
Why It's the Best: There are a million different face serums you can use in the daytime, each with its hero ingredients that promise X, Y, and Z results; it's extremely convoluted, and it requires you to do some research given that we all have different skin needs and concerns. However, if there are any ingredients I can suggest for everyone, it's the hydrating superheroes like hyaluronic acid and pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5), which provide same-day firming, plumping, and radiance-boosting benefits. Medik8 is one of those brands I trust with each new recipe, given their dedication to the science behind the recipe; there is no hasty white-labeling happening here. And one other perk of this serum is its quick absorption, which layers wonderfully beneath your moisturizer. It's a serum that is worth its upgrad" price from the baseline regimen, and a little drop goes a long way to keep skin looking and feeling healthy every day.
The Best Exfoliator for Men: Herbivore Prism 12% AHA + 3% BHA Exfoliating Glow Serum
Why It's the Best: I usually have a hard time recommending one-size-fits-all exfoliation products, since it's a product category that is easy to overdo. So it might seem ironic that I recommend this heavy-lifting serum from Herbivore, given its intensity and higher concentration of exfoliating acids. But here's how I deploy it: Once a week, on a non-retinol night as a lightweight DIY peel, or as a spot treatment on stubborn dark spots, nose-y blackhead patches, and fresh blemishes. It's not a formula to use liberally or in the daytime, but I do think having it on hand will allow you to deploy it for any number of reasons, so long as you use it sparingly. I've only really ever experienced light redness from it (never sensitivity, and always quickly resolved after sleeping it off). Plus, how cool does it look in the bathroom vanity?
The Best Face SPF for Men: CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30
Why It's the Best: SPF is an essential everyday ingredient, and one of the easiest ways to get it is with a moisturizer like CeraVe's. Even just that light layer of sun defense can neutralize the majority of UV rays your skin encounters on the morning commute or while sitting next to the window (yes, UV rays can penetrate glass). I find that this hybrid chemical-physical formula wears light, even on my oily skin—plus it has the brand's signature ceramide concentration and blends easily into skin without any ghostly white finish. And how can I not acknowledge its low price point, plus the fact that pretty much every dermatologist I work with will recommend CeraVe's well-tested and well-researched roster?
The Best Eye Cream for Men: Blue Lagoon Skincare BL+ Eye Cream
Why It's the Best: Ever since visiting Blue Lagoon's skin care labs outside of Reykjavik, Iceland. I'm convinced this brand is worth the upgrade across every category—namely in terms of face masks and eye creams. Their scientists are responsible for the Lagoon's world-class reputation as a rejuvenating wonder. This eye cream is a product that uses the same replenishing bioactive minerals pumped into the Blue Lagoon itself, to give the eye-area skin its necessary weapons against "photo aging" (by both boosting collagen production and reducing collagen deterioration). Whereas I'm often so-so about the eye care products I incorporate into my routine, I go out of my way to apply this one—sometimes even remembering that I forgot to put it on before sleeping, so I spring out of my cocoon, apply the cream, and then head back to bed. I find it a pinch on the heavier side, so I recommend using it at bedtime as opposed to the daytime. As a bonus, you'll wake up looking for restful than if you hadn't applied it.
The Best Night Cream for Men: Kiehl’s Recovery Cloud Cream
Why It's the Best: I realized something while writing this article, and linking to a bunch of previous articles I've written about moisturizers and night creams: I am constantly recommending this hall-of-fame-caliber night cream. It might be my most recommended product ever. It goes on dense but feels ultra light on my grimy and acne-prone skin, but always has me looking well rested and replenished by morning. I chalk that up to its fatty acid-dense recipe, which keeps skin looking firm and full, so you never wake with sullen, suffocated complexion. It's especially great in air-conditioned rooms or in peak winter (even with that heat cranked up) since it blankets your skin and prevents moisture loss. If you're a texture person like me, then you'll also love its whip-like consistency.
The Best Night Treatment for Men: Doctor Rogers Night Repair Treatment
Why It's the Best: This night treatment is a lightweight cream that you layer beneath a night cream (like you would with a serum). It won a much-deserved GQ Grooming Award because of its thoughtful recipe: bakuchiol boosts cellular replenishment and is a gentle alternative to retinol, while glycolic acid buffs away dead surface cells. Dr. Heather Rogers gives her customers a simplified regimen—this is one half of a treatment plan, along with a damage-mitigating day treatment—and whenever I use either product, I realize how much of my regimen feels frivolous. It really can be simplified into a few high-performance products like these treatments, which layer light and pack a wallop in terms of keeping your skin bright, clear, and supple.
The Best Acne Treatment for Men: Murad Rapid Relief Acne Sulfur Mask
Why It's the Best: Another GQ Grooming Award winner, this sulfur mask soothes as you apply it into your skin, and manages to not deplete your dermis of its moisture as the sulfur neutralizes acne-causing bacteria (aided by oil-busting salicylic acid, no less). That's probably since it also contains nourishing peat moss, making this one of the best face masks you can use for acne prevention, as well as a targeted spot treatment on budding blemishes. I especially love to use it as a blackhead-busting treatment across my pore-dense nose. I should add that it's nearly impossible to see a product with a score as high as 4.8/5 on Sephora, especially an acne product, since people buying these products have high expectations and urgent needs. Acne sucks, but this stuff rules.
The Best Face Mask for Men: Narcyss Le Fix Emergency Facial Mask Intense Hydration Sheet Masks
Why It's the Best: Wow, three GQ Grooming Award winners in a row. But let me tell you: This hydrating, brightening face mask will earn you insanely high praises on your complexion—even if that's something you never aspired to. It might feel expensive to buy $10 sheet masks, but that's why I save them for special events or, uh, especially public appearances. On the days you need your skin to look unmistakably glow-y and well taken care of just deploy one of these bad boys in the hour ahead of the need, and your skin will look like you got a face lift, a top-tier facial, and downloaded an IRL Instagram filter.
The Best Retinol Treatment for Men: Apostrophe Customized Tretinoin Formula
Why It's the Best: I not-so-secretly wish every guy would incorporate retinol into his skin care regimen, in any sense: an OTC cream, or a prescription-packed product like Apostrophe's face creams. I also think their subscription program is a terrific introduction to this Vitamin A-derived ingredient (in its more potent form, tretinoin). They'll likely start you on a low dosage, while you take the time to understand the ingredient's extremely powerful promises (read: actual wrinkle-reducing bennies). Then, you'll up the dosage as Apostrophe's tele-doctors advise. Personally, I'm on a high grade of prescription tretinoin from the pharmacy, but I can't go recommending that to everyone, given the many sensitivities and the time it takes to adjust to retinol. So, if you're starting out, then stick with Apostrophe's regimen until you can take those training wheels off. And definitely use it as advised (only at night, always washing it off in the a.m., not necessarily using it nightly, and boosting your SPF usage by day).
How to Choose the Right Skin Care Products for You
There are two key parts of building out your skin care regimen: a base routine (something all men should be doing), then customizing it based on skin-specific needs or wants. For added color, let’s hear from our industry experts.
There are four core steps that every guy should be following: twice-daily cleansing, twice-daily moisturizing, ad-hoc exfoliation, and daily (or thrice daily!) SPF applications. If you can manage that, then you’re already going to see terrific results throughout the years (mostly by not noticing any acceleration of skin damage and lost resilience).
I do think the SPF part bears repeating, too: “Using sunscreen daily should become a consistent habit, just like brushing your teeth,” says Maureen Gaspard, licensed medical esthetician and Director of Esthetics at Seaside Skin Care in San Clemente, CA. “We get exposed to damaging UV rays while in the car and running errands. Adding sunscreen to your daily moisturizer will protect your skin all day, especially when we find ourselves out in the elements.”
And remember, this regimen doesn’t need to be expensive. In fact, some of your dermatologists’ favorite products are going to be those mass-made drugstore options, since those brands usually have the muscle to research and formulate top-performing formulas which suit the largest groups of users. There’s no shame in having a vanity chock-full of CeraVe, Cetaphil, Dove Men+Care, etc.
With the foundation in place, you can target things specific to you, or make adjustments to that foundation based on your skin’s oil levels, recovery time, proneness to acne, eye-area needs (like dark circles or puffiness), aging skin, sensitivities, and so forth.
Here are the primary variables that I think are worth addressing. Sorry, “normal skin” people: you don’t need the caveats here. And anyone with combination skin should know that they need a combination of oil-targeting ingredients with dry- or normal-targeted formulas.
If you have hyperactive sebum glands—as many men do have—then you need to craft a balancing regimen that doesn’t in turn dry out the skin. “Use a gentle cleanser to avoid over-stripping natural oils, and incorporate into your routine a light, non-comedogenic moisturizer,” says Dr. Kirsch. “Salicylic acid can help with oil control and clogged pores, and niacinamide can regulate oil production as well.”
Double down on everything with the words “hydrating” or “moisturizing” or “barrier supporting” in its description—because you need to make up for a dearth of sebum production in the skin, or whichever environmental factors are depleting your skin of its moisture reserves. Ingredients like hyaluronic acid and squalene can help attract moisture into the skin’s depths, while heavier moisturizing creams and balms can trap those ingredients inside—and prevent added loss from the air around you. Prioritize ceramides for added barrier functions, as well as SPF to keep skin resilient, and maybe slumber with a humidifier in the bedroom to make sure you aren’t a sleeping duck in an otherwise bone-dry environment.
Kirsch recommends regular cleansing and gentle exfoliation in order to keep pores clear of dirt, dead skin, and bacteria. “Benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid washes are especially effective against acne,” he says. (The former is especially good for targeting bacterial-based acne). “Also, prescription and over-the-counter retinoids can help with cell turnover and prevent clogged pores. Always look for products described as non-comedogenic. Perhaps most importantly, avoid picking or popping pimples, and regularly clean things like phone screens and pillowcases to reduce the potential for bacterial transfer.”
Since sensitive skin can also be oily, or dry, or acne-prone, you need to make smart tweaks to your regimen that honor any and all of these variables. Your skin may not tolerate active ingredients like retinoids, and exfoliating acids, so search for alternatives for those things, like naturally-sourced bakuchiol which can provide similar anti-aging benefits as retinoids, or poly hydroxy acids, which provide much gentler surface exfoliation than common exfoliating acids. Avoid added/artificial fragrance in any product, too, as it is a common allergen for sensitive skin types. And of course, prioritize anti-inflammatory, soothing, barrier-boosting, and hydrating ingredients across the board.
“As our skin ages, it loses collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid, lipids and more,” explains Micaela Bartash, board-certified physician assistant at Contour Aesthetics & Wellness in Mt. Pleasant, SC. “Skin thins and sags, loses moisture and the barrier becomes impaired. Skin care products and treatments aimed at combating these losses can help restore a more youthful appearance to the skin. Assuming that someone is already using daily SPF, a medical grade prescription strength retinoid would be the best investment. This multitasker reduces wrinkles, roughness, dark spots, clogged pores, inflammation and more.”
How We Tested
I’ve been a grooming writer for over a decade—since 2013 to be exact, and for GQ specifically since 2016. In that time, I’ve tested a billion different products, and have to categorize them based on what each one targets (dry skin, oily skin, acne-prone skin, etc); luckily, my partner and I have pretty opposite needs so I get added mileage from his POV. But in testing so many products, I love finding ones that defy many of these categories, and which can serve as many people as possible. I don’t often recommend “universal” products en masse, but everything on this list has earned its place here. My main aim is to choose products that don’t dry skin out, that don’t occlude or suffocate oily individuals, that don’t cause breakouts, and that respect any sensitivities. Hope you find a few things you like.
Meet the Experts
- Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Brandon Kirsch, founder of Kirsch Dermatology in Naples, FL
- Maureen Gaspard, licensed medical esthetician and Director of Esthetics at Seaside Skin Care in San Clemente, CA
- Micaela Bartash, board-certified physician assistant at Contour Aesthetics & Wellness in Mt. Pleasant, SC
Your Skin Care for Men FAQs, Answered
While every guy should use skin care products that target his skin type (like oily skin, dry skin, acne-prone skin, etc), the baseline for everyone is to choose a twice-daily cleanser, a twice-daily moisturizer, a periodic exfoliant, and a daily SPF.
Oddly specific, but we feel you! Skin care needs change as we age, but in general, a 30-year-old should be using SPF every day to prevent an accelerated decline in skin resilience and firmness, as well as a nighttime retinoid that helps improve cellular turnover (and is an anti-aging, anti-acne miracle worker). Beyond that, every guy needs the baseline cleanser, moisturizer, and exfoliant—at every age.
The best face products for men with acne will be non-comedogenic, meaning they won’t clog pores, and will wear light on skin. The overall regimen will incorporate pore-clearing ingredients at some point, too, like a salicylic acid serum or cleanser to free up trapped skin cells and backed-up oil inside the pores.