The best men’s skincare routine for once you hit your 30s

30 is the age when, like everything else in your life, your skin becomes an investment. And healthy skin is worth its weight in gold.

Men’s skincare in your 30s is a lot like maintaining a classic car. It’s not the first car you’ve bought, it’s something you need to pay a lot more attention to, invest in, and care for diligently to ensure it runs smoothly and looks its best for the rest of your life. Not a car guy? Just trust us, it’s worth looking after, and your 30s are when you can lock in that investment for the rest of your years—or risk doing serious damage. No pressure.

If you’ve been taking it easy with the bare minimum of moisturiser and sun protection until this point, nice work. Enjoy the advantages of youth. But now that you’re scrolling down a bit further on those online forms asking for your birth year, the time has come to invest a little more in your complexion. And invest is the word, because although the skincare you need right now is not particularly pricey, the dividends down the track will be handsome.

“By your 30s, collagen and elastin production naturally begin to decline, which leads to early signs of aging like fine lines, reduced firmness, and dullness,” says board-certified dermatologist Dr Dennis Gross, who is also a skin cancer researcher, based in New York City. “But it’s not just about age; years of accumulated sun damage also start to surface. This often shows up as enlarged pores, rough texture, and uneven tone. For men, the daily act of shaving introduces repeated micro-injuries, which can cause irritation, ingrown hairs, and inflammation, especially if your skin barrier is compromised.”

All that to say: “Your 30s are a pivotal time to start investing in your skin,” Gross summates. But that’s not your cue to go out there and buy a load of products like eye creams, or with myriad purported benefits against dry skin, or with ingredients like hyaluronic acid plastered or all over it in the hope of reclaiming your youth, rather it’s about tailoring a routine to you, focusing on the right products, not a lot of them. But what are they? “A solid routine doesn’t need to be complicated, but it should include five essential steps,” Gross adds, “[a] cleanser, a two-step peel, treatment serum, moisturiser, and sunscreen.”

Building a routine for men that can help protect your skin, help slow down signs of ageing, and just help you look after yourself, isn’t an impossible mission. In fact, you can get your skincare routine down to just a few steps. Here’s how to do it.

The body wash/exfoliant

Now that the face is taken care of, there are a few other things you can be doing to enter your 30s even more gracefully during your morning routine and beyond. Starting with the rest of the body, which will certainly benefit from a body wash targeted to the hardier skin of the corps. The sweat, dirt and hormones that are produced as the result of an active lifestyle leave certain areas prone to bodily acne, pimples and random boils. Following a body wash, a body exfoliator will help smash the reset button on your skin, encouraging cell turnover for the rest of your flesh resulting in a fresher appearance. Anthony Blue Sea Kelp Body Scrub harnesses microscopic sea salt flakes to exfoliate while aloe vera soothes and vitamin C reinforces the skin.

Link