A pretty much unavoidable fact is that all mainstream makeup is designed with women’s skin in mind. This is quite understandable and I'm not complaining; a huge majority of people who go out and buy makeup are women and girls, so for any cosmetics brand to release a makeup line for men would be illogical! However, this does mean that us boys to have to be a bit more careful when we buy makeup, mainly base products.
The Facts: Sorry, this bit is going to be dull unless you are a nerd like me!
Men’s skin is different scientifically; Evolution is to blame for this, in the early years of humanity when men were hunter-gatherers male skin adapted to cope with the elements. Men no longer need to be in such extremes any more, but the differences remain.
THICKER SKIN - Men’s skin is on average about 20% - 30% thicker than female skin; Men’s dermis and epidermis layers are thicker than a woman’s. The upside of this is that one of the reasons for this is that men have more elastin and collagen fibres in their skin. Elastin and collagen are the connective fibres in the skin; they give it its elasticity and strength. They also have a denser and tighter network of fatty tissue under their skin (a good thing!) This all means that men’s skin is less fragile and more supple and bouncy (for want of a better word). Yay for men in that it'll contribute to our skin aging slower, boo for men in that it means our skin is coarser.
MORE BLOOD VESSELS - Men have more and higher concentrations of blood vessels, which may sound like it doesn't affect your face but it does, Male skin blushes easier, they are more prone to red patches and are more likely to have a ruddy complexion when they are older.
THICKER FACIAL HAIR - Everyone knows that men have coarse hair on their face. It’s kind of obvious. This, for any boy wanting to wear makeup is an absolute pain. Your skin is often a slightly uneven texture because of stubble and it might (if you have dark hair and dense facial hair growth) be slightly grey with a shaving shadow. It also means that even if your skin has small pores elsewhere, your pores around your jaw will be larger as they have to have hair growing out of them.
MORE OIL - This is the bane of any makeup wearing boy's life; unless you are lucky and have normal or drier skin. Boys have larger, more numerous and more active sebaceous glands which mean their faces make LOADS of oil, this is because back in our hunter-gatherer days we were exposed to the elements, which lead to dry skin so our bodies adapted to make more sebum to make sure we didn't dry out. The upside of having oily skin is that although you may be a shiny mess at times, you will age slower, have softer and supple skin (provided you exfoliate as well) and as your sebaceous glands start to decrease oil production around 20 years later than women. This means you won’t get so wrinkly. Yay!
BIGGER PORES - This is something that not all men suffer but is a load more common in men. Men have more oil coming out of their pores, hairs sprouting all over the place so men generally have bigger pores. There’s not really an upside to this one. Sorry!
What does this all mean!? It means that generally we have to get base products for: Coarse, uneven, slightly red, oily skin with large pores. A tall order for most base products.
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Coming up - How to by a foundation if you’re a guy!
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