Every guy needs a skincare routine. Most men know this is essential to both good skin health and their overall well-being, and some have established a solid routine that puts them way ahead of the game. The basics include sunscreen, cleansers, and moisturizers, but there are plenty of potential skin health benefits from knowing more and going further.
For many men, though, money can be a fly in the ointment. Prices for skincare products can vary across a wide range, from drugstore products available for less than ten bucks to exotic creams and serums that run in the hundreds. Having tried many of them, I can readily attest to how confusing the pricing can be, so let’s take a look at how to set up your skincare budget, along with some basic guidelines on where to splurge and where to save.
Structuring your skincare budget
Fortunately, setting up a budget is easier than it looks, based on the advice provided by Dr. Michelle Henry, a dermatologist who was one of the stars of the recent MasterClass Series on Skin Health.
“A great place to start is your cleanser, because you’re literally washing it down the sink,” Henry says. “[You want to] spend your money on ingredients where you’re going to get exposure for a long period of time.”
This is where your knowledge of the basic requirements comes into play. The list is simple — in addition to that cleanser, you’re looking at moisturizers and a sunscreen as your foundation. You’ll find expensive offerings in each of these categories, but that doesn’t mean you have to buy in on a big spend.
“It’s a myth that the more expensive luxury products are actually worth it,” says Ron Robinson, a cosmetic chemist who also starred in the same series. “In most cases, those products have fancier fragrances, definitely fancier packaging, but you can get a lot more products that are drug-store priced, but definitely effective.”
The specifics of skincare savings
To dermatologists like Henry, finding the sweet spot for savings is simple — in addition to cleansers, it’s also about moisturizers and sunscreen.
“You can get a fantastic drugstore moisturizer that will do the job effectively without breaking the bank,” she explains. “[And with] sunscreen, you don’t have to spend a lot there.”
Sunscreens are an intriguing product area right now. There are plenty of extras available, but Henry offers some specific recommendations.
“We have some fantastic sunscreens that will protect you,” she says. “If you’re looking for a smart multitasker, maybe something that contains antioxidants, [or one] that blocks blue light if you have a little bit of hyperpigmentation. That’s an area where you can maybe splurge a little bit.”
Want a smart splurge? Go with serums that target a specific problem
So let’s say you’ve done your homework and realized your savings on your foundational products. Do you get to go a little crazy if you have some extra money to spend?
“Serums,” Henry says when asked about where to splurge. “Serums are intended to target specific problems with a high concentration of active ingredients, which are a little more expensive. Spend [for] your products where you’re looking to address a specific concern.”
One possible example is Vitamin C. It’s a targeted product that can address a variety of specific skincare issues, including dark spots, sun damage, wrinkles, and fine lines. To fully realize the potential of vitamin C, though, you might have to spend a little extra to get a stable version of the right formulation.
“The more potent effective levels are ten to twenty percent,” Robinson says. “If they’re stabilized, they often require more testing, and other ingredients that are going to help deliver results. That might be worth spending a little bit extra.”
Retinol is yet another example of an ingredient that can justify a higher spend. It’s known as “the queen of skincare products,” but prices for quality products based on retinol are all over the map, which brings us to our next issue.
How to evaluate high-end products for your splurge
Doing a deep dive into the pricing for skincare ingredients like retinol and vitamin C can be a scary experience. Once again, though, there are some solid steps you can take to keep your spending under control. Start by identifying the basic ingredients.
“Usually, the first few ingredients are the main composition of that product,”says Dr. Shereene Idriss, another top dermatologist who also starred in the MasterClass series.
Another basic step is to cut through the fog of the marketing language. Is the item you’re looking at a beauty product trying to find a crossover market with men? Is it being marketed more exclusively for a male audience? Is the language elitist, science-based, or down-to-earth?
Answering these fundamental questions will go a long way toward determining what you buy. Brand reputation comes into play, along with the usual array of online reviews and recommendations. But the further you drill down, the more you increase the odds of being happy with your purchase.
Know your ingredients and sourcing
Ingredients can be complicated, especially when it comes to skincare. Count on running into a unique combination of lists, marketing lingo, and science language, and the ways they intersect and overlap can be truly baffling.
“It’s about understanding their track record,” Idriss says in describing her own evaluation process. “And understanding the science behind the ingredients before fully devoting yourself to something new. You want to make sure you’re finding a balance between the marketing, the discourse, the intent, and what’s real.”
The product’s point of origin is also key.
“Where you buy your products is key, because not everywhere is a licensed distributor,” she explains. “Full disclosure: I have a skincare brand. I do not sell through Amazon, but my products are being sold on Amazon. Can I guarantee that the products you’re buying [there] are real? Nope.”
This won’t be true for every skincare brand, though, many of which do sell through Amazon. The solution to this conundrum is to check the brand website of everything you’re buying to see who their licensed distributors are. This is just one of many tricks you can use to make sure you’re getting the best possible products while staying within your skincare budget.
