The four-step routine, explained

Most men’s skincare advice fails in one of two ways. Either it’s a bar of soap and nothing else, or it’s a twelve-step routine nobody keeps up. Four steps, done consistently, sit right in between.

1. Cleanse

A cleanser removes oil, sweat, dirt and yesterday’s sunscreen without stripping your skin. Bar soap and body wash are usually too harsh for the face, which is why your skin can feel tight after using them.

• Oily skin: a gel or foaming face cleanser.
• Dry skin: a cream or non-foaming cleanser. In the morning, a splash of lukewarm water is often enough.
• How: massage onto damp skin for about 30 seconds, rinse with lukewarm water, pat dry.

2. Treat

This is the one step that changes from person to person. A serum is a light liquid with a higher concentration of a specific ingredient, chosen for what you want to improve. Pick one to start.

• Shine and pores: niacinamide.
• Blackheads and breakouts: salicylic acid (BHA), a few nights a week to start.
• Dryness: hyaluronic acid with glycerin.
• Early lines: retinol, at night only, starting slowly.

If you use a prescription skin treatment, that is your treatment step. Ask your prescriber before adding anything active.

3. Hydrate

Moisturizer keeps your skin’s outer layer comfortable and helps hold water in. Oily skin needs it too. Choose the weight, not whether to use it: a light gel or lotion for oily skin, a richer cream for dry skin. Use it morning and night.

4. Protect

Sunscreen goes on last, every morning. Look for Broad Spectrum SPF 30 or higher, use about two finger-lengths for face and neck, and reapply at least every 2 hours when you’re outdoors. It’s the step that does the most for your skin over the years, and the one most men skip.

Morning versus night

• Morning: cleanse, treat (if your serum is a morning one), moisturize, sunscreen.
• Night: cleanse, treat, moisturize. No sunscreen needed.

Apply products from thinnest to thickest: serum before moisturizer, sunscreen last.

How to start without overdoing it

• New to skincare? Start with cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen for two weeks, then add the serum.
• Add one new product at a time, about a week apart, so you know what works.
• Patch-test new products on your jawline for a few days if your skin tends to react.
• Give any routine 4 to 6 weeks before judging it.

This guide is general information, not medical advice. If you have a skin condition or symptoms that don’t go away, see a doctor or dermatologist.