How men can fight aging
1. Establish and commit to a skincare routine
2. Drink at least eight cups of water per day
3. Wear sunscreen every single day
4. Exercise more
5. Improve your diet
We all know someone who’s deceptively old—the lucky bloke with the perfect genetic makeup to stay youthful and fresh against the unstoppable decay of time.
And if you don’t know them, you’ve seen them: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Hugh Jackman, Daniel Craig. These are men who have aged like fine wine to be even more desirable as the years pass.
How do we—normal, mortal men—achieve the same? How do we begin to like looking in the mirror?
Believe it or not, it’s quite simple, and you don’t need millions of dollars or a villa in Lake Como to do it. In the rest of this article I’ll cover the five best anti-aging tips for men and how you can get started on them today.
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What You’ll Need to Look 10 Years Younger
We need several tools to complete this time-traveling feat.
- You need a skincare routine. I’m talking: daily face wash, moisturizers, serums, and eye creams. Not sure where to start? I recommend Geologie, which provides personalized skincare in simple, predefined routines.
- A water bottle. Maybe even a trough. The kind of hydrating we’re going to be doing is too much for your 16.9 ounce Aquafina single-use bottle. Be kind to the environment and yourself and invest in a liter-sized bottle at the least.
- Sunscreen is cool and you need it. UV light exposure is the single greatest factor in premature aging and sunscreen is your greatest defense.
- Commitment. None of these anti-aging tips are single instance actions. They require resolve, discipline, and consistency in order to work. If successful, each of these tips will become a normal part of your life with graceful aging to boot.
5 Essential Anti-Aging Tips for Men
1. You Need a Skincare Routine
Beginning a skincare routine is easily the most significant item in this list of anti-aging tips. Guys are all about simplicity and I get that. I also get that starting a new skincare routine that will take up precious minutes in your morning and evening isn’t simple.
I’m probably the worst offender of the mantra, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This is a simple way to live life, pragmatic even. My Chuck Taylor’s have holes in them but why would I buy new ones? They still work, technically.
When it comes to your face, you can’t split hairs this way. By the time your skin is broken it’ll be too late to fix it. Thus, preventative care is extremely important.
Just like you meticulously wash and wax your car to keep rust away and keep the value high, you have to do the same with your face if you want to avoid looking like Emperor Palpatine when you’re older.
If you’re not keen on looking like a sundried tomato later in life but don’t know where to start, Geologie provides affordable trials sets that are personalized to your needs. Thoughtful touches like packing in two face washes (one for the shower, and another for the sink) really show that Geologie has my back when it comes to building a routine.
Skincare Routine Essentials
The most basic skincare routines consist of a face cleanser and moisturizer. I say face cleanser rather than face wash to highlight a difference between soap that is actually meant for your face versus soap that’s used for your body or cleaning up oil spills.
Yep, that means no using your tried-and-true bars of Irish Spring on your face. Sorry to break it to you.
Most men’s soaps are incredibly harsh and not designed for gentle cleaning that will leave natural oils intact. If these soaps are rough to the skin on your body, they’ll be considerably worse for your face.
The skin on your face is comparably sensitive to the rest of your body, and should be treated as such. Thus, the first ingredient to a successful skincare routine is a gentle face cleanser, like Geologie’s Everyday Face Wash.
A good cleanser should be sulfate-free, which is a harsh chemical responsible for the aggressive lathering of most soaps. As such, you don’t want a face cleanser that lathers heavily.
Next, you need a face moisturizer. We can again turn to Geologie here, where their Vital Morning Face Cream and Repairing Night Cream are both solid options for keeping your skin healthy and moisturized.
As you can tell, it gets more complex from here. Geologie has moisturizers specifically for the morning and evening, which implies you might be washing your face to both start and end the day.
If your pulse quickened and you felt a slight surge of panic at the prospect of having to be that clean, don’t worry. Skincare routines are entirely what you make of them. If you can’t commit to washing your face two times a day, just start with the evening and see how you feel after a week or two.
Some guys only need to wash their face once a day—anything more would unnecessarily dry their skin out or make them break out. Establishing your skin care routine will require some trial as there’s no one right way to do it.
Think that the excess shampoo you rinse out of your hair is enough to clean your face? Think again. Not only is that soap too harsh for your skin, it’s unlikely that your face is really getting clean by just letting the shampoo slide over it. If you’re scrubbing your face with shampoo, that’s a different problem entirely.
Washing your face daily with a gentle cleanser will help to prevent dirt, oil, and dead skin build up that can lead to acne, black heads, and tired-looking skin. The unfortunate souls who end up on Dr. Pimple Popper are those who never wash their face. The dirt and grime builds up until they look like characters from my nightmares and require surgery to remove the build-up.
Skincare Routine Supplements
Apart from a daily face cleanser and moisturizer, there’s a few add-ins that can go a long way in convincing people you’re experiencing a Benjamin Button-style transformation.
The first is eye cream.
Being a man is hard work. Between our careers, extracurricular activities, relational pursuits, and efforts to look like King Leonidas from 300, it gets tiring quickly and you know what that means?
Dark eye circles: threatening to make every man look like a panda since the dawn of time.
That’s where eye creams come in. These products are designed to lighten and tighten the skin beneath our eyes, taking away that saggy demeanor and replacing it with a fresh, virile look.
Geologie is another great choice if you’re looking to blast your eye bags into oblivion. Their Nourishing Eye Cream is formulated with kojic acid, which lightens the skin and reduces puffiness.
Since we all look into each other’s eyes when we speak, dark eye circles play a huge role in how old we look to others. Keeping that pesky luggage in check is therefore crucially important for looking young and healthy.
Eye creams are designed to be used once a day, typically applied before bed. This allows the cream to work on your dark eye circles overnight without interruption.
While there are scores of different skincare products that can be supplemented to your routine, the other heavy-hitter I’d recommend is retinol. Typically formulated in serums and moisturizers, retinol stimulates skin turnover and collagen production, which removes dead skin and will keep your skin plump and healthy.
You’re probably asking, “Does Geologie have a retinol cream too?” You betcha. Their Repairing Night Cream is a great moisturizer to use after cleaning your face and goes a long way in keeping your pores small and skin happy.
Skincare is a necessity. But customized skincare? Now that's luxury. Take care of your biggest skincare need, whether it's deep wrinkles, dark circles, or acne---Geologie will create a custom formulation with actual skincare ingredients.
2. Drink Water and Lots of It
A brief poll of dudes who don’t like to drink water found several common pain points.
- It doesn’t taste like beer.
- It doesn’t taste like whiskey.
- It doesn’t taste like gin.
While I can’t necessarily argue with these points, I can say that drinking more water will slow and reverse the aging process through a variety of channels.
If you're a soda water lover who appreciates minimalist Scandinavian design, this bad boy really should be on your kitchen counter already.
Our skin is our largest organ, and organs are made up of cells. Cells are made up of mostly water, so they respond to hydration and dehydration quite drastically. Healthy skin is well-hydrated, while unhealthy skin is dehydrated and unbalanced.
Like any other organ, our skin needs a lot of water to function at its best. That’s why I suggest you invest in a big water bottle and make it your best friend and constant companion. Research suggests you drink at least 8 cups of water a day, which is a half gallon.
I recommend way more than that, and research has shown that drinking at least a gallon of water every day can help you store energy, remove toxins, reduce under-eye puffiness, boost your metabolism, and cut unnecessary calories due to your stomach being full more often.
Drinking large volumes of water catalyzes your metabolism into action, which keeps us from gaining unnecessary weight and keeps us looking young and fit. It also activates an enzyme called lipase which is responsible for giving the boot to fat.
More water in your system also helps to flush out toxins that would otherwise end up in your skin to create an uneven complexion and acne. Best of all, drinking all this water can keep your digestive tract happy, leading to regular, pleasant bowel movements.
Who knew that just drinking some water would have all these benefits, right?
If you’re interested in supercharging these healing properties try drinking at least a liter of water on an empty stomach, right when you wake up in the morning.
This has begun to be referred to as water therapy, and kicks the benefits I listed earlier up a notch. Practitioners of water therapy cite glowing, vibrant skin that stays hydrated and blemish-free. I first jumped on this liquidy train in college, when I was faced with an onslaught of acne.
I committed to absolutely pounding a liter of water right when I woke up and within two weeks I basically had a new face. Best of all, this is basically free.
So, while water doesn’t taste like your favorite adult beverage, it does help cut fat, boost your metabolism, vitalize your skin, and help you store energy. The fountain of youth is actually just a plain old water fountain.
Just drink it, dang it.
3. Wear Your Sunscreen
At some point in every man’s life you’ll reach a crossroads. Down one road: getting tan and fitting conventional standards of attractiveness. Down the other: wearing sunscreen and looking like you’re still 25 when you’re 40.
Those with an interest in longevity and a certain distaste for looking like an old leather bag will do the right thing and slather on that ‘screen.
According to a study done by the National Institute of Health, fully 80% of visible aging signs may be attributed to UV exposure. This includes dry skin, wrinkling, and blemishes. In short, getting tan is absolutely horrible for anyone trying to maintain the youth of their skin.
Being in the sun is an interesting paradox. While it’s miserable for our skin, it’s also been shown to extend our lifespans. The general thought is that sun exposure drastically reduces our blood pressure, not to an unhealthy level, however.
This is a benefit to those at risk or suffering from cardiovascular disease, the number one killer worldwide. We also get the benefit of Vitamin D from the sun, which is known to combat depression and have anti-inflammatory properties.
So point being, you need to be in the sun at least a little bit. To protect the wellbeing of your skin, thrown on a little sunscreen. Many moisturizers now come infused with a low SPF to kill two birds with one stone.
The Vital Morning Face Cream is a great example. Throw on a little in the morning and reap the benefit of moisturized skin with UV protection to boot.
Planning a trip to the beach? Don’t forget your sunscreen. There’s a lot of confusion out there regarding the efficacy of high-SPF sunscreens, but an article from Dr. Steve Xu clears up the confusion.
The real issue is not a low or high SPF, but instead the amount of sunscreen we apply. In general, we apply about half as much as we should, and our skin suffers accordingly.
So, what have we learned? Wear your sunscreen now and reap the dividends of healthy, age-proof skin down the road.
4. Exercise More
It’s probably obvious, but regular exercise is a huge factor in preventing aging.
Men were made to move and be active. Our ancestors through the millenia were constantly moving, working, and using their muscles. Hunter-gatherer societies required constant physical expenditure to survive, and even the advent of agriculture still required backbreaking work.
Now I’m certainly not wishing for a return to those periods of history, but modern day humans move around remarkably less. Many of us spend at least 8 hours a day sitting in a chair, which has been linked to a multitude of health problems.
So, why does exercise slow down the aging process?
Regular exercise gets your heart rate up and increases blood flow circulation through your body. This helps to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the skin more effectively, which boosts collagen production and promotes new skin cells for a healthier, more vital appearance.
Not only that, consistently getting your butt off the couch leads to better sleep, which is when our body undergoes restorative actions that keep us young and healthy.
There are endless ways to get more exercise, whether that be running, biking, hitting the gym, HIIT workouts, swimming, intramural sports, or hundreds of other options.
The biggest factor in this is consistency. A single workout won’t land you better sleep or clearer skin, but consistently being active two to three times a week will. Not to mention, getting a physique like Brad Pitt in Fight Club goes a long way in keeping age at bay.
5. Improve your Diet
Improving your diet goes hand in hand with exercising more. Nobody got the body of King Leonidas from 300 by smashing pizza, beer, and donuts. If you’re the kind of guy that relies on frozen dinners, eats out 90% of the time, and still is of the mindset that green foods are gross, I’ve got bad news.
That kind of diet will be counteractive to the exercises you’ve been doing more consistently and will also affect your skin negatively.
Another study from the National Institute of Health found a strong connection between the quality of your diet and the health of your skin.
The first thing they mention is water, like I mentioned above, which maintains your skin’s internal balance and tissue function.
Next is protein, which will be a welcome sight to those who are more gym-inclined. Protein helps maintain the constitution of skin tissues, and also aids in repairing them. It’s also likely the single most important factor in getting yoked out of your mind, like Arnold Schwarzenneger.
There are several vitamins that are excellent for keeping skin healthy and aging running.
- Vitamin A: Commonly used in anti-aging skin products. You can also find high levels of Vitamin A in eggs, carrots, broccoli, and spinach.
- Vitamin C: Linked to collagen synthesis, which keeps the skin bouncy and plump. Foods high in Vitamin C include any type of citrus, peppers, broccoli, and brussels sprouts.
- Vitamin D: Reduces skin inflammation and signs of photoaging. Vitamin D is easily found in yogurt, fish, and egg yolks.
- Vitamin E: Helps reduce skin aging. High levels of Vitamin E are found in almonds, peanuts, spinach, and red bell peppers.
The same study from the National Institute of Health also covers some aging catalysts to be aware of. Foods that are high in fat and sugar are associated with skin inflammation and weight gain.
Also, unfortunately, hooch is one of the worst things for your skin. Alcohol destroys the barrier function of the skin and changes its permeability, meaning toxins, dirt, and grease can get in easier and cause breakouts.
So, where does that leave us?
A diet that’s good for your skin and your six-pack is high in protein, low in fats and sugars, and consists of mostly vegetables. Broccoli and spinach are superfoods packed with vitamins that will support your immune system and skin, and should be staples of any diet.
For reference, the Paleo diet fits this bill perfectly. Sometimes referred to as the caveman diet, it consists of foods that could have only been attained in hunter-gatherer societies: lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
I generally follow a Paleo diet, with some exceptions, and have certainly been rewarded with healthy skin and a clean physique. I don’t feel slow or sluggish after eating because the body is better at breaking down these natural foods than anything that has been highly processed.
Kiss Aging Goodbye
The combined use of these five tips will kick aging’s butt in short order. If nothing else, begin a skincare routine and get comfortable chugging gallons of water, as these will pay huge dividends and are simple to start.
There are thousands of practices out there to prevent aging, but I picked these five because you get massive bang for your buck with little effort.
If you’re not keen on looking like a sundried tomato later in life but don’t know where to start, Geologie provides affordable trials sets that are personalized to your needs. Thoughtful touches like packing in two face washes (one for the shower, and another for the sink) really show that Geologie has my back when it comes to building a routine.
The single most important factor with any of these tips is your consistency. None of these provide instant results, but will keep you looking good for years to come if you resolve to make them habits.
If you enjoyed these tips, share the article with a friend! Nothing keeps you young like helping others.
FAQs
How can men get younger looking skin?
Men can get younger looking skin by wearing sunscreen, moisturizer, and lip balm daily.
Which is better for wrinkles: retinol or hyaluronic acid?
Hyaluronic acid works to repair and hydrate the upper layers of the skin, which can help with wrinkles, but retinol targets the lower levels of the skin to push out deep-set wrinkles that hyaluronic acid would be no match for.
Should I wear sun block every day?
You should wear sunscreen every day. Even when it’s overcast, 80% of the sun’s rays get to your skin and can lead to premature aging, blemishes, and potentially cancer later in life.
