Posted on 24/04/12, filed under Darren at Mankind | Written by: Darren at Mankind
Acne (whether one spot, a few spots, or a face full) can leave your self confidence shattered and make the everyday things you used to take for granted, such as going to work or hanging out with your mates, an embarrassing and even traumatic ordeal. Acne can cause lasting emotional damage, especially when it unfairly continues into your adult years. You may be seeing acne for the first time in your 20s or 30s and wondering why you’re now being affected.
Earlier, l talked about my own experience of acne, but l recently talked to Murad Skincare Expert, Andrea Craig, to capture her thoughts and to see what can be done to help beat those blemish blues.
Darren at Mankind: Andrea, thanks for taking time out to talk to me. To start with, what really is acne?
Andrea at Murad: Well, acne is a complex, chronic skin problem that affects all age groups and both men and women. It consists of spots and painful bumps on the skin and severe acne may cause scarring.
Darren: Is it a skin problem that most experience at some point in their life?
Andrea: Not everyone does, it affects about 80% of everyone. For many, it’s most noticeable on the face; which is where your acne was Darren, however, acne can occur in other areas of the body too. The back is a common area too, which can really knock your confidence when going on that beach holiday.
Darren: Oh, l can imagine! So, you talked about spots. I’m sure our customers would like to know, is a spot just a spot or are there different types?
Andrea: Well, there’s more than one type. Basically, if you have small, hard bumps with a white centre then you guessed it, you have whiteheads. Pustules are when you have spots with a visible pus and it often be hard to resist popping them. These can be on people’s face, chest or back. Another type of spot are what we call cryts. Now, these are painful lumps under the skin and again, they can be found your face, chest and back.
Darren: We know that not everybody suffers from spots, but why is this exactly? Is it just bad luck or are there other reasons?
Andrea: It’s hard to understand why; but it’s not really down to ‘luck’. At the heart of acne is sebum production and acne develops when glands become stimulated and over-produce the body’s natural oil (called sebum). Dead skin cells build up and fall into the follicle, then mix with the sebum, forming a spot.
Who gets spots depends on hormones, genetics, environment and also habits.
To take the first one, whether you’re a boy, girl, man or woman – hormone levels change and when testosterone levels are higher they may cause acne as those glands are being stimulated. You can also inherit acne, though it’s not scientifically proven. Another factor contributing towards acne can be the environment. The nasties in the air can ravage our skin and cause acne, particularly if you live in the city or just love the sun. Finally, if you go to the gym quite a bit, then the sweat that builds between skin and your gym clothes can awaken acne-causing bacteria. So, post-workout it’s important to grab a shower and quickly change your clothes.
Darren: So quite a few different things to keep an eye out for then. I’d say that stress can be an issue too, especially when your younger and you go through the dreaded May exams in school!
l only had acne on the face, but others get it on their back too. Is back acne very common?
Andrea: Yes, back acne is very common. It’s because the pores are larger on our back and produce more oil than those on the face, which can produce more severe acne, such as cysts, more frequently. I would say that back acne is even worse for guys, and some of your customers may suffer for longer with ‘bacne’ due to your higher levels of testosterone, which can make acne worse. Considering all this, having a normal life may feel almost impossible. You can also get acne on your chest, sometimes caused by sweating in the gym or sweating in the heat of the sun.
Darren: For customers affected by acne, either on the face or maybe their back- how can they beat it?
Andrea: In order to treat acne successfully, it’s really important that you consider all the factors that may be causing the outbreaks and may be aggravating the condition. The solution is Inclusive Health; addressing the whole body to support all aspects of a healthy lifestyle.
And addressing health at a cellular level has a profound effect on the skin and the whole body. Dr. Howard Murad developed the Science of Cellular Water, which simply put, looks at your cells ability to hold water. To improve cell’s ability to hold water, we need to adopt an Inclusive Health lifestyle. This is a three-pronged approach to skincare and healthcare, looking at topical, internal and emotional care.
Topical Care: using the best and most appropriate topical products on your skin.
Internal Care: this includes good nutrition, taking supplements and exercising, which all have an effect on your skin. A little tip here for you, the health of your skin is 80% from internal health, so food and supplements are most important in having good skin.
Emotional Care: is equally as important as the other two prongs. This includes the feel-good services offered at spas, stress reduction activities and support groups to nurture the psyche. Just spending time with your friends and experiencing the gut-wrenching laughter that only your friends can provide really has a positive effect on your skin.
Darren: So, which Murad products tackle blemishes the best?
Andrea: Well, if you have any back or body acne the Blemish Body Wash and Clarifying Body Spray will help control body breakouts and prevent future ones from reoccurring. And the Spray has a 360 degree spray to get to those hard to reach areas.
To fight blemishes from the inside out Pure Skin Supplements will be your new best friend. They are clinically proven to reduce blemishes by 55% in six weeks and they’re also brilliant for encouraging healthy, strong skin which means blemishes heal faster and any scarring will fade quicker.
For the face, the whole Blemish Control range works wonders. For the odd, pesky spot try Blemish Spot Treatment. Those of you with very oily skins will love our Oil Control Mattifier SPF 15 which hydrates and control oil for u to eight hours; it really is a miracle product. And for skins with regular acne breakouts the Clarifying Cleanser and Exfoliating Blemish Gel will blast your blemish troubles away. Remember, all these products contain Dr Murad’s high-performance, pharmaceutical-grade ingredients which have the power to change your skin concerns. So use small amounts, go slow and don’t overdo it!
Darren: That’s really helpful, thanks. One final question…….does chocolate really cause acne….?!
Andrea: No! And neither does poor hygiene (another myth!) – in fact, washing too much can make the problem worse!
Darren: Andrea, thanks for taking the time to talk to me.
Do you have any questions or feedback for Andrea? Add a comment below or write on our confidential male-grooming forum and l’ll forward anything on to Andrea. We also have our Mankind Twitter and Mankind Facebook communities.
Darren | Mankind
Posted on 10/04/12, filed under Darren at Mankind | Written by: Darren at Mankind
Anthony Logistics Glycolic Cleanser
What’s a cleanser? What is the difference between a cleanser and a scrub? Where do they both fit into my shaving regime? These are just some of the many questions we get asked, and we’ve invited Anthony Logistics, below, to briefly shed some light on them.
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As men, we are focused on shaving. For many of us, shaving cream is the only thing we put on our face every day. And some men think that’s good enough. But they’re wrong.
If you want to look sharp, you have to start with the basics. And the first step of any skincare regimen is cleansing your face with the right product.
A cleanser isn’t just about suds and bubbles. It’s about removing oil and dirt that can pack into your pores and cause breakouts. It’s about getting rid of the dry skin and flaky bits that can make you look tired and older. And for those of us who shave, cleansing helps soften and release beard hairs – so you can get a much closer shave.
Anthony Logistics is known for our best-selling Glycolic Facial Cleanser. This best-seller looks like a lotion because it doesn’t have harsh foaming ingredients that can dry out the skin. It also has glycolic acid, to soften your beard and prevent ingrown hairs. You may not realize that razor burn can be tackled by better pre-shave skincare, but it makes a big difference.
Want to take it up a notch? A face scrub is the next step in making your face look spic and span. A scrub – or as we also call them, an exfoliator – physically scours the face. It is the extra “elbow grease” you need to get rid of the dead skin cells that can submerge beard hairs. Release the hairs and get a closer shave. Scrubs also get rid of the packed-in gunk that can causeblackheads or make your pores look bigger.
You don’t want to over-use scrubs though. We recommend 1 to 2 times per week after you cleanse and right before you shave. Your cleanser will keep your face tidy the rest of the week. Cleansers are formulated to be used daily. So before you upgrade to a scrub, make sure you are using your cleanser regularly to get rid of dirt and grime.
Bottom line? A freshly scrubbed mug doesn’t just look good – it makes for a great shave that is easier on your skin. You wouldn’t shower without washing. Well, don’t shave without cleansing. A little tip from us to you.
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Thanks Anthony Logistics. As ever, we have our forum, Facebook or Twitter pages available for any discussion. Or, if you prefer – add a comment below!
Darren | Mankind
Posted on 15/03/12, filed under Darren at Mankind | Written by: Darren at Mankind
Here at Mankind, we always like to hear about the experiences of our customers. Recently, long-standing Customer, David Rouse (or Rousey, as known on the forum)contacted me with his views on the Jack Black RX Series Protein Booster Skin Serum.
David Rouse’s story…
By way of an introduction, l’m 53 years old and l’ve been a customer of Mankind for about ten years. Since my early 20’s I’ve developed quite a passion for skin care, which first started back when l had acne as a teenager in the 70’s. Back then skincare for men was non-existent and the only treatment for acne was “Clearasil”!
When I was younger, l remember my skin being mega oily, but now in my 50’s I would class it as combination. The plus side of an oily skin (and good genes) is that for my age I have relatively few wrinkles.
Jack Black’s RX Series Protein Booster Skin Serum
I am a recent convert to the Jack Black Double Duty moisturiser. A great product; light yet moisturising and good sun protection. As a fan of this product I thought I would try the RX Series Protein Booster Skin Serum because l’m very keen to improve my skin tone, which often prone to redness.
When it arrived, l was pleased to see that the packaging reflected the expensive price tag. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting this from Jack Black, whose packaging is normally more functional than cosmetic!
On the first application l noticed that the look and feel of the serum is quiet different to any other product; it’s very free flowing (low viscosity) and almost the colour of white wine. I can’t pick up any noticeable odour and one pump covered my complete face and neck. It absorbs very easily despite having an oily feel to it. At this stage, I would say if you have an oily skin then the serum would probably be adequate on its own, but as don’t l was able to apply the Double Duty moisturiser on top.
Almost from day one, I saw an improvement in both the look and feel of my skin, with it looking much more even toned. This continued and after two weeks of application l was pleased to be seeing a very even skin tone. I was also pleased to see that my skin no longer had any dry patches and neither did the serum make areas more oily than before. As mentioned, I’m lucky in the wrinkle stakes- however I didn’t see any changes in the wrinkles I do have- in particular my neck area, which is beginning to go a bit “crappy”.
After almost religiously applying the product day and night for the last two weeks, l can say that this is a really great product, which has improved my skin tone dramatically, with using AHA’s etc.
Is the serum worth 47 quid? I believe the value to anything you buy is always how much of a benefit it will be to you and for me Jack Black’s RX Series Protein Booster Skin Serum will definitely be a repurchase!
I hope this review is useful and l welcome any feedback, either by adding a comment below, or by joining me on the forum >
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Thanks, David!
Darren | Mankind
Posted on 12/03/12, filed under Darren at Mankind | Written by: Darren at Mankind
Cell Dynamic Range
Just recently, we had the pleasure of meeting luxury skincare brand, NuBo – who visited our office, and with it came the opportunity for them to talk a bit about their advanced products. This is a company that’s incredibly proud about their brand and the products that they sell, and rightly so – with music king Simon Cowell being one of their many high profile customers!
NuBo is well known for having one of the most powerful anti-ageing solutions on the market, using some fantastic high-end ingredients. The ingredients in their Cell Dynamic range work together to re-invigorate the skin both on the surface, but also beneath – stimulating the production of water (re-hydrates skin), collagen (repairing properties) and oxygen (energises skin). What all this means is that your skin should start to feel revived and appear younger. Their Cell Dynamic range is one of Simon’s firm favourites and just recently ‘The Essence’ won ‘Best Moisturiser/Serum’ at the Shortlist.com Men’s Grooming Awards 2011. Impressive!
Ice Glow Mask
Another star product in their premium range is this White Diamond Ice-Glow Mask, which has been a sell out in the Gentleman’s Lounge in Harrods. The jar feels quite solid and the texture of the mask is quite rich and creamy. When applied to the face, it gives a reassuring ‘ice cooling’ effect, which you’d be forgiven in thinking sounds quite painful. Infact, it really isn’t and it works a dream- whether you’re using it to freshen up after the week’s commute or using its healing properties of Oxygen to repair the skin from shaving damage. It’s one of the best face masks l’ve come across and unlike their other products, you can feel the effects of it instantly – making it a perfect introduction to their range.
Darren | Mankind
Posted on 05/03/12, filed under Darren at Mankind | Written by: Darren at Mankind
Andrew Petrou - Skin Doctors
Eyes are quite often the first area to show the signs of ageing, but it’s also the most delicate. I recently had the opportunity to meet up with eye care specialist Andrew Petrou to dig a bit deeper into the world of eye care.
Andrew works for
Skin Doctors, who currently sell the scientifically acclaimed
Eye Tuck, which is great for giving brighter, smoother and less puffy eyes.
Darren at Mankind: Andrew, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. To start, perhaps you can tell us why the eye area is more delicate than the rest of the face?
Andrew at Skin Doctors: You’re welcome, it’s a pleasure. The eye area is more delicate because it has virtually no
sebaceous glands, which makes it highly prone to dryness. It is much thinner, and stressed by frequent eye movements and squinting, so it becomes prone to expression lines and wrinkles and may become sensitive.
Darren: I’ve sometimes found that the area can be quite prone to puffiness and dark circles too. Why?
Andrew:There are a few reasons, but it’s mostly because the skin around the eyes overlies a particularly dense capillary network and has minimal fat padding, so the puffiness and dark circles you talk about become more visible.
You can trace early-morning puffiness to activities of the previous day – you drank too much fluids at bedtime, ate salty foods, spent all day with head bent over in the garden or stayed up half the night!
The worst of the ‘swelling’ subsides after been up for a while as the fluid is reabsorbed by your body. Persistent puffiness can be due to varying severity of poor lymphatic circulation and increased capillary permeability.
Caffeine has long been touted as the ingredient to help reduce puffiness, botanicals such as
chamomile can also help as do tannins (from tea). Look for gel/serum like textures as these can deliver ingredients quickly and wont overload the area.
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Darren: Okay great and what about dark circles? What can some of our customers do to deal with it?
Andrew: Most people associate this with tiredness, stress or sleepless nights. The key reason for these, however, is genetics. What you inherit is the predisposition of weakened
capillaries in the skin around your eyes. Blood ‘leaks’ from these and the dicolouration is caused by the ineffective breakdown of the blood. A lack of circulation, resulting in less oxygenated blood in the area is also a major contributor. Of course, a hectic lifestyle does not help, so add pollution and smoking to the major causes and you simply looking at an exacerbated problem.
There are some ingredients that can assist by neutralising the appearance of dark pigmentation caused by
bilirubin (biodegraded blood) and iron. Vitamin K1 has also been shown to help with blood coagulation and may have a positive effect on repairing the capillary wall thus strengthening weakened capillaries. Some botanicals can also assist in brightening the skin, hence minimising the look of dark circles. Many eye creams also include optical ‘diffusers’ that help to scatter light away from the problem thus making the skin appear brighter.
Darren: Just bouncing back to the start, you said earlier that the eye area is prone to dryness. What can our customers do to help fight this?
Andrew: Well, if they do only one thing for the eye area, it would be to keep it
moisturised. Seriously. Dryness can often be a precursor to sensitivity, so moisturisation is a basic essential. Of course, given our current technologies, you can combine basic moisture with ingredients geared towards specific concerns. Also, wear
sunglasses where possible!
Darren: We talked about one of those concerns, puffiness a moment or so ago. Another problem our customers have is fine lines and wrinkles, but what would you say causes these?
Andrew: Well, it’s hard to give a single cause for fine lines and wrinkles because there are just so many possible ones. We do know that the sun causes most damage by increasing
free-radical activity, damaging collagen etc. Smoking also, increases free-radicals. Then there are expression lines and wrinkles, caused by repeated ‘wear and tear’ when we make a host of facial expressions.
Darren: Ah yes, l think they’re politely called laughter lines aren’t they! So, are there any specific ingredients that our customers should be looking out for to help diminish these lines?
Andrew: Well, Vitamin A (retinol) helps to diminish this. Recent advances have allowed a multiple number of ingredients to be micronized and combined for specific eye are use. Glycolisation is the process whereby the collagen and fibres become rigid, so avoid sugar.
Skin Doctors Eye Tuck
There are some anti-ageing ones too. Look for ones with broad UVA/UVB filters and anti-oxidants, these should not be negotiable (common types are vitamin A, C, E, but there are several others that are effective, such as glutathione and co-enzyme).
Darren: Very interesting! So, we’ve talked quite a bit about the ingredients customers should look for when buying eye care products. Out of interest, what would you say have been the biggest breakthroughs in this market, not just in terms of ingredients but also formulas, application methods, etc?
Andrew: As with the whole skincare market, advances have been staggering. The huge rise in cosmeceutical strength formulas on the market have made finding super products that much easier. Ingredients previously thought to be to harsh for this area have been incorporated into formulas, like encapsulated retinol (Tagravit R). Peptide technology is also making its way into eye care formulas, like Matrixyl 3000 for lines, and Tetrapeptide-5 has been shown to have a draining effect on the area under the eyes. Previously incompatible ingredients have been combined. You also have advances in plant stem cells that have made it into eye area formulas. The role of genetics and how damage to cellular DNA can be addressed is huge at the moment.
Darren: Wow, so it sounds like there’s plenty to keep us on our toes! Andrew, thanks for taking the time to talk to us – you’ve been great.
Do you have any questions or feedback for Andrew? Add a comment below or write on our
forum and Andrew will personally respond to each.
>> Look out for information about our new competition (coming soon!), when we’ll be giving away several free
Skin Doctors Eye Tucks, each worth over £30- to help get you on your away to looking great for Summer!
Darren | Mankind
