New Year’s resolutions, or maybe not…

Posted on 05/01/12, filed under Darren at Mankind | Written by: Darren at Mankind

Another year is here and once again thoughts have turned to New Year’s resolutions. I can’t say l follow the crowd when it comes to creating New Year’s resolutions – l find it all a bit bland in a ‘here we go again’ kind of way. Instead – l prefer to follow a single life aim, which is a lot less pushy and time constrained than a New Year’s resolution is.

My life aim is quite a simple one, but it is to be honest, to explore and to achieve in everything l do. A few months ago l blogged about my ‘Running to the beat….’ and this firmly ticked the ‘to explore, to achieve’ boxes. And, I suppose the ‘honest’ box too- in that l didn’t cheat (though tempting as it was at the time!). My attitude towards male grooming products very much matches my life aim too.

When it comes to male grooming, l consider myself an ‘explorer’, who always likes to try new products, brands and techniques. During these last 12 months we’ve had quite a few new brands join Mankind, for example, 6630, Elemental Herbology, Hairbondand with it have come the opportunities to try, try, try. I also expect my male grooming products to be honest about what they’re about and the ingredients that they contain. Finally, rather like ambition- l’m always keen to find products that better the one being used at the moment (…and of course, this doesn’t always happen!).

To take the theme of ‘exploring’ – l’ve recently been giving the new Terrance Conran Bath and Body range a try. I’ve always been a Molton Brown fan (as previously blogged, here), but l’ve recently switched to using the new unisex ‘1’ product in their new range. Rather like the Black Pepper, it has a warming spicey scent about it – but one that isn’t as heavy as that by Molton Brown. Each number has a different fragrance and ‘2’ comes packed with a clean, watery, lemony, fresh cut flower scent. I have one of each fragrance and l find that they complement each other very nicely. My visitors also seem to like it too, passing comment after they’ve tried it for themselves.

Another brand that l’m currently enjoying is ‘Milk Skincare’. Milk has been personally researched, tested and created by Michael Kilm- who, if you don’t know, is a world record holder swimming and three-time Olympian, with two gold medals. This immediately makes it a very functional product range, which is great if you’re sporty or always generally on the move. But unlike other functional products, this has very natural ingredients, such as brown seaweed and algae extracts- taken from the sea, which your skin will appreciate the benefits of after a good workout. These same ingredients are often used in SPAs because of their body benefits.

Finally, supplements. Just as l like to be careful about what l put on my body, l also like to be careful about what l put in it! After all, it’s a well-known fact that drinking plenty of water, eating plenty of fruit and vegetables can do a great job of promoting healthy skin cells. To help this along, these Anthony Logistics Inside Skin Capsules are packed with eight honest ingredients to really help keep your skin in good health. They’re particularly helpful during those heavy weeks at work, when convenience really is everything.

Of course, there are a lot of other products l could talk about, but maybe you have some that you’d like to share? ‘Add a comment’ below or contribute on our forum…..

Darren | Mankind

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Merry Christmas from Mankind

Posted on 23/12/11, filed under Darren at Mankind | Written by: Darren at Mankind

This is probably the shortest blog post in a while, but on behalf of the entire Mankind team- we wish all our customers and followers a restful holiday and a new year filled with happiness, good health and prosperity.

Darren | Mankind

Acne- the bruise to the male ego!

Posted on 22/12/11, filed under Darren at Mankind | Written by: Darren at Mankind

Search online for ‘acne’ and you’ll find countless ‘help articles’ on the subject, though nothing can compare to our own How to guide…(…obviously!). But, there’s very little written about life ‘post acne’ and how to deal with the scaring that comes from it, so with that in mind I thought l’d share some of my experience……

Four in five teenagers get some form of acne and for some, it continues (or even starts) in later life. Though l suffered the odd spot or two during my teenage years, it didn’t really peak until l was 18/19, when it really began to knock my confidence at a time when l was supposed to be leading quite an innocent and fun life at University!

At this time, the spots became incredibly raw and l remember my pillow resembling a dot to dot pattern, as they used to uncontrollably burst overnight. It wasn’t very pleasant and it was at that stage l decided to see a consultant dermatologist at my local hospital.

Up until that point l had been using all sorts of different on-the-shelf supermarket and pharmacy based solutions (of the benzoyl peroxide sort), but it became clear that l needed something stronger, something which went beneath the skins surface. She recommended roaccutane. This is a form of vitamin A that works to reduce the amount of oil released by the skin’s oil glands and in the process, helping the skin to renew itself more quickly.

I was a bit nervous about taking this, as it comes with severe after effects, such as birth defects, feelings of depression and thoughts of suicide. I can’t say l experienced any of this, but it did make my skin incredibly dry and nose bleeds where frequent (…along with headaches)! I also couldn’t expose my skin to any direct sun during (3/4months) and after treatment (6-12months) without applying at least a factor 15 sun lotion.

Post treatment, l found that my skin became perfect, and that isn’t an exaggeration. But now l was left with all unsightly acne scars across my face. What to do…! After looking around the internet l could see two clear options – laser resurfacing or a chemical peel. After looking at the pros and cons for each, l set my sight on the chemical peel at a centre in Birmingham.

A chemical peel works by removing the outer layer of the skin to encourage the formation of a new, smoother layer of skin which is much fresher. I remember the treatment taking around half an hour and l had two treatments, spread across a few months. It really was painless and l was able to return to work quite quickly, with just a slightly red face. I remember we had quite a sunny spell at the time, so l pretended it was sunburn to anybody that asked! I did need to be careful with the sun though, wearing sun protection at all times – but l was well rehearsed in doing this following the earlier Roaccutane treatment!

Today, all of this is now behind me *phew*, but it was a very difficult time, especially emotionally. I really do sympathise with anybody who suffers from acne, especially in the severe form like l did.

Looking back, l could have probably avoided the severe roaccutane treatment (and later on, the chemical peel) had l have chosen more effective and targeted acne solutions in the early stages. You can buy these products individually, or as part of a single, easy to manage kit. Acne specialists, Murad, provide an excellent and convenient Acne Complex Clear Skin Kit, which has some truly excellent customer reviews.

If you’d rather by these products individually- then you’ll want to start by buying a targeted and gentle facial cleaner to clean the surface of the skin from excess oil. The Korres White Tea Cleanser or Anthony Acne Cleanser are two great products for this, which aren’t too harsh for the face. You’ll also want to use a good facial scrub, one or twice a week, which will really help to remove any dead skin cells and brighten your appearance. New brand, Dr Hauschka and their clay face mask is worth a try . It has natural extracts of nasturtium and witch haze, both great for drawing out any in ground dirt, which may otherwise stop your skin from breathing! To attack specific spots, then give this Phytomer Oligopur Anti-Belemish Target Gel a try.

Regardless of whether you have acne or not, a good moisturiser is essential! Those with acne wrongly assume that a moisturiser can add to the problem, rather than help it. A moisturiser provides the skin with a much needed drink, which we all need when we’re feeling dry (which is what most acne products leave the skin feeling). This REN ClearCalm 3 is a nice, light moisturiser for acne skin and it’s packed with some really good ingredients, such as Liquorice and mayblossom extract, along with Salicilin – to really help your skin shine (and not the oily sort! ). Other suitable moisturisers can be found here >>

Although my acne has passed, it taught me some good lessons about how to look after my skin, which will last a life time.

I welcome any comments to this article, either by adding a comment below, or writing on our forum. Maybe you’d like to share your experience- maybe you suffer from acne at the moment. What’s working (…or did do) for you?

Darren | Mankind