I've been very careful with my skin for my whole life and it's made a big difference now I'm 40. My GF's have been in their 20's and don't care about how old I am because I look so young. I sometimes show them ID because they don't believe me.
A lot of things you do to make your skin look great are things you wouldn't think about. My tips for having great skin at any age:
Change your pillowcase every 2 days. Sleep on 1 side for a night, then flip it and sleep on the other side the next night, then change it. I have 8 pillowcase I am always rotating.
Don't sleep on your side, only sleep on your back. I used to sleep on my side, because it was much more comfortable this way for me. I used to sleep on one side only but then realized it was making my face look bad on that side, so I would take turns sleeping on each side but of course that would make both sides age prematurely by having your skin and muscles compressed and squished for 8 hours a day. Sleep on your side and look at your face when you wake up in the morning, it looks pretty bad. Your facial muscles and wrinkles will look much better if you only sleep on your back and your face is not compressed and can breathe.
Trust me, over time this makes a big difference. At first I had trouble falling asleep on my back, but after a few days I got used to it and my face looks way better this way. I wish I had done this many years ago.
Avoid going out a lot in bright sunny weather, it will kill your skin over time. If you have to, don't use sunscreen, use a BLACK umbrella, it will do a much better job than sunscreen on your face, and it will cover your neck also, plus you avoid all the chemicals. Whenever I am in South East Asia or somewhere else hot and sunny I always carry a BLACK umbrella with me where ever I go, against the sun and rain. I got a model that is small and light enough that I can put it in my cargo shorts pocket when I'm inside. Get this one, I did and it is absolutely tiny and weighs almost nothing. I don't go anywhere without it. You will not be able to live without it once you've got it.
http://www.fultonumbrellas.com/shop/wome...black.html
Always wear dark sunglasses whenever you can. It will protect your eyes and also your skin from squinting and the skin around your eyes will look much better. Even if it is cloudy, take them with you just in case. Using the above umbrella and sunglasses will also allow you to disguise yourself and hide if you have to.
Get a 10X magnifying mirror. I know most guys would never think of something like this, but once again trust me. I stayed at a hotel in Poland a few years ago that had one and once I got used to using it there, once I left I bought one right away and can't survive without one now. If you see your face up close and magnified 10x for the first time, you might be horrified at what you see, but once you clear up the mess you will look much better. Use the 10X mirror as your reference so that if you look good in that you will look amazing in reality. That' what I do. The best one I could find is this one below. It's perfect because it is small enough to travel with and comes with a pouch for that. It has built in LED lights that you can switch on and off if you need to use it in the dark, and uses AAA batteries. It comes with 3 suction cups that you can attach to a wall or mirror and had a retractable stand.
http://www.amazon.com/Danielle-D414-Ulti...or+lighted
Get a blemish removal tool and use it while looking in the above mirror to make your skin as clean and clear as possible. Avoid your fingers, a tool like the one in the link below will do a much better job of getting blackheads and whiteheads out while not making the skin around it red. Once again, I got this tool years ago and couldn't live without it now. It gets rid if blemishes with minimal effort and redness on the skin.
http://www.tweezerman.com/store/product/...care-tool/
Also get a pair of mini tweezers to get any extra hairs on your face out with the help of the mirror. Believe it or not the best tweezers I've found are the ones that come with some swiss army knives. If you go to a store that sells swiss army knives, just ask them for spare tweezers. They usually have them for $2 and last for years.
A lot of American and even European brands of men's cosmetics are garbage after comparing them to Asian ones. I've tried a lot of men's facial cleansers from different brands, and they were OK but nothing special. Strangely the best one I ever used was one and old Japanese GF left behind when she went back there. I was going to throw it out but decided to try it and it was the best one I ever used. I now swear by it and buy it at asian supermarkets. The asians take beauty much more seriously than the USA and even Europe, so they know what they are doing. This one is just an average Japanese brand product that sells for about $10 but it blew away the $30 European one I was using. I was my face with it twice in the shower every night. First time to get rid of dirt and 2nd time to make it absolutely squeaky clean. My face has never been better. You just need a little bit, it foams very well. Best part is that it is not feminine packaging. Try it, and you will hopefully swear by it like I do:
http://www.amazon.com/Shiseido-Sengansen...B001CC1VV2
I agree with a previous poster that tea tree oil does wonders for blemishes. I use it on my oily nose. I put no cream on it. Best of all its natural and works better than chemicals like alcohol and benzoyl peroxide.
Once a week in use the blackhead tool while looking in the magnifying mirror and get rid of all the blemishes that week has given me. Although my face looks red afterwards, I then shower and wash twice and put tea tree oil on it. Then I put polysporin OINTMENT on it and then sleep on my back and the next morning my face looks perfectly clear and not red. Don't pay for facials guys, just buy the tools I show above and do it yourself for nothing once a week and your skin will thank you.
If you do all the things I mention in this very long post, you will hopefully thank me. Do all these things consistently and you will look much better in the long run. Guys with great skin are rare and girls will notice it, trust me!
A lot of things you do to make your skin look great are things you wouldn't think about. My tips for having great skin at any age:
Change your pillowcase every 2 days. Sleep on 1 side for a night, then flip it and sleep on the other side the next night, then change it. I have 8 pillowcase I am always rotating.
Don't sleep on your side, only sleep on your back. I used to sleep on my side, because it was much more comfortable this way for me. I used to sleep on one side only but then realized it was making my face look bad on that side, so I would take turns sleeping on each side but of course that would make both sides age prematurely by having your skin and muscles compressed and squished for 8 hours a day. Sleep on your side and look at your face when you wake up in the morning, it looks pretty bad. Your facial muscles and wrinkles will look much better if you only sleep on your back and your face is not compressed and can breathe.
Trust me, over time this makes a big difference. At first I had trouble falling asleep on my back, but after a few days I got used to it and my face looks way better this way. I wish I had done this many years ago.
Avoid going out a lot in bright sunny weather, it will kill your skin over time. If you have to, don't use sunscreen, use a BLACK umbrella, it will do a much better job than sunscreen on your face, and it will cover your neck also, plus you avoid all the chemicals. Whenever I am in South East Asia or somewhere else hot and sunny I always carry a BLACK umbrella with me where ever I go, against the sun and rain. I got a model that is small and light enough that I can put it in my cargo shorts pocket when I'm inside. Get this one, I did and it is absolutely tiny and weighs almost nothing. I don't go anywhere without it. You will not be able to live without it once you've got it.
http://www.fultonumbrellas.com/shop/wome...black.html
Always wear dark sunglasses whenever you can. It will protect your eyes and also your skin from squinting and the skin around your eyes will look much better. Even if it is cloudy, take them with you just in case. Using the above umbrella and sunglasses will also allow you to disguise yourself and hide if you have to.
Get a 10X magnifying mirror. I know most guys would never think of something like this, but once again trust me. I stayed at a hotel in Poland a few years ago that had one and once I got used to using it there, once I left I bought one right away and can't survive without one now. If you see your face up close and magnified 10x for the first time, you might be horrified at what you see, but once you clear up the mess you will look much better. Use the 10X mirror as your reference so that if you look good in that you will look amazing in reality. That' what I do. The best one I could find is this one below. It's perfect because it is small enough to travel with and comes with a pouch for that. It has built in LED lights that you can switch on and off if you need to use it in the dark, and uses AAA batteries. It comes with 3 suction cups that you can attach to a wall or mirror and had a retractable stand.
http://www.amazon.com/Danielle-D414-Ulti...or+lighted
Get a blemish removal tool and use it while looking in the above mirror to make your skin as clean and clear as possible. Avoid your fingers, a tool like the one in the link below will do a much better job of getting blackheads and whiteheads out while not making the skin around it red. Once again, I got this tool years ago and couldn't live without it now. It gets rid if blemishes with minimal effort and redness on the skin.
http://www.tweezerman.com/store/product/...care-tool/
Also get a pair of mini tweezers to get any extra hairs on your face out with the help of the mirror. Believe it or not the best tweezers I've found are the ones that come with some swiss army knives. If you go to a store that sells swiss army knives, just ask them for spare tweezers. They usually have them for $2 and last for years.
A lot of American and even European brands of men's cosmetics are garbage after comparing them to Asian ones. I've tried a lot of men's facial cleansers from different brands, and they were OK but nothing special. Strangely the best one I ever used was one and old Japanese GF left behind when she went back there. I was going to throw it out but decided to try it and it was the best one I ever used. I now swear by it and buy it at asian supermarkets. The asians take beauty much more seriously than the USA and even Europe, so they know what they are doing. This one is just an average Japanese brand product that sells for about $10 but it blew away the $30 European one I was using. I was my face with it twice in the shower every night. First time to get rid of dirt and 2nd time to make it absolutely squeaky clean. My face has never been better. You just need a little bit, it foams very well. Best part is that it is not feminine packaging. Try it, and you will hopefully swear by it like I do:
http://www.amazon.com/Shiseido-Sengansen...B001CC1VV2
I agree with a previous poster that tea tree oil does wonders for blemishes. I use it on my oily nose. I put no cream on it. Best of all its natural and works better than chemicals like alcohol and benzoyl peroxide.
Once a week in use the blackhead tool while looking in the magnifying mirror and get rid of all the blemishes that week has given me. Although my face looks red afterwards, I then shower and wash twice and put tea tree oil on it. Then I put polysporin OINTMENT on it and then sleep on my back and the next morning my face looks perfectly clear and not red. Don't pay for facials guys, just buy the tools I show above and do it yourself for nothing once a week and your skin will thank you.
If you do all the things I mention in this very long post, you will hopefully thank me. Do all these things consistently and you will look much better in the long run. Guys with great skin are rare and girls will notice it, trust me!