These days, men pay closer attention to how they look and have a lot of the same concerns as women regarding their appearance. Obviously their skin is different, mostly due to the effects of hormones. Different or no, a man’s skin needs to be pampered too—in its own special way.
A question of structure
Skin cells and aging
Men’s skin is generally 20–25% thicker than a woman’s, which has the considerable advantage of delaying the onslaught of wrinkles. Since it contains more collagen, it also stays firmer longer. But don’t get too jealous, ladies. When they do finally appear, men’s wrinkles tend to be deeper and more pronounced.
Natural hydration
A man’s skin secretes twice as much oil as a woman’s, thanks to higher levels of testosterone. Men’s oil glands are thicker, more plentiful, and also more active. This means that their skin has better protection and dries out much less quickly than a woman’s. But it’s also more prone to impurities, blackheads, enlarged pores, and acne.
Hormones and hair follicles
Men have higher androgen levels, which causes their bodies to produce more hair, particularly on the groin, armpits, torso, and chin. Beards alone have 6,000 to 30,000 hairs! In addition to stimulating hair production, hormones also harden hairs in their follicles, making them longer, thicker, and more pigmented. So hormones stimulate hair growth but, strangely enough, can also cause hair loss!
Blood vessels and the nervous system
Men’s skin has more blood vessels and more, thicker capillaries. So although women may be more prone to rosacea, with men the symptoms are much more pronounced. Men’s skin also has more nerve endings, which makes the skin more sensitive and more reactive to pain and weather conditions.