All posts tagged: skincare

The First Crop of the New and Improved Sunscreen Formulas Is Finally Here

The First Crop of the New and Improved Sunscreen Formulas Is Finally Here

Published by Jenni Sidey

I’ve been spoiled. After traveling extensively to South Korea over the past few years—including living there for months at a time—I’ve grown accustomed to sunscreen formulas that spread easily and feel like second skin. Frankly, I developed a blind spot when it came to American SPF complaints. Chalky textures, greasy finishes, and white casts that leave you looking like a ghost? It all sounded a touch dramatic… until I ran out of my Korean stash. After months of rotating through American formulas that make me want to wash my face the second I apply them, consider me humbled. Finding a Goldilocks SPF isn’t always so simple stateside—and I get why so many people are reluctant to apply sun protection daily. Fortunately, the American sunscreen aisle is finally getting a refresh that may start to give international formulas a run for their money. It might just appease critics like me, too. In June, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added bemotrizinol to its list of permitted sunscreen active ingredients, giving U.S. brands the chance to update …

13 Best-in-Class Grooming Upgrades, One Unbeatable Price

13 Best-in-Class Grooming Upgrades, One Unbeatable Price

Published by Jenni Sidey

The GQ Grooming Reserve Box is your head-to-toe routine, sorted. This limited-edition collection of products is valued at more than $340, but as a GQ reader, it can be yours for just $65 with code GQGROOMING. We’ve long believed that the right grooming products should make getting ready each morning—and winding down each evening—feel more like a ritual than a routine. We also believe that said products shouldn’t cost you and arm and a leg—or waste precious AM/PM time in the process. Instead, they should streamline your day-to-day GRWM so you can actually revel in the experience (to say nothing of the results). At least, that’s the thinking behind the carefully-selected assortment of products in our Limited-Edition Grooming Reserve Box. Here’s to looking good, feeling great, and making every second count. —The Editors of GQ Oh, and if you haven’t subscribed to the GQ Box yet, here’s the gist: every quarter, your friendly neighborhood GQ editors try dozens of products, cherry-pick our absolute favorites, and curate a grab-bag (or, uh, grab-box) of the gear, gadgets, …

Do You Actually Need to Wash Your Face Twice a Day?

Do You Actually Need to Wash Your Face Twice a Day?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Even if your skincare regimen lasts no longer than 60 seconds, chances are you’ve been washing your face morning and night on autopilot for years. But unlike brushing your teeth twice daily, this cadence isn’t exactly gospel. While some guys could use the extra wash, others would do just fine—better, even—replacing one of those cleanses with a simple splash of water. So which camp are you in? Your skin type has a lot to do with it—but so do your workouts, the weather, and what you slathered on your face the night before. When a single daily cleanse will suffice One grooming rule worth sticking to? Washing your face every night, without fail. “By the end of the day, oil, dirt, sweat, and other impurities have had time to build up on the skin, making it important to wash your face with a gentle cleanser before bed,” says Whitney Hovenic, MD, a board-certified dermatologist, Mohs surgeon, and co-founder of SPOOGE. Your morning cleanse is more negotiable. According to Antony Nakhla, MD, a double-board certified dermatologist, …

Where to Save—and Where to Splurge—in Your Skincare Regimen

Where to Save—and Where to Splurge—in Your Skincare Regimen

Published by Jenni Sidey

So you’ve decided to upgrade your skincare regimen from bar soap and body lotion alone. Good call. But whether you’re at CVS or Sephora, things can get confusing—and expensive—fast. A cleanser can set you back $6 or $60. A serum could cost you as much as a sandwich or more than a dinner for two. When you’re serious about building a better skincare routine, it pays to know where your money actually matters. Sometimes the cheap bottle at CVS will do just fine. Other times, spending more gets you a formulation that’s genuinely worth the upgrade. To help separate smart splurges from skincare markups, we asked two dermatologists where it’s worth opening your wallet and where you can safely save your cash. Save: Cleanser Your cleanser doesn’t need to cost more than your lunch. Its job is simple: remove sweat, oil, and buildup without stripping your skin. “Since it spends very little time on the skin and is not designed to penetrate the skin barrier, this is a smart place to save money,” says Dendy …

Men Are Tanning Again. I Got a 0 Spray Tan—And Now I Understand Why

Men Are Tanning Again. I Got a $500 Spray Tan—And Now I Understand Why

Published by Jenni Sidey

“Our Age of Bronze is collapsing,” warns Odysseus, in the summer blockbuster of the year. Maybe for the Ithacans. But if you look around the world of men’s style, bronzed is back. Matt Damon seems to have kept his Mediterranean glow for the whole Odyssey press tour. Yung Lean went to Paris Fashion Week looking downright sun-kissed. A J.Crew summer campaign featured models as scantily clad camp counselors with a laissez-faire approach to sunscreen. In 2020, Timothée Chalamet lamented to GQ that he looked “all pale” in paparazzi photos of him on a boat, but in a beach photo shoot this year, he had some nice color. Erling Haaland posted his cherry red nose and captioned it: ☀️ All this celebrity sun worship might mark a turning point after a decade of warnings about sun exposure reached a fever pitch. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that everyone use sunscreen every day on all skin not covered by clothing to reduce the risk of skin cancer. Around Covid, as people were shut indoors staring at …

How to Treat Rosacea, According to Experts

How to Treat Rosacea, According to Experts

Published by Jenni Sidey

“People with rosacea are more likely to have a family history of the condition than people without,” says Claudia Barthelemy Bernardo, facialist and founder of The Healthy Skin Room. “Other things that can potentially trigger it include spicy food, alcohol, caffeine, heat and UV exposure, change of climate, stress, and parasites found on the skin and in the gut.” “Some medications and existing medical conditions can exacerbate rosacea symptoms,” says Trotman. “IBS, SIBO, hormonal fluctuations, and allergies can make them worse. If you’re not sure, it’s always worth speaking to your GP or a healthcare professional.” How do you calm rosacea? If you’re getting all the symptoms for rosacea, there are a few soothers in the tank. “The first thing that you should do is identify and avoid any foods, drinks, and environmental factors that could be causing the flare ups,” says Alexandra Mills, skincare expert at AM Aesthetics. “Use mild, non-irritating cleansers and moisturizers, and avoid products with alcohol, witch hazel, menthol, and fragrances. You should also apply broad-spectrum sunscreen daily, even on cloudy …

How Often Should You Get a Haircut?

How Often Should You Get a Haircut?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Whether you have a fade, shoulder-length locks, or a mullet, you’re going to need to maintain a steady flow of maintenance haircuts. Hell, even bald guys need to regularly shave their head to avoid making it look like they’re still hanging on to those last remaining follicles. There’s no single correct answer for how often you should get a haircut, but depending on your hairstyle, there are definitely ranges. “Every haircut has a different lifespan,” Julius Arriola, cofounder of the haircare brand STMNT and a celebrity barber who goes by Julius Cvesar, says. “It depends on many factors—whether it’s built around precision detailing, varying lengths, texture, or simply an individual’s natural hair growth rate.” One good way to tell when it’s time to get back into the barber’s chair: looking in the mirror and thinking I’m looking a little unkempt. It’s only a matter of time before a grown-out buzzcut starts to make you look like a mature Chia Pet or a mullet becomes less fashion statement and more an omission of extremely lax personal …

Pore substitute: can AI be trusted when it comes to skincare advice?

Pore substitute: can AI be trusted when it comes to skincare advice?

Published by Sam Flores

Who among us has not, in a moment of panic or curiosity, consulted the internet in search of solutions to a medical ailment? Increasingly, people are turning to AI for health advice, and skincare is no exception. Purpose-built apps promise to identify that rash, while people are sending selfies to AI chatbots seeking “full skincare analysis” and personalised regimens of treatments. On Reddit forums, people post before and after shots of the results from their AI-recommended skin routines. Given the significant cost of seeing a dermatologist – about $230 out of pocket in Australia, on average, it’s no wonder some are taking skincare into their own hands by using AI as a tool. But too often the advice these chatbots provide isn’t spot on. AI ‘doesn’t have a brain’ “I can understand the urge to upload photos,” says Dr Michelle Wong, a cosmetic chemist and science educator who runs Lab Muffin Beauty Science. But she cites the sci-fi writer Ted Chiang, who once described the output of ChatGPT “as a blurry Jpeg of all the …

How to Wash Your Hair Like You Mean It

How to Wash Your Hair Like You Mean It

Published by Jenni Sidey

Many guys breeze through hair washing with utilitarian speed, but a half-hearted lather and rinse won’t do your hair any favors. While shampooing is perhaps the lowest maintenance part of a grooming routine, it still pays to learn how to do it correctly—especially if it’s something you’ve been doing on autopilot for years. We asked top stylists for a master class on how to wash your hair like a pro. Ahead, discover 10 tips and tricks that lead to a balanced scalp and healthier hair. 1. Find the right shampoo Lots of guys pick a shampoo based on how it smells or what the bottle looks like. (Or, if your grooming routine is a little less dialed in, perhaps you opt for the utility of a 3-in-1 product. For whoever needs to hear it: You deserve better.) But according to stylist Rogerio Cavalcante, founder of Brazil Edition and owner of The Second Floor Salon in New York City, you should choose your shampoo based on your scalp condition. “If your scalp gets oily quickly, go …

Product overload! Has your skincare routine gone too far?

Product overload! Has your skincare routine gone too far?

Published by Sam Flores

It often starts innocuously: a small cluster of spots around the mouth, easily dismissed as a hormonal breakout or a reaction to something you have eaten. But this is how perioral dermatitis shows up – quietly, persistently and seemingly more frequently. “It’s quickly become one of the most common inflammatory conditions I treat,” says Dr Anjali Mahto, a consultant dermatologist and founder of the Self London clinic. Reddit threads on the subject run to thousands of posts, TikTok is awash with people documenting flare-ups, and actor Amanda Seyfried has spoken publicly about dealing with it. A recent report in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology confirmed the condition is on the rise. Meanwhile, the global market for perioral dermatitis treatments is growing. I realised it is becoming increasingly common the slow way. What I assumed was a fleeting breakout lingered for weeks, resisting every serum, cream and mask I threw at it. In trying to fix it, I made it worse – layering on actives and, in a moment of panic, even reaching …