A very bored looking Rakesh was sitting in front of me, looking at the paintings, his phone, my computer. His wife Reena was in the middle of explaining to me how Rakesh does not care for his skin, how he doesn’t apply any of the creams she gives him. His skin is dry, his hair is falling out, the acne, the moles. I listened intently to her. I knew Rakesh, like many other husbands, was dragged to my clinic by a concerned wife, against his will.
After Reena finished, I turned my attention to my reluctant patient.
“So, Rakesh, what is your take on this? What really bothers you out of all this. Let’s treat and address only that first. And how much will you comply with my treatment honestly?”
Asked for his honest opinion, Rakesh relaxed and opened up. Reena had been my patient for more than a year now and they were both familiar with procedures like chemical peels, microneedling which Reena was undergoing.
I knew his “tribe”. The same as my husband. Running away from anything that says beauty on it, packaged in pink, applying too many creams, anything that smelled like flowers. Sigh.
So how does a Dermatologist break that mental barrier and get guys like Rakesh to follow a skin care routine?
In my limited experience, I realised to catch their attention you have to go with science. If it makes sense to them, that this will logically work and also make their wife/ girlfriend happy they will probably do it for a month or two.
For guys like Rakesh I give a hydrating moisturiser cum sunscreen, a medicated facewash and a night cream which will work for both, Acne and pigmentation. Simple, easy. He probably will use only the facewash, I think to myself.
After a month or so when he got good results for his acne Rakesh himself asked me, ” Doc, can we do a peel for these dark spots like we did for Reena? You think it will work for me?” As his pimples had cleared and his skin texture had improved, he himself felt the need to get rid of the hyperpigmented spots.
Then there is the other kind of male. Young and single!
Harsh has already been to couple of Dermatologists, he knows all the treatment options. He is ready to get all the procedures you throw at him and he wants 100% results and fairness and no acne and no scars all his hair to grow back all in the timeframe of 3 months after which is his engagement.
Phew, talk about work pressure.
For Harsh, I started a couple of Oral medications which would give us faster results. I ask him to go slow on the procedures. He wants a procedure every week, and I have to stagger them explaining he does not need so many procedures. Only 3-4. And that he will have to be patient. No point doing unnecessary procedures, no?
After 3 months ( and very sincerely following all his skin care routines and treatments) Harsh got happily engaged. His face was glowing more than his fiancèe’s, just saying.
After his engagement he did not come for treatment for almost a year, showing up two months before his wedding. You cannot imagine my dismay. His acne back, tan and pigmentation back. He had forgotten all about his skin routine and his three monthly follow-up.
I knew we had a challenging two months ahead of us. Back were his 100% demands, and my hopes of 100% adherence to treatment.
So ladies, which category does your ‘better’ half fall in?
Some skin care tips for MEN:
1. Use suitable facewash if you have oily or very dry skin. Wash face twice daily with soap and few more times with plain water.
2. Men who ride bikes or have jobs out in the sun, need to wear physical sun protection in the form of jackets, face mask atleast ( as most don’t prefer sunscreen in my experience. Reapplication is never done.)
3. Avoid rubbing forehead or neck habitually, it leads to pigmentation.
4. Beard care is also important: beards tend to harbour lot of bacteria and proper grooming and cleaning of beards is essential. Bacterial and fungal infection in the beard is common.
5. Shaving acts like a facial for men. It removes the top layer of skin and acts as an exfoliant. Don’t we love the fresh shaved look and aftershave ladies?
6. Atleast apply moisturiser. On full body during winter, nom-comedogenic light on on face during summer.
7. Hair transplants are a common query and is a good optionfor men facing baldness or male pattern hair loss. Male pattern hairloss is happening earlier in 20’s specially in those with family history of baldness. Many treatment options are available for men including anti-hormone pills, lotions, treatments like PRP and peptide injections to name a few.
8. Many night creams with “manly” packaging are also available on the market, as well with dermatologists. I find compliance improves with the kind of packaging of the tube.
9. Fungal infections, acne & scarring are best treated by the Dermatologist. It’s worth a visit guys!
10. At the hair salon, make sure the combs are washed and clean, the razors are new and single use, preferably carry your own trimmer (if not, make sure that the blade of the trimmer has been cleaned). This is a major source of hair and beard infection in men.
I hope you conveyed this to you better half, ladies!
( P.S i would like to acknowledge the contributions of my better half in proof reading and approving this article)
