Men’s Skincare Routine: 3 Steps and What Sunscreen Really Costs

The 3-Step Routine

Step 1: Wash your face (morning and night)

Use a gentle facial cleanser and lukewarm water, not regular bar soap. The AAD’s reason is simple: bar soap often contains harsh ingredients that dry the skin. Apply the cleanser with your fingertips, skip the washcloth or sponge, and don’t scrub. Rinse, then pat dry with a soft towel.

Twice a day is enough. Add a wash after heavy sweating, especially if you wore a hat or helmet, because sweat left on the skin irritates it. Source: AAD, Face washing 101.

Step 2: Moisturize (morning and night)

Moisturizer traps water in the skin. The AAD says that can reduce the look of fine lines and make skin look brighter. Timing matters more than price: put it on right after you shower or shave, while the skin is still damp.

If you break out easily, look for “oil free” or “non-comedogenic” on the label. If products sting, buy “fragrance free”. Don’t treat “unscented” as the same thing. The AAD warns that many unscented products contain masking fragrances that can still irritate. Source: AAD, Skin care tips for men.

Step 3: Sunscreen (every morning)

The AAD recommends a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher on all exposed skin, including your ears, neck, scalp and lips. Apply it about 15 minutes before you go out. If you stay outside, reapply every two hours and right after swimming or sweating. Sources: AAD, Skin care tips for men; AAD, How to apply sunscreen. For filters, SPF labels and formats, see our sunscreen guide for men.

That’s the routine: about five minutes a day. Everything else in this guide is optional.

The Sunscreen Math Nobody Prints on the Tube

Cancer Council Australia puts a number on it: an average adult needs about 35 ml for full-body coverage: at least one teaspoon each for the arms, legs, front, back, and face, neck and ears (Cancer Council Australia, sunscreen advice). One teaspoon is 5 ml.

Put that next to a typical face sunscreen and the numbers get uncomfortable. A 1.7 oz tube holds roughly 50 ml. At 5 ml a morning, that is about 10 days, not three months. If one tube lasts you a whole season, you are putting on roughly a ninth of the guideline amount. The AAD names that as one of the usual reasons people still burn: they used too little sunscreen.

Sunscreen price	Cost per 5 ml morning	Cost per 30 days at 5 ml a day
$5 per fl oz	$0.85	about $25
$10 per fl oz (e.g. CeraVe AM SPF 30 at its $19.99 list price for 2 fl oz)	$1.69	about $51
$21.08 per oz (EltaMD UV Clear, 3.7 oz at $78)	$3.56	about $107
$27.06 per oz (EltaMD UV Clear, 1.7 oz at $46)	$4.57	about $137

What to do with that: pick a broad-spectrum SPF 30+ you can afford to use generously every day. A cheaper sunscreen applied at the full amount protects you better than a premium one you ration. If you are indoors most of the day, Cancer Council’s own trigger is a UV index of 3 or above, so a normal morning layer before your commute is the realistic baseline, with more on days you spend outside.

Skincare Claims Worth Dropping

Most men’s skincare advice repeats the same handful of lines. Here is where the sources land on the common ones, including one mistake from an earlier version of this page.

Claim	What the source says	Source
“Men’s skin is so different you need men’s products.”	Men’s skin measures thicker, oilier and with higher water loss on average, but the AAD says the basic routine is the same for men and women. Buy by skin type, not by the word “men” on the box.	Rahrovan et al., 2018 review; AAD
“Bar soap is fine.”	Regular bar soap often dries the skin. Use a mild facial cleanser with lukewarm water.	AAD
“Scrub harder, get cleaner.”	Scrubbing irritates. Fingertips only, no washcloth.	AAD
“Unscented means fragrance-free.”	Many unscented products contain masking fragrances. Look for “fragrance free”.	AAD
“SPF 100 is three times stronger than SPF 30.”	SPF 30 blocks 97% of UVB. Higher numbers block slightly more, and nothing blocks 100%.	AAD sunscreen FAQs
“EltaMD UV Clear is a mineral sunscreen.” (our earlier wording)	EltaMD lists 9.0% zinc oxide plus 7.5% octinoxate, a chemical filter. It is a hybrid, not mineral-only.	EltaMD product page
“More blades means a better shave.”	If you get razor bumps, burn or ingrown hairs, the AAD suggests a single- or double-blade razor and not stretching the skin.	AAD
“The retinol percentage on the box tells you how strong it is.”	Over-the-counter products are not required to disclose the retinol percentage, according to a dermatologist quoted by the AAD.	AAD, Retinoid or retinol?

Find Your Skin Type First

The AAD sorts skin into five types. Pick the one that sounds most like you before you buy anything:

• Sensitive: stings or burns after you use a product.
• Normal: clear and not sensitive.
• Dry: flaky, itchy or rough.
• Oily: shiny and greasy.
• Combination: dry in some areas, oily in others.

Products That Fit the Routine

These are examples, not test winners. We didn’t run a side-by-side test. Each line below is what the maker states on its own US product page, checked October 18, 2026, matched to the skin types above. Any widely sold product with the same label features does the same job.

Step	Product	What the maker states	Good fit for
Cleanser	CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser	Ceramides and hyaluronic acid; made for normal to dry skin; non-comedogenic	Dry or normal skin
Cleanser	CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser	Ceramides, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide; made for normal to oily skin; non-comedogenic, oil free	Oily or combination skin
Moisturizer	CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion	Niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and three ceramides; for all skin types; oil free, non-comedogenic	Night moisturizer, oily to normal skin
Moisturizer	CeraVe Moisturizing Cream	Richer cream with ceramides for face and body; normal to dry skin; fragrance free	Dry or sensitive skin, also after shaving
Sunscreen	CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30	Broad spectrum SPF 30; homosalate 10%, octinoxate 5%, octocrylene 2%, zinc oxide 8%; with niacinamide and ceramides	One product for steps 2 and 3 on office days
Sunscreen	EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46	Zinc oxide 9.0% plus octinoxate 7.5%; 1.7 oz ($46) or 3.7 oz ($78) at eltamd.com	Acne-prone skin, which is how EltaMD positions it, if you accept the cost per morning

Two label notes. The AAD’s sunscreen recommendation includes water resistance, so on a day you’ll sweat outside, check that your sunscreen says “water resistant” and reapply. And if your skin reacts to fragrance, stick to products that say “fragrance free” on the label. For the brand question behind most of this table, see our CeraVe vs Cetaphil comparison.

Shaving Without the Irritation

Shaving technique belongs in the routine, too. The AAD’s checklist:

• Wet your skin and hair first to soften the hair.
• Use a moisturizing shaving cream and shave in the direction of hair growth.
• Rinse the razor after each swipe.
• Change the blade after five to seven shaves.
• Prone to bumps or ingrown hairs? Try a single- or double-blade razor and don’t pull the skin tight.

Moisturize right after shaving, while the skin is still damp. Shave your head? The same sunscreen rules apply to your scalp: see our guide to sunscreen for a shaved head.

Optional: When to Add a Retinoid

Once the three steps are a habit, a retinoid is the add-on the AAD calls a skin care “powerhouse”. The first one, tretinoin, was approved by the FDA as an acne treatment in 1971. Dermatologists later noticed it also improved skin tone and fine lines. Retinol is the type you’ll find over the counter in most skincare aisles.

What the AAD article says about using one:

• It suits mild acne, mild pigmentation irregularities, or mild fine lines and wrinkles.
• People with skin allergies or dry skin are probably not good candidates. A lot of redness or inflammation is a reason to see a dermatologist first.
• Start with the least intense product you can find, every other night, and build up slowly.
• Use it at night only and wear sunscreen during the day, because retinoids make skin more sensitive to the sun.
• On darker skin, irritation can leave dark marks, so going slowly and moisturizing matters more.

Source: AAD, Retinoid or retinol?

Check Your Skin, Too

A routine is also a daily look in the mirror, so use it. The AAD says new spots or moles that itch, bleed or change color are often early warning signs of skin cancer. Men over 50 have a higher risk of melanoma than the general population. Skin cancer is highly treatable when it’s caught early, so book a dermatologist if something new or changing shows up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do men need a different skincare routine than women?

No. Men’s skin is thicker on average, and a 2018 review found sebum, hydration and water loss generally higher in men. The AAD’s basic routine is still the same for both. Skin type matters more than the gender on the label.

Is a moisturizer with SPF enough?

For an office day, it can be, if it is broad spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, and you use enough of it (see the sunscreen math). For a day of sweating or swimming, use a water-resistant sunscreen and reapply every two hours.

How much sunscreen goes on my face?

Cancer Council Australia’s guidance is at least one teaspoon (about 5 ml) for the face, neck and ears together.

Is SPF 50 better than SPF 30?

Slightly. SPF 30 blocks 97% of UVB rays, and higher numbers block a little more. Using enough, and reapplying, matters more than the jump from 30 to 50.

How often should I wash my face?

Morning and night, plus after heavy sweating. The AAD advises limiting washing to that.

This guide is general information, not medical advice. If you have a skin condition or a reaction to a product, talk to a board-certified dermatologist.