Once or twice a month, a person enters my comments, and asks whether it’s gay to have a skin care regimen, typically a truck with a sunburnt forehead as their profile photo. Each time, a little part of my soul is lost. Let’s do this the right way, with history and scientific facts and a lot of rolling of eyes, so I don’t have to be asked again.
Simple answer: sex doesn’t exist. Below is a long answer (which we do, apparently).
Where This Nonsense Even Came From
Men Used to Be the High-Maintenance Ones
Here’s the twist you weren’t told in the movie. Throughout most of history men have been fascinated with looking good. Ancient Egyptian men lined their eyes with kohl and rubbed oils into their skin. Roman men would spend hours at the baths being scraped, oiled and perfumed.
The powder, the rouge, the wigs and the heels were worn by the aristocratic men in 17th and 18th century Europe. Red-heeled shoe flex originated with Louis XIV! No one ever doubted the King of France’s sexuality because of his use of face cream. They were too busy to bow!
Then Men Decided Caring Was Uncool
In the late 1700s and early 1800s, western men abandoned the lace and color and wore simple dark suits. This was later to be referred to as the “Great Masculine Renunciation,” by psychologist J.C. Flügel. It was supposed to be the opposite of what people said about the serious men, men of business and empire—it was supposed to be a rule that they shouldn’t care how they looked. Decoration was the responsibility of the women.
All of that is due to that. Paying attention to looks was feminine, anything feminine was suspect. Then add a hundred years of homophobia to the equation and you have the equation of the lazy man: skin care = feminine = gay.
Marketing Made It Worse
The beauty industry primarily targeted women in the 20th century. Males were equipped with a scrimshaw and some shaving cream, along with a perfume for the aftershave that was a mix of pine and rubbing alcohol. The term “metrosexual” was invented by writer Mark Simpson in 1994 and originally meant it to be a cultural comment, but it was generally just a playground insult. Guys found out there was a price tag on liking nice things.
Gen-Z Men Are So Over It in 2027
Fortunately, most of Gen-Z guys believe this is an embarrassing question. They’re right.
GRWM Isn’t Just for Girls Anymore
You’ll find guys prepping up in get-ready-with-me videos, sunscreen reviews, and even discussing niacinamide as though it were fantasy football.You’ll find guys prepping up in get-ready-with-me videos, reviewing sunscreens, and even debating niacinamide as though it were fantasy football. Straight guys, gay guys, bi guys and guys who just want their acne gone before prom! The comment sections are rather wholesome.
They Grew Up With It
Many Gen-Z boys followed in the footsteps of their sisters, their moms, and their K-pop idols through grooming their skin and simply took it in as a normal part of life. They also had more open discussions about sex and gender than I ever had, so “that’s gay” is as shocking as a flip phone. The guys I know don’t have their serums to hide. They’re stealing mine.
Famous Men Who Openly Love Skincare
The Celebrities
In 2021, Harry Styles debuted his beauty line called Pleasing, which feature nail polish and skincare products. Somehow, Pharrell Williams has looked 30 for 30 years and launched a brand in 2020 that is about exfoliation and consistency. In 2022, superstar Brad Pitt launched his own skin care brand, Le Domaine, and the handsome man has been named the sexiest man alive far more than once.
The Athletes
In 2020, Tom Brady, who is the owner of seven Super Bowl rings, launched his own skincare line called TB12. Don’t worry if you think the most decorated quarterback in the history of the NFL is soft when it comes to moisturizing. I’ll wait.
The Science: Your Skin Doesn’t Care About Your Gender
Men’s Skin Is Different, Not Invincible
Testosterone adds to the thickness of male skin, generally, and makes it produce more oil, or sebum. This means larger pores, a shinier T-zone and usually more acne. Various skin remains in need of attention. It requires a little different treatment.
Shaving Is Daily Skin Damage
Scraping your face, with a blade each morning, removes a layer of your skin and can lead to razor burn, ingrown hairs, and painful bumps down the jaw and neck. A mild cleanser and a good moisturizer really help to diminish that irritability. That’s not vanity. That’s maintenance.
The Sun Is Actively Trying to Kill You
Men are less likely to use sunscreen, and more likely to die of melanoma, than women. UV exposure is the primary cause of premature aging either in the form of wrinkles, dark spots or that leathery feel. So, the girl not wearing SPF because its “girly” is choosing skin cancer over vibes. Often iconic, but not in the good sense.
Nobody in Seoul, Tokyo, or Paris Is Asking This
South Korea
For years, South Koreans men have taken the lead in spending on skin care on a per capita basis. Multi-step routines, sheet masks, BB cream, all normal. It is well known that soldiers purchasing essential military service are known to fill their bases with skin care products. Say to those boys that they’re not manly enough. Go on.
Japan
The concept of a men’s section has been around for a long time in Japan’s pharmacies. Face wash and oil-blotting sheets for student and salarymen have been on sale for decades, like those from the brand Gatsby. Men’s skincare area is as controversial as owning a toothbrush.
Europe
Men go to French and Italian pharmacies without a second thought and purchase face cleansers and moisturizers. Nivea Men has been available in Europe for decades. This question only appears to exist because there is something about the fragility of manhood that can be threatened by a pump bottle.
The Rise of Male-Targeted Skincare Brands
Brands Followed the Money
Today men’s grooming is a huge business and continues to expand worldwide. In addition to the celebrity launches, there are brands that have created a business around men that want good skin without having to come into what they consider the “girl aisle”, such as Bulldog, Lumin, and Geologie.
What the Packaging Tells Us
Here’s the funny part. Many of these are just the same cleanser and moisturizer marketed to female consumers, but in a matte black bottle with a cedar/expensive regret scent. Well, that is all you need to know. There never was a problem with the product. The label was. Newer brands are fiddling with the “for men” hocus pocus altogether and simply rebranding skincare for skin. About time.
It’s Not About Sexuality. It’s About Performance.
Masculinity as a Costume
A guy will ask you is it gay to have a skincare regime – he’s not asking about your sexuality. Whether other men will pass judgement on him. For years, scholars of gender have characterized masculinity as a condition that men are always trying to assert, to themselves. One of the simplest ways to “prove” that you don’t care about your appearance is by pretending you don’t.
The Fear Is the Tell
Think about it. Moisturizing a straight man doesn’t make him less straight. The insecurity is not over the lotion. It’s the story of a script that tells the real man that doesn’t care, doesn’t feel, and definitely doesn’t use eye cream. Calling someone “gay” the worst thing they can be is more of a statement about the person asking the question, than about the lotion.
Mandy’s Take
Listen. I am queer and a tomboy and I’ve worn the same oversized hoodie for three days and I will still put on SPF every single morning. Skincare is not a personality, it is not a sexuality and it is not a gender. It comes with packaging but it’s still hygiene.
If you’ve been using your girlfriend’s cleanser, then you’ve already begun. If you’re gay and you’re a fan of 10-step routines, cool. But if you’re a straight girl a ten-step routine, that’s also amazing. The only ones losing on this are the ones on feet with flaky, sunburnt faces to shield an ego no one was going after.
Next time that someone asks, “Is it gay to have a skin care routine?,” let them know that it’s giving “washes his face.” Then give them sun creams!
A Beginner Skincare Routine for Men Who Don’t Want to Overthink It
Three steps in the morning, two at night. That’s genuinely it.
Morning: Cleanse, Moisturize, SPF
Use a mild, non-irritating soap to wash your face. Eliminate the use of bar soap, as it tends to be very drying and harsh. Use a light moisturizer then, if oily, a gel moisturizer. Use a broad-spectrum sun protection product with an SPF of 30 or higher daily, even on cloudy days. Lazy? Use an inbuilt moisturizer with SPF and it’s a two step process.
Night: Cleanse and Moisturize
Cleanse off the sweat, oil and city dirt from your day and then rehydrate. Your skin repairs during the night, so give your skin a clean slate.
Shaving Without the Suffering
Shave with a clean shave, use a sharp shave blade and shave with the grain. Moisturize right after. The alcohol-based aftershave products you’re using to dry your skin because they make your pores “close” are causing harm.
When You’re Ready to Level Up
After a month, add one active ingredient. Not five. Salicylic acid treats acne and ingrown hairs while niacinamide reduces oil and redness, and a nightly gentle retinol provides an anti-aging effect and texture. If it stings or flares, back off and if the acne is serious, see a dermatologist.
So, Can We Finally Drop This?
So, is it gay if you have a skin care routine? No. Not gay, straight or any other thing. It is simply about skin and not disregarding it. Shower, slather on the sunscreen and let the guys that still hate lotions to age like a forgotten banana. You’ll look great. They’ll look crispy. Everyone learns something.
