How to Take Care of Your Oily Skin

If your forehead always bounces camera flashes like a bike reflector, you might have oily skin. You’re the guy who carries a handkerchief, not necessarily because you’re sweaty, but because you’re glowing—in the negative sense. Your skin is a veritable sebum factory, your pores clog often, and you’d do anything for a solution to the perpetual greasy film across your face.

Which is exactly what we’ve assembled in this guide to caring for oily skin, with an assist from board-certified dermatologist Dr. Avnee Shah of Rutherford, NJ.

How to Know if You Have Oily Skin

One of the great things about oily skin is that it’s easy to tell if you have it: If there’s often a thick layer of grease on your entire face, congratulations: you have oily skin. But if your mug has some oily patches and some dry patches, you may have what’s called “combination skin” (more on that next week).

“Combination skin typically refers to people who have an oilier T-zone, which is the area including the forehead, nose and chin,” says Shah. “But they are drier on the rest of the face, like cheeks, temples, and around the eyes.”

Shah notes that guys with oily skin will have greasy skin all over the face, including the cheeks and temples, and eyes.

Common Problems With Oily Skin

You might consider “being excessively oily” a problem in and of itself. But there are other frustrating things that accompany oily skin. “You’re more likely to see enlarged pores as well as acne, ranging from blackheads and whiteheads to inflammatory red pimples,” Shah says.

She adds that if you wash your face too often — more than twice daily — it strips away the oils altogether, which confuses your skin and aggravates the problem: “This can signal to your body that it needs to replenish oil reserves, creating an overproduction of sebum and oil,” Shah says. So, you have to manage the oiliness with the best products that won’t dry the sebum outright, but that will help manage how the production manifests itself onto your mug. The same goes with overusing toner, exfoliants, and moisturizers, Shah adds. “Moisturizer helps your skin from thinking it’s ever drying out, and halts the feedback that could create even more oil.”

The Best Morning Skincare Regimen for Oily Skin

Start with a cleanser. The best ones won’t deplete your skin’s sebum supply: Shah most highly recommends a foaming cleanser for the job, since they tend to be gentler and less drying. “Going for harsher washes with an aim to dry out the skin can actually backfire by causing irritation,” she says. Secondly, look for cleansers with ingredients like lactic acid or salicylic acid, since they’ll help keep pores from clogging.

If you’re going to use a toner, now’s the time. “Toners help prep the skin for what’s coming next, be it your serum, moisturizer, or sunscreen,” Shah says. “They get rid of that excess dirt and oil we sometimes miss with washing.” She recommends toners with lactic and hydroxy acids (such as glycolic acid) to rid of any excess without drying you out too much. Don’t use anything too drying, like an astringent toner. You should tone in moderation — even once a day may be too much. Try it every other day to start, and see if your oil levels stay better in check before upping the frequency.

Going for harsher washes with an aim to dry out the skin can actually backfire by causing irritation.

Lastly, Shah says to apply a lightweight sunscreen as a moisturizer — something with a mix of physical blockers (with ingredients like zinc and titanium), and with chemical UV-ray blockers. For oily skin, Shah prefers this double-duty hydrator and sunblock, because it prevents you from having to apply two dense creams to your face. This will make you sweat and could clog pores. Try to find a hydrator that is non-comedogenic (meaning it won’t clog pores) and one that is oil-free.

The Best Nighttime Skincare Regimen for Oily Skin

While it seems counterintuitive to having oily skin, Shah stresses that you must moisturize your skin at bedtime. “Hydration is not equivalent to oil,” she says. “So our goal here is to keep skin moisturized with a non-comedogenic product, evading the extra sebum and shine.” Apply it after cleansing, of course. (This should only be the second and last time you cleanse in a day.) Shah recommends gel- and spray-based lotion moisturizers for bedtime, and any with hyaluronic acid as one of the main ingredients.

One thing to apply before bed is retinol — either mixed in with your moisturizer, or prior to it. Not only do they smooth and prevent signs of aging, but retinols also unclog pores and prevent clogging. You can get retinol in many nighttime skincare products (it’s the ingredient that will be advertised on the packaging), or your dermatologist can prescribe a heavy-grade one. “These can be drying at times, but oilier skin types tend to handle retinols best,” Shah says. For a prescription-strength retinol, Shah suggests starting with just two to three applications weekly, using a pea-sized amount across the face. “If you experience no irritation or drying, increase by adding one more day every few weeks,” she says. “Use it as frequently as every night, but only use four nights a week if you notice that it’s making your skin too dry.”

Don’t know where to turn next?? Stay tuned this week for product recommendations that’ll help your oily skin shine — in the best way possible.

Nordstrom Just Rounded Up the Coolest City to Mountain Clothes in One Place

Today, Nordstrom is launching New Concepts, a tightly curated selection of the best of the best in menswear that will be updated seasonally. The first capsule, a Gore-Tex paradise named Concept 001: Out Cold, couldn’t be more Gear Patrol if it tried. The edit is dedicated to the highest performing functional garments for slopes, snow, sleet, rain and the just about any other form of weather you can encounter in the winter. Curated by Sam Lobban, Nordstrom’s VP of Men’s Designer & New Concepts the collection brings together 20 of the best city to mountain brands, all ideal for braving less than ideal weather.

“These are the clothing equivalents of Formula 1 Cars.”

Lobban’s picks of high fashion and high function range from puddle-ready shoes by Salomon and Blundstone to alpine favorites like Aztec Mountain and Aigle. “These are the clothing equivalents of Formula 1 cars,” Lobban said when asked what unified this seemingly disparate group of brands. “When we were putting together the concept, we had a clear purpose and idea of what it was going to be: the best top of the mountain products, showing them through a more urban-based guy.”

Out Cold brings those products to the guy who maybe doesn’t reach the summit or maybe only strolls in the park. And that’s part of the point, as men’s style continues to move outdoors (see: Gorpcore) function is becoming form itself.

“So much of what is fashionable right now is performance-based,” Lobbain said. “I think guys are always interested in product that functions really well.”

And the same can be said for the full collection of Out Cold, which includes pieces from Snow Peak, K-Way, Houdini Sportswear, Golden Bear and Macintosh. Lobban even raided his own closet for inspiration, which is partly why you’ll see pieces from Arc’Teryx in the mix. (“Name a weather situation, and I have a Veilance jacket that covers it,” he said.) Whether you get caught in a downtown downpour or a weekend hike, Out Cold will get you kitted out for January weather headed your way.

You can find Concept 001: Out Cold online through March and featured one of a kind installations in the New York Men’s Store and Seattle Flagship, but only till the end of the month. The only problem? If you wanna see this stuff in person, you’ll have to brave the cold first.

Bonded Cotton Hooded Jacket by Mackintosh $1,615

Speedgoat 3 Trail Running Shoe by Hoka One One $140

Doodle Hoodie by Aztech Mountain $250

Batac 16L Backpack by Cotopaxi $50

Icare Waterproof Rubber Ankle Boot by Aigle $75

Bevel’s New Skincare Line Makes Taking Care of Your Face Really, Really Easy

The thing I’ve always loved about Bevel — and, by extension, the way its founder Tristan Walker thinks about grooming — is that its offerings are just as educational as they are effective. Walker’s first product lineup, an end-to-end shaving system that launched in 2014, can claim responsibility for introducing a lot of men, and particularly men of color, to the concept of single-blade shaving. (Lots of black, brown and yellow guys — myself included — can get ingrown hairs from using multiblade razors, so Walker thoughtfully packaged a shaving brush, pre-shave oil, shaving soap and a safety razor together to help this audience avoid the problem altogether. That white guys can benefit from a system like this too is just the cherry on top of a really well-conceived cake.)

The line’s ease of use breeds consistency, and a consistent skincare regimen is always going to produce better results.

That thinking returns today with the launch of Bevel’s new skincare line. The four products in it are also designed to be used as a system, and while it’s not explicitly stated as such, this system has clear benefits for oily and combination skin. There’s witch hazel, coconut water and tea tree oil in the cleanser to help reduce excess oil without drying out your face. The moisturizer features algae extract and vitamins C and E, all antioxidants that can help with hyperpigmentation and signs of aging.

But the line also includes two products that you might not need every day. The exfoliating toner, which is recommended for use at night twice a week, can help you avoid ingrown hairs and improve the appearance of large pores and uneven skin tone. And the spot corrector can help you treat the errant pimple, or the hyperpigmentation that’s often a sign of a blemish that’s gone away.

I’ve been using the skincare line for the last three weeks, and I like it a lot. My skin certainly looks more even, and it doesn’t feel as oily as it sometimes does when I’ve used cleansers, toners and moisturizers from different brands. Like Aesop’s In Two Minds range, it takes the guesswork out of taking care of your skin. Unlike the Aesop products, it costs a lot less: the products range in price from $12 to $15. Their attendant ease of use (this step first, this step second, and so on) breeds consistency, and a consistent skincare regimen is always going to produce better results than something slapped together during a drugstore run.

You can buy the products online right now, and they’ll be on the shelves at your local Target in mid-February. My recommendation? Don’t wait.

Face Wash by Bevel $12

Exfoliating Toner by Bevel $14

Moisturizing Face Gel by Bevel $14

Spot Corrector by Bevel $14

Do You Need a $1,000 Laundry Folding Machine? (Spoiler: You Don’t)

Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he won’t have to pay anyone $1,000 to fish for him.

Does the same logic apply to folding your laundry? You bet it does. But that hasn’t stopped the launch of the FoldiMate, a $980 column of gears and levers designed to fold your clothes for you. The machine, which made its debut at CES and will be available for purchase later in the year, features a simple input-output system. Users feed it a foldable item fresh from the dryer, and the machine quickly produces a stack of uniformly folded towels, shirts, trousers and other stuff. All you have to do is put these items away.

The FoldiMate makes sense in a commercial environment. Otherwise, it’s just another totem of the tech world monetizing laziness.

But even when you leave aside the fact that it can’t handle socks, large bed linens or baby clothes, the FoldiMate immediately feels superfluous for most people. It’s the kind of innovation that maybe makes sense in a commercial environment — like a restaurant with a lot of napkins to manage or a fancier laundromat — or for a servantless parent with a lot of children’s clothing to wash and fold.

For everyone else, it’s just another totem of the tech world’s incessant monetization of a very specific bourgeois laziness. There are plenty of appliances that people with a little money rely upon to get household tasks done quickly and efficiently. A food processor, for example, is probably going to make better hummus and pie crust than most people can with their own two hands. But that innovation doesn’t fall victim to the law of diminishing returns in quite the same way that the FoldiMate does. You still have to, you know, do your laundry and smooth it out before the machine can step in to help. (For some items, like jeans and bigger towels, you do have to do at least one fold if you don’t want to gum up the works). And because it can’t quite take human involvement out of the equation, it’s hard to imagine recouping that $980 investment.

Which is why most people are better off spending that money on a series of cooking classes, or a watch. Or better yet, paying a human being to wash and fold your clothing for you.