Men's skin is different. Here's what that actually means for your routine.
by Bo van Rijzewijk
Most skincare is designed for women. Not because men don't have skin — but because the industry built itself around a female consumer base and never fully course-corrected.
The result is that most "men's skincare" is either repackaged women's products in darker packaging, or stripped-down basics that ignore what men's skin actually needs.
Here's the science of what makes men's skin different, and what that means for your routine.
Men's skin is structurally different
Men's skin is approximately 20–25% thicker than women's skin, due to higher levels of collagen density in the dermis. This means it ages differently — less visibly in early adulthood, but more dramatically in the 40s and 50s when collagen loss accelerates.
Men also have larger sebaceous glands and produce significantly more sebum — studies suggest roughly twice as much as women. This affects how products feel on the skin and how they should be formulated. A moisturiser designed for dry skin will often feel greasy on men's skin. A well-formulated men's moisturiser should hydrate without adding excess oil.
Shaving changes everything
If you shave — with a blade, not electric — you're subjecting your skin to daily mechanical trauma. A razor removes the top layer of dead skin cells (which is good), but it also disrupts the skin barrier and can cause micro-inflammation, ingrown hairs, and sensitivity.
This has two practical implications:
Your moisturiser needs to do double duty. A good post-shave product should hydrate AND soothe barrier damage. Ingredients like allantoin and panthenol (Vitamin B5) are clinically proven to reduce inflammation and promote barrier repair. Both are in KLÄR Daily Moisturiser.
Your serum can help with post-shave marks. Dark spots and uneven tone caused by ingrown hairs and razor bumps respond well to Vitamin C at 15%. Consistent use over 4–8 weeks produces visible results.
Men age differently
After 35, men lose collagen at roughly the same rate as women — approximately 1% per year. But because men start with higher collagen density, the decline often goes unnoticed until it's more pronounced.
The practical upshot: start using collagen-supporting ingredients before you think you need them. Topical Vitamin C supports collagen synthesis. Oral collagen peptides provide the amino acid building blocks for collagen production directly. Together, they work from both directions.
What your routine actually needs
Based on the above, an effective routine for men's skin should include:
A Vitamin C serum — for antioxidant protection, brightening, and collagen support.
A non-greasy moisturiser with hyaluronic acid — for hydration that doesn't feel heavy.
A collagen supplement — for inside-out support that topical products can't provide.
Three products. That covers everything your skin actually needs.