For men only - happy winter skin

You don't need a 12-step routine to fix this. You need to change a few habits and add a couple of products. Here's what actually works.

1. Turn the shower temperature down

This is the one men resist most and the one that makes the most immediate difference. Hot showers feel great. They're also the fastest way to strip your skin of the natural oils that keep moisture in. Steaming water breaks down your skin's lipid barrier, and cold air outside finishes the job the moment you step out.    Switch to lukewarm. It takes about three days to stop noticing.

2. Use a face wash built for the face

Body wash on your face: stop. Body wash formulas are not designed for the thinner, more sensitive skin on your face. They contain detergents that clean aggressively and strip exactly what you're trying to hold onto.

Use a dedicated face cleanser instead, twice a day (morning and night). Look for alcohol-free and soap-free formulas with skin-supporting ingredients like Vitamin E or antioxidants. The goal is to clean without stripping. In winter, that matters more than usual.

Homme face care – formulated for men's skin and the kind of no-fuss approach most guys actually want to keep up with.

3. Moisturise. Every time.

After every wash, apply moisturiser. This is the step most men skip and the one with the most visible payoff.

Twice a day: once in the morning after washing, once at night before bed. It takes under a minute. Moisturiser seals back in the moisture that washing removes, before cold air gets a chance to take more. Look for formulas with emollients, which reinforce your skin's natural barrier against wind and cold. Apply to your face and the area under your eyes, which is thinner and shows dehydration fastest. If your lips are taking a hit from the cold, add a lip balm: unlike the rest of your face, they don't produce their own oil and dry out fast.

4. Exfoliate once or twice a week

Dead skin cells build up faster in winter and make your face look dull and feel rough. Exfoliating once or twice a week clears them away, helps post-shave irritation, and lets your moisturiser actually absorb properly.

The key is "once or twice." Over-exfoliating strips the skin further, so keep it light, keep it regular, and use a gentle formula rather than anything that feels like sandpaper.

5. Sort out your beard. Or your post-shave skin.

If you're keeping the beard, winter dries out the hair and the skin underneath at the same time. Beard oil nourishes both. Work a small amount through a damp beard after washing and you'll notice less itching, less brittleness and less of the flaking that happens when the skin underneath gets too dry.

If you're going clean-shaven, your challenge is the friction and irritation that a razor creates on already cold-stressed skin. A post-shave balm (not a splash, which is usually alcohol-heavy) applied immediately after shaving gives your skin a chance to recover fast and protects the barrier you've spent the rest of these steps rebuilding.