Beards are certainly fashionable these days – well groomed and trimmed with a hair style to match. But are men tending to forget the skin that lives under their beard, just because they can’t see it? It appears that some men are turning away from looking after their skin in favor of hiding it under salt and pepper facial hair.

Use of male grooming products down

A survey carried out by Kantar Worldpanel has discovered that sales of men’s face grooming products have fallen from their high in 2012. In fact men are using 121% more hair and body wash products, but 10% fewer skincare products. It also probably follows that men are tending to avoid skincare treatments as well.

The research also showed that men are spending a third less on deodorant – a worrying trend to say the least.

How to look after your skin – beard, or not.

It is certainly true that the skin left on the face is halved by the addition of a beard, but that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be looked after. In fact it is the skin around the eyes and across the forehead that is most likely to affected by deep wrinkles and finer lines. These cannot be hidden by facial hair (except perhaps unusually large eyebrows?).

So what can you do with a face that has plenty of hair? Your skin will still benefit from a good wash and the application of a moisturiser. You can rub the face wash into your skin through your beard (washing the hair in the process) and apply your moisturiser to exposed areas and to the neck. Using a good hair product designed to keep beards soft will also help to maintain the skin.

Treatments for men

We find that men are still wanting wrinkle busting treatments such as botox and chemical peels because they still do care about their appearance. In fact the trend is that men are increasingly interested in reducing damage done by sun and the environment. Whether they have beards or not, it is still important.

While the natural approach is attractive in men, it does pay to bear in mind that the fashion for beards will not last forever and that one day you might want to shave it off. If you have