Skincare

So today I’m gonna write about, you guessed it, PEANUTS! Okay, okay, no. Skincare, of course. Am I a professional esthetician or a dermatologist? Well, no. Have I taken specialized courses? Also no. Am I qualified in any way, shape, or form to give advice on this subject? Well, again, no.

Wow, that’s three negatives right out of the gate. But writing about skincare is exactly what I’m going to do anyway. Why? Well, why not?

Skincare was something I grew up watching every single girl do. It had this undeniable charm, something about all those different serums and lotions for a million different things that I didn't understand, but I was definitely drawn to.

Unfortunately, for most of my life, it was completely out of reach. Men didn’t do skincare decades ago, at least not as far as I knew. And if you did, well, we all know the kind of social consequences you'd face. Fortunately, times have changed, and it’s becoming way more common now, especially among the younger generations.

The weather, the sun, puberty, aging, and testosterone did their absolute best to beat up the skin on my face for years. Based on all that historical abuse, I honestly figured the only way I'd ever get softer skin and reverse the damage was to start HRT.

When I finally decided to start a skincare routine, it wasn't actually with the intention of "fixing" my skin. I never really believed products could reverse aging anyway; I thought all they did was provide temporary moisture and such.

I started the routine simply because it has always been a traditionally feminine ritual. Like I said, I grew up watching it and wishing I could do it, too. Now, I'm going to mention some brands here but I'm definitely not getting paid for it (sadly ;).

My wife has these expensive brands she loves, not because of the price tag, but because they genuinely work for her. So when it came to finding something for myself, my goal was to find products more on the cheaper side.

Not TEMU cheap, mind you, but definitely not La Prairie expensive either. After all, I wasn’t after a miracle; I just wanted the routine. First, I tried Clinique for Men. It wasn't bad, but it was still a bit pricey and they didn't have a ton of variety. Then I tried CeraVe, it was okay and less expensive than Clinique, but again, the product line felt a little limited for what I was looking for.

After a bit more digging, I landed on L’Oréal. It was a brand in the right price range (at least for me), offered plenty of product options, had solid quality, not to mention a dedicated line for men too. I’ve been using it for about two years now, and to my absolute surprise, those "miracles" I didn't believe in actually started happening.

Now let me pause for a second to clarify something, because you might be asking: Don’t you identify as trans? Don’t you consider yourself a woman? Why are you using skincare products for men?

I guess I could very well get cosmetic products for women and use them without consequences, it might also feel a little more reaffirming sure but I see two main benefits of using products specifically designed for men. So the answer is pretty simple and it comes down to two main factors:

• Anything designed and marketed for women is automatically more expensive than the male equivalent. Go to the deodorant aisle at any store for example and compare prices for the exact same brand deodorant for women to the one for men. Companies know women are more attentive to their skincare, so they take advantage of that with a higher price tag.

• Neither my body nor my skin cares how I identify. I have a testosterone dominant body, which means I need products tailored for male skin biology. Women tend to have drier skin, while men tend to have oilier skin. Using products designed for an entirely different skin type would be a waste of money at best, if nothing else.

I actually had an incident with women deodorant. After a few weeks of use, small hard lumps started forming in my armpits. Before running all scared to the doctor I stopped using it. The lumps disappeared. Started using it again, the lumps came back. Gave the deodorant to my wife, she had no problem at all with it and the lumps never appeared again.

Maybe it was that specific brand or an ingredient in that specific deodorant, I’m not implying that all women deodorant will cause a weird reaction, after all every body is different and reacts differently to certain chemicals or substances, hence allergies. But I decided right then not to continue using women’s deodorant and return to men’s.

Anyway I side tracked, the payoff of incorporating a skincare routine has been huge. My skin has improved so much that my wife actually told me I have better skin than her now (though I’m pretty sure she was just being nice). Still, it did make her question her own high end brand choices after decades of loyalty!

My skin is softer, not 20 year old cis girl soft, but exponentially softer than it was when I applied zero products. My pores look smaller and more refined, giving me a much smoother appearance overall. Some dark spots have faded, a few wrinkles have softened, and my skin just feels tighter.

As with most bodily changes, it is not noticeable day to day. I look in the mirror every night and morning and think everything looks the same. But because I only get to embrace my full femme self once every few months, the difference between each milestone is incredibly noticeable.

My makeup goes on smoother, the coverage is better, and I require way less foundation and concealer. I see it in photos, too, they require less retouching, and my face definitely looks and feels more feminine.

Now, I know it might just be the "pink fog", as my friend Hannah calls it, making me see and feel exactly what I want to see and feel. But then again remember, I went into this expecting no change whatsoever. I was just doing it to enjoy my new feminine routine. So the changes came as a pleasant surprise rather than an expected outcome.

So, that’s why I decided to write about my skincare journey. If anyone is interested in knowing the exact product breakdown of what I use, drop me a comment.