"The whole skincare and grooming thing is much more acceptable for men now—and there's so much more information about it. There wasn't much of that 10 years ago. I can't say I do a ton of it, but I've learned a lot. Even today, though, I don't think there's a lot of good men's skincare. There are huge gaps in the market for sure, good products for men—serums, scrubs, moisturizers. That's what men need. You go beyond that, and it starts getting a little bit too complicated for them. [Laughs]
I've been flying, so my skin is pretty dry—I'm wearing a little moisturizer and cover-up and that's it. Pure rosehip oil is my favorite thing for moisture. If I'm coming off a flight, or if I've been flying for days, I use it immediately after landing and it's so soothing. It makes your skin feel 100 again. And I can put a lot on, because my skin's so dry. You look for a glow in your skin—there's so many products that make you look dull. That's why I like oils or serums.
In the mornings, I just do a serum and a day moisturizer. I love the Lancer Lift Serum Intense and the Colbert Stimulate Serum, which are both pretty unisex. I don't like things that are highly-perfumed—and I want to do more natural stuff. My moisturizer is Kiehl's, and that's a good brand for men. It's a little less scary for a guy just getting into skincare... It's got [images of] men in white coats, there's a Harley motorcycle in there. [Laughs] It makes it feel masculine. Like, you can still be a guy and buy product. You actually should buy product. My moisturizer has SPF too, but I really like getting my vitamin D from the sun. I look better with a tan. But I'm careful about good SPF—I never go below 50.
Exfoliation is so important, too. People would talk about face scrub and I never thought to utilize one, but it's necessary if you want your serums and moisturizers to get into your skin. People say that men have thicker skin on their faces, because of shaving and skin growing back faster, so you need to treat it better. I use the Lancer Polish, that one's great. You don't need to use it every night, it's really low-maintenance. I get spots now and again, and what I've found works best is just pure tea tree oil. That's it. I don't really mask—I’ve tried sheet masks before, but they just make me look like Hannibal Lector. I can’t say that I see much of a difference afterwards.
Larry King cuts my hair—he's done it for years. Before I met him, I had plenty of bad haircuts... When he first cut my hair, he was like, 'This is awful.' He really cares about men's hair. Mine is really thick, and it grows upwards—I have hair envy for these other guys who grow their hair down. To style, I use a bit of Kiehl's Grooming Creme. It adds a bit of shine and protein—I like to give it that thicker, muddier feel before I do anything to it. Then I wash it every day with Aesop Shampoo because I need it to feel clean.
I use body wash from Aesop, too—the Kiehl's Coriander Body Scrub is also really good—and my fragrance has been Light Blue Intense Pour Homme for so long. But I think [beauty] is about what you put into your body as well... your health, your vegetables, your fruit, that's more important. I work out four or five days a week for 45 minutes to an hour, and I try not to buy biscuits and sweets and things, but it's hard to stay away. It's everything in moderation, and I still have a cheat day. The rest of training is so much work and patience, but you look like The Man when you’re finished."
—as told to ITG
David Gandy photographed by Tom Newton.
