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We collected the best skin care products for men in 17 categories, because at GQ, we cover every skin care topic under the sun. We've done deep dives on ingredients, from hydrating hyaluronic acid to complexion-smoothing niacinamide to pore-clearing salicylic acid. We’ve talked about specific categories (like the best serums) and taught you how to solve specific problems (like best cleansers for sensitive skin, and best aftershaves). We've even got an SPF explainer and picks for the best sunscreens for your face. Literally everything under the sun, as it were.
But sometimes you don't have the time (or money, skin care adds up) to sift through an extensive roundup in order to settle on the absolute, very best face wash worth your hard-earned cash right now. When finding the right cleanser, serum, moisturizer is imperative, more often than not there's a clear winner.
So we've condensed the mania of building an effective skin care routine into one place: The best skin care for men. A list of top products for every category you could fathom, laid out right here so you can build from the ground up for better skin for the rest of your life—or maybe just grab a new product to help round out a routine you already love. Below, you'll find new favorites and longtime standbys—all practically guaranteed to make you just a little more handsome.
The Best Skin Care Shopping Guide
- The Best Moisturizer With SPF: CeraVe Oil-Free Moisturizer With SPF 30, $30
- The Best Moisturizer Without SPF: Augustinus Bader The Light Cream Moisturizer, $180
- The Best Face Sunscreen: Nécessaire The Sunscreen, $45
- The Best Recovery Night Cream: Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Night Cream, $60
- The Best Retinol Night Cream: Murad Retinol Night Cream, $88
- The Best Eye Cream: Jack Black Depuffing Eye Gel, $25
- The Best Cleanser: Philosophy Purity Made Simple Pore Purifying Foam Cleanser, $27
- The Best Chemical Exfoliator: Dr. Jart+ Pore Remedy PHA Exfoliating Serum, $45
- The Best Physical Exfoliant: Sisley Exfoliating Enzyme Mask, $140
- The Best Hydrating Serum: Jaxon Lane Super Serum, $41
- The Best Corrective Serum: Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum, $80
- The Best Brightening Serum: Drunk Elephant Vitamin C Brightening Serum, $78
- The Best Shaving Cream: Sheamoisture Invisible Lineup Gel, $11
- The Best Toner: Beekman 1802 “Milk Shake” facial toner mist, $34
- The Best Spot Treatment: The INKEY List Blemish And Blackhead Serum, $12
- The Best Cleansing Mask: Tatcha Clarifying Clay Mask, $70
- The Best Hydrating Mask: Joanna Czech “The Face Mask,” $30
The Best Moisturizer With SPF
If you’re gonna hydrate daily—and you want to—it may as well have SPF, no? Make it one with SPF30+, per the universal dermatologist recommendation.
The Best Moisturizer Without SPF
If you don’t have SPF in your moisturizer, that’s fine. Make sure to pair it with a facial SPF, then. And may as well make it an oil-free pick, too, especially if you’ve got oily or acne-prone skin.
The Best Face Sunscreen
A face sunscreen is formulated for the more delicate skin on your face—and without pore-clogging ingredients like heavy oils. Keep it separate from your full-body SPF.
The Best Recovery Night Cream
A dense night cream helps accelerate healing and cellular turnover while you sleep. It’s too hefty to wear during the day, and that’s the point: Use it at bedtime, when skin is also prone to drying out (particularly in the winter or in an air-conditioned room).
The Best Retinol Night Cream
Retinoids are derived from Vitamin A, and are revered for their skin-smoothing, acne-thwarting, pore-shrinking powers. Retinol is the readily available OTC version found in many night creams and serums. It's neutralized by the sun, so always wear it at night and be sure to sport some SPF by day, since retinoids can also make your skin more sensitive to UV rays. (If you want a high-grade retinoid, then see your board-certified dermo and ask about tretinoin.)
The Best Eye Cream
The skin under your eyes is the thinnest on the face, which means it wrinkles, sags, darkens, and puffs easily. Eye creams pack specific ingredients to combat all that, ranging from circulation-stimulating caffeine to skin-reinforcing peptides.
The Best Cleanser
You want to keep this one gentler. Some days—if you've worked out, or it's just plain hot—you might be washing your mug three or four times. Even on the twice-a-days (the baseline, morning and night), you don’t want an abrasive cleanser that dries out skin.
The Best Chemical Exfoliator
Chemical exfoliants use alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) or poly hydroxy acids (PHAs) to dissolve dead surface cells and keep skin smooth, and/or beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) to assist while also dissolving dead cells and grime trapped within the pores. The result is fewer breakouts and brighter, clearer complexion. Use them two or three times weekly, or as directed.
The Best Physical Exfoliant
Some people prefer physical scrubs for their exfoliation means, which use a little grit to buff away the dead cells and keep skin healthy, bright, and clear. Like chemical exfoliants, use them two to three times weekly, or as directed. Either way, commit to either chemical or physical; there is no need to double up. (You'd be damaging perfectly healthy, lively skin cells if you did.)
The Best Hydrating Serum
Applying serums beneath your moisturizer is the most impactful way to get results. Plus, since a moisturizer is primarily defensive (in that it traps moisture inside the skin and blocks toxins and UV rays out), you can add a hydrating serum to keep your dermis nourished and nurtured.
The Best Corrective Serum
Some serums use exfoliating ingredients (like in chemical exfoliants) to dissolve dead cells and prevent signs of aging. However, a reparative or regenerative one works well overnight to help skin heal faster, and to reverse these signs of aging. We like ones with retinol for this reason.
The Best Brightening Serum
You'll often see Vitamin C attached to the word “brightening,” since the super ingredient helps battle skin-aging toxins, while also reversing discoloration and hyperpigmentation in the skin. For that, your friends will notice a visibly “brighter” complexion.
The Best Shaving Brand
Shaving is a big umbrella of skin care, and we’ve got entire roundups and tutorials dedicated to it. But this shaving cream is a great place to start.
The Best Toner
Toner balances your pH levels and helps control overactive sebum production. Use it on oily skin after cleansing, or if your regimen is throwing your skin out of whack.
The Best Spot Treatment
A spot treatment can be many things: It can target budding or active pimples, as well as the dark spots they leave behind. Or, it can attack some type of hyperpigmentation (like from the sun) that just doesn't want to disappear. This category of products addresses those various needs, so find one that helps achieve your end goal (which is, more or less, crystal clear skin). It usually starts with a key ingredient, like tea tree oil or salicylic acid (for acne), or niacinamide or mandelic acid (for hyperpigmentation).
The Best Cleansing Mask
A once-weekly deep-cleansing mask is like a vacuum for your pores. Use it to detoxify skin and prevent breakouts.
The Best Hydrating Mask
Similarly, a once-weekly hydrating mask can supercharge dry, distressed skin—like after travel, or during peak winter. It can be a leave-on topical mask, a wash-away one, or a sheet mask.
