The Glow Game: Why Skincare Is The New Power Play

Face card

Between a long-haul red-eye from Jakarta to Zurich, I had a layover in Dubai. During that four hour transit, my face felt as dry as chamois cloth yearning for hydration. You know, the kind that’s rough, flaky, along with a tingling sensation, thanks to the recycled cabin air and altitude pressure. 

I was sleep-deprived, jet-lagged, and wished I had brought one thing that my skin really needed right at that moment—moisturizer from my checked in luggage. Who would’ve thought that shiny jar of beauty (or grooming, if you prefer) product could be a savior during this time of my life? Lesson learned. I moved on.

Diving into the world of skincare as a man feels a bit unassertive at first. For some, the words “skincare” and “man” typically don’t go hand in hand. The first belongs to skinfluencers and women who are fluent in differentiating toner from essence, or at least that’s what the outdated rulebook says. 

But the guys? They’re supposed to wake up flawless—or not care that they don’t. How is this fair? When did taking care of your face become an act of violation? It’s like trying to find an answer to when the 7-step Korean skincare routine transformed into a 10-step one. To be honest, I’m lost.

But I do remember that, a few years ago, I promised myself to look after my skin barrier. The reason? Simple. This thirty-something male has only one body, and he’s not getting any younger, just like everyone else. Some may weaponize wrinkles as signs of stoic wisdom, not sun damage. But if you manage to live this long, you must’ve noticed that sometimes your face is your front row ticket to the world.

Macho, but moisturized

It’s a fact that the skin is your largest organ, and it’s not gender-oriented. It’s under the same category as “seawater is salty” or “first class ticket is pricey.” And yet, for the longest time we normalize men using a bar of soap as facial wash. 

Maybe it’s the lingering bro-code that insists a man’s face must be as coarse as a sandpaper, or a male jawline is supposed to be sharper than a scalpel. And maybe the art of applying SPF was considered a sin. However, I would argue that knowing how to take care of your skin isn’t about vanity—it’s your precious passport to your destination.

There’s a charm to a man who moisturizes. It says he’s paying attention—not just to his skin, but also himself. It’s the same energy as well-preserved leather shoes: soft, robust, comes with patina over time.

Skincare is self-care

We are living in a time of rituals. Nowadays, morning routines are being curated to boost productivity and personal well-being by setting a positive tone for the day. Take a look at ‘The 5 AM Club,’ popularized by Robin Sharma, which involves waking up at 5AM. and dedicating the first hour to a 20/20/20 ritual: 20 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes of reflection, and 20 minutes of learning.

If a good habit is built through allocating our time to certain activities, the road to facial care is no different. If you are still unsure, here’s what I say: start small. Simplify the overcomplicated terms or steps, and get your hands on the essentials: cleanser that doesn’t double as body wash, moisturizer, and SPF. Anything more is a bonus. Allow yourself to dive into the new routine and observe as you witness the change. It will pay off.

From the ‘gram to the bathroom sinks

It began like most modern revolutions do: hidden, then subtly emerging. One day, you’re scrolling through your feed on a lunch break, feeling envious over someone’s Bali vacation, and there it is—a get-ready-with-me video. Only this time, it’s not a beauty influencer with her headband. It’s a guy in casual wear, and he’s breaking down his skincare routine like he’s narrating car specs. Toner, serum, exfoliator, even a face mask that makes him look spooky.

Welcome to the era of male skincare: where filters aren’t just for photos, because glow-up is genderless. Social media didn’t just introduce men to hyaluronic acid and niacinamide; it gave them permission. Gone are the days when men whisper retinol like it’s a safe word, or when our partner’s eye cream “accidentally” ends up on our side of the sink. In 60-second Reels and TikToks filmed in confidence, guys began to share their routines not as performance, but as practice. They are reclaiming self-care. And suddenly, skincare wasn’t strictly “girly” anymore. It was intentional and refreshing.

It is the time when self-care should be normalized—far apart from labels. This shift normalized something that had always been tucked away in bathroom cabinets or borrowed secretly. From K-Pop idols and male beauty influencers with beauty shelves more curated than a Spotify playlist, the message was obvious: there is power in the cleanse, the pat, and the swipe. 

Final call

All over the world, drugstores started expanding their men’s skincare aisles. Brands launched gender-neutral packaging to avoid appearing too feminine. Inside Olive Young, you can even find dedicated lip balm for men to overcome the color of dark lips. What was once a niche became needful. And the bathroom mirror became less of a battleground for masculinity and more of a haven for modern identity.

So let’s normalize it. Celebrate it. Pack your 10ml moisturizer next to your passport, or slide those sheet masks between the T-shirt stack. Because one thing is clear: beauty routines aren’t just for women anymore—they’re for the human experience.

Photos courtesy Daria Liudnaya, Santiago Sauceda Gonzales (Pexels), Dylann Hendricks, Eleonora Catalano (Unsplash)