Nota bene: All products in this article are independently selected and vetted by InsideHook editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. When you invite a woman over to your home for the first time, she is absolutely, 100% going to peek inside your medicine cabinet. She’s also going to pull back the shower curtain to inspect the bottles (I pray there are multiple) that are perched on the edge of the tub.
How does this inspection serve us, womankind, beyond satisfying our latent curiosity? Well, frankly, it reveals whether or not you have your shit together. A lack of creams on your bathroom shelves means that you are not paying very much attention to the state of your epidermis, and therefore, might not be the best at remembering our birthday or how we take our coffee — you know, the important things.
I get it. Grooming is confusing. The billion-dollar industry is flush with brands and products that promise to help you look younger, feel smoother and generally soften the inevitable look of exhaustion after a long day of work. But as a beauty editor with more than a decade of experience sifting through thousands of products, I’ll let you in on a little secret: There are only a handful of items you need stocked in your bathroom to assuage the anxiety of a potential house guest and to keep your skin in top condition, no matter your age or jam-packed schedule.
The grooming products you absolutely should invest in are, thankfully, not that complicated. Four steps in the morning, three at night, with a little extra bonus step if you’re feeling motivated. In other words: cleanser, serum, moisturizer. Sunscreen in the morning, swap your serums from day to night, add in an eye cream if you’re feeling ambitious. You’re looking gorgeous already, honey.
To start, you’ll need a cleanser. You can get as targeted as you want with your products and choose formulas that have all kinds of specialized ingredients, from fighting acne to dryness, but if you just want a basic daily driver that’s going to, you know, get your face clean. (That is the general goal, yes?) I highly recommend finding something that feels nice on the skin, has a bit of satisfying foam and is easy to rinse off with just your hands and water. Use this morning and night to reset your skin and start with a blank slate.
Next are your serums. These are leave-on formulas that help solve whatever issues bug you most about your skin — say, dark spots left over from a breakout — or help you look a little brighter and more alive in the morning. These concentrated products are the workhorses in your routine and will impress a nosy guest when they take a peek at your skincare routine.
I suggest using one formula in the morning to protect your skin with antioxidants (these bad boys guard against UV damage, pollution, the works) and one at night that contains retinol, the ultimate anti-aging ingredient to help minimize the look of fine lines. That’s it; that’s all you need when it comes to serums, so you can ignore 99% of the other options on the market. (And there are so many.)
A moisturizer is a must for both your daytime and nighttime routines. Can you use different products for both? Sure, but in my opinion, you don’t really need to, unless your skin is crazy dry at night. I like a no-frills option with no active ingredients (those extras that can jack up the price and potentially irritate your skin) that simply helps to… moisturize your skin. Apply a dime-sized amount, rub it in and you’re good to go.
Sunscreen is non-negotiable for your morning skincare routine. Rain or shine, indoors or outside, you always want to apply a teaspoon of sunscreen (two finger lengths’ worth) to your face and neck. Or do you want to look like an old leather shoe by the time you’re 40?
For guys with facial hair, I suggest looking for a chemical formula (one without zinc or titanium dioxide) so there’s no white cast left over. Stick, cream, gel, whatever — there are plenty of options to choose from, but really, the best sunscreen is the one that feels comfortable on your skin and has at least SPF 30.
If you really want to impress the women in your life, you can add in an eye cream to your morning and night rotation. Is it totally necessary? No, you can always swipe on your moisturizer over your eyes. But if tired under-eyes, dark circles or fine lines are annoying you, I’d keep a little jar or tube on hand and tap in a few small dots around your upper and lower eyelids. Again, not a must-have, but if you want to truly level-up your grooming game, this is the best product to have.
Subscribe to Hannah’s Substack, Anxiety Beer, and find her on Instagram and TikTok @hannahbaxward.
