It’s November, and it’s that time of the year when men of all ages grow out their moustaches to raise money for Movember. For me, moustaches do not take my fancy and there seems to be a growing number of normally attractive men, looking a bit porno as the number of days pass in November. However, I know it’s for a good cause and 30 days of looking at unattractive men is worth it for the money they raise for Movember.
Movember started in Melbourne a couple of years ago as a way to promote awareness for, and raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Council Foundation for Australia and beyondblue. Both run programs to aid awareness, education and research on the two biggest health issues that men face – Prostate Cancer and Depression. Whilst I have been lucky enough not to have many friends or family affected by these two health issues, I wanted to raise awareness this month, largely because men are generally reluctant to seek help when they encounter health issues. In my experience, men are culturally set to not seek help and to “man up” and deal with whatever issues they’re having. Unlike most women, men don’t see the doctor for a periodical check up nor own up to potential health issues which could increase the seriousness of the health issue they’re facing.
In some ways, the same attitude is prevalent in terms of some men’s attitude towards taking care of their skin. The reaction I often receive when I ask men what their beauty regime is, is largely similar to that when I suggest a man should go and see a doctor for their ailment. It’s like it’s unmanly to go and see a doctor or use a moisturiser with SPF to protect their skin.
I asked many men whether they had a skincare regime or used skin care/sunscreen. The general answer was no. Many said they used soap on their face which had me having mini-heart attacks every time! DO NOT USE SOAP ON YOUR FACE! As much as I love Dove soap, even if a half or third or whatever percentage of it is moisturising cream, it’s not for your face! And many did not use a moisturiser or sunscreen. Now I’m not saying that not using beauty products is akin to not going to see the doctor if there is something wrong, but the attitudes are similar and that got me thinking…..
Seeing as it’s Movember, why not see if we can do something to raise funds for this great cause and at the same time, help men a little bit with the questions they’ve been too afraid to ask about products and why they should use them. In the spirit of this initiative, I have convinced a friend, Allan, to share his experience in growing his “Mo” over the course of this month. He successfully grew a handlebar mo for last year’s Movember and is hoping to repeat the same mo again this year. We will follow his journey over the next month and will also include a link to his fundraising page for all our men’s beauty articles.
Also, I have gathered a trio of testers who will provide their thoughts on various men’s skincare products over the course of the month. Ash, Peter and Nick will try a variety of products from different brands, from cleansers to shaving balms to moisturisers. They already use some skincare products but will face the gamut of products that they didn’t think they’d need over the next few weeks. Finally, we will send one of my male skeptics along to get a men’s facial!
I hope that you find our articles interesting and useful for your, or your man’s skincare needs so that no one is using soap on their face. Please also remember to donate to Movember!
Happy Mo growing!
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