Hair and skin care hints for men

Expert offers tips on the art of balancing beauty and masculinity.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The marketplace now offers men their own beauty products, and -- according to a new Glamour poll -- men are using them.
Men account for 10 percent of cosmetic sales, according to a recent issue of the magazine, which also reports that 63 percent of 1,529 women polled said their man regularly buys and uses skin and hair products. Seventy-eight percent of those same women also said they wouldn't date a man who uses more beauty products than they do.
It seems women don't have to worry: Another survey, conducted for Boss Skin, a new men's grooming line from Hugo Boss, found that 36 percent of the 559 men questioned knew their skin should be moisturized, but only 10 percent said they washed, exfoliated and moisturized each day.
There's an art to balancing beauty and masculinity. When Frederic Fekkai opened his new flagship salon and spa in the Henri Bendel store in Manhattan, he added a men's styling lounge called L'Atelier de Frederic. The decor includes stainless steel sink faucets, white subway tiles and tufted sofas.
Good advice
Fekkai stylist Stephane Andre offers tips for men:
Don't try too hard. Keep your look simple.
Exfoliate scalp once a week since clogged pores can be attributed to hair loss. Shampoo and conditioner should be used after exercise because salt deposits from sweat dry out hair.
Cut hair regularly, about every six weeks. If hair is thinning, keep it short -- no comb-overs. And don't forget to trim ear, neck, eyebrows and nose, if necessary.
For a more natural look when you start to gray, don't color it completely. If a little bit of gray shows through it won't look as fake.
Use a small amount of gel, wax or pomade will make hair shinier, but don't overdo it.
Some of the rules for hair are the same for skin care, too. A skin care routine should include cleansing, exfoliating, moisturizing -- and using sunscreen, according to Matthew Teri, vice president of corporate product development for Lab Series for Men.
For best results
His suggestions for an effective regimen:
Skin should be cleaned twice a day. Men produce more sebum and therefore typically have oilier skin. Men's skin also collects more dirt, oil and debris than women's because it is thicker and has larger pores.
Exfoliation unclogs pores, smoothing the texture in preparation for shaving. It also allows for better absorption of moisturizers.
It might seem counterintuitive to moisturize oily skin, but oil is different from moisture. If skin isn't moisturized then it will make even more sebum to compensate for dryness. A lightweight moisturizer likely will keep skin balanced.
Sunscreen should be applied daily, even on cloudy days, to protect skin from harmful ultraviolet rays.