Society of Certified Senior Advisors: Grooming Secrets for Mature Men

Gentlemen, look no further: here are your essential tips for healthy and attractive hair and skin, in your 50s and beyond.

We all want to look our best, and we can all use a little encouragement sometimes. Men entering their sixth and seventh decades may want to update their daily grooming regimen to address the natural changes that our skin and hair undergo over time. Below, find your encouragement and some pro tips.

The Hair on Your Head and Face…

All the men’s style sources we researched for this article advocated for shorter trims for mature men. The argument is that a longer cut, coupled with hair loss, gives an older look. Shorter styles tend to come across as more contemporary and can be easier to care for.

Beards are also in style right now, not least among men in their 50s and up. The consensus seems to be that a beard adds a few years to a person’s look, but your mileage may vary. Keep in mind that maintaining a healthy beard can amount to more work than a clean shave. Beards need shampooing and conditioning; washing a beard with soap will lead to dryness. Beards also call for daily combing and regular exfoliation (more on that below). Using a beard oil is a great idea to condition and add shine.

…and the Hair in Your Ears and Nose

While you might be inclined to maximize your hair and beard, the nose and ear tufts, not so much. Men’s and women’s ears and noses keep growing as we get older, and for some, that can mean more visible hair. To keep it under control, use a small blunt-tipped scissors or an electric trimmer, available for under $10 at drug stores.

Don’t try to pluck nose hairs! It’s not worth the pain. But, you might want to pluck bushy eyebrows, especially right after getting out of the shower, when hair tends to release more easily. AARP offers this clever tip: Use a clean toothbrush to brush bushy eyebrows straight up, and then use a small scissors to snip the excess length above the browline. Now, even when your eyebrow hairs are out of line, they’ll be too short to stick too far out.

Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize

Starting in our 60s and 70s, skin often starts to feel drier. Mature skin grows thinner and starts to lose water more easily. Moisturizer becomes a man’s best friend. The American Academy of Dermatology Association suggests applying moisturizer within three minutes of washing your face or exiting the shower or bath, to lock in moisture. Use warm, not hot, water, as hot water can strip skin of natural oils.

Mature skin tends to be more sensitive, so looking for “gentle” skincare products is a good rule of thumb. But what constitutes a “gentle” moisturizer or sunscreen? Look for products that include these descriptors:

Fragrance-free. Fragrances can irritate skin, causing redness and itchiness.
Non-comedogenic. In other words, non-pore-blocking. Let your skin breathe.
Hyaluronic acid. OK, this is an ingredient, not a descriptor, but it’s a great term to find on the label. This moisturizing carbohydrate occurs naturally in skin and eyes, so few people are allergic to it, and it’s super hydrating.

As with food products, skincare manufacturers can slap advertising copy like “natural” and “for sensitive skin” on their labels with nothing to back up those claims. The Mayo Clinic offers a website and app called SkinSafe to help consumers choose quality skincare products based on the ingredients.

Add a Face Scrub to Your Routine

“Yeah, it's another product, another step, but cell turnover gets sluggish with age,” according to AARP. Exfoliating weekly removes dead skin cells from the face that cause skin to look dull and dry. Plus, dead skin cells can clog pores, leading to other problems like acne. And dermatologists say that exfoliating is especially important for men, who often have thicker, rougher skin because of higher levels of testosterone.

Scrubs can also help you get a closer shave and remove dirt and dead skin from beards. Plus, it’s refreshing, kind of like a satisfying back scratch for your face. Give exfoliation a try–you may never go back.

The Inevitable Plug for Wearing Sunscreen

Alright guys, no surprises here: sunscreen is for you, too. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, using an SPF 15 sunscreen as directed every day can reduce your risk of squamous cell carcinoma by 40%, and your risk of melanoma by up to 50%. Should you use sunscreen even when it’s cloudy? Yes: up to 80% of the sun’s harmful rays can still reach your skin on cloudy days. It’s never too late to up your sunscreen game and reap the protective health and beauty benefits. And no matter your gender, let’s be honest: we’re all going for beautiful skin.