“What skincare should my boyfriend use?” is one of the questions I get asked most often in my weekly Instagram Q&As, and while I usually give a fairly generic answer like “Use a basic cleanser, moisturiser and SPF” because I don’t know the ins and outs of everyone’s boyfriend’s skin, today I’m sharing my boyfriend’s skincare routine.

I’m not suggesting anyone copy this routine exactly, but it might help you put together a bit of a routine for your partner if they’re starting to show some interest in skincare, or if you’ve caught them digging their mitts into your jar of moisturiser.

Funnily enough, skincare is actually what brought my partner and me together in 2021. One of my Hinge prompts said, “I’ll let you buy me a drink if you have a skincare routine” (exhibit A of an actual response to this prompt, not from my boyfriend lol).

I don’t have a screenshot of my boyfriend’s response, but he did take the bait and told me he used KORA Organics skincare. Bless.

I’ll admit, skincare is a much easier sell if they’re already kinda into it.

Adrian still uses KORA’s Noni Oil, but very early on, several other products made their way from his toiletries bag into the bin when he stayed at my place and were swiftly replaced with (better) more suitable products.

Adrian had always received Clarins skincare in his teenage years for Christmas (a nice choice from his mum), but in his 20s he had been using Vaseline body moisturiser on his face and a very drying clay mask.

He also NEVER wore sunscreen and would frequently get badly sunburnt, which is something we’ve had very stern conversations about – he’s now much better with his sunscreen application (though not perfect).

In my opinion, the key is to start them off on a routine that’s really manageable and doesn’t require much brain power.

A gentle cleanser, a lightweight moisturiser, and a sunscreen that won’t cause their eyes to sting or skin to feel oily throughout the day.

Then you can add a niacinamide + hyaluronic acid serum for example, and continue to gradually build out their routine with active ingredients to target their concerns.

If they aren’t willing to be diligent with their SPF every day, don’t go introducing actives like exfoliating acids and retinoids. These ingredients can increase photosensitivity, and using sun protection alongside them is not negotiable.

I wouldn’t say Adrian has the most consistent routine, but he does always apply something.

We’ll often be laying in bed and he’ll remember he hasn’t done his skincare, and he’ll jump out of bed and just put a bit of moisturiser on.

On other nights, he’ll do a double cleanse (he just recently learnt what this was), and apply his serums, moisturiser and oil.

He also rolled his eyes when I brought my LED mask on two overseas trips last year, but I swear he used it more times than me during our travels.

Adrian’s got normal-combo skin, he’s prone to breakouts on his neck from shaving, he gets seborrhoeic dermatitis around his eyebrows and beard, and his main skin concerns would be fine lines, redness and dryness.

At the moment, this is roughly his product line-up:

He has to be clean-shaven for work, and his facial hair grows at the speed of light, so regular shaving does cause quite a bit of irritation and redness on his neck along with whiteheads.

After shaving, he uses La Roche-Posay Effaclar Serum on his neck which really helps to prevent the shaving bumps and breakouts from happening.

You’ll first need to establish your partner's skin type and concerns.

Men biologically have thicker skin than women, with more sebaceous glands, and therefore often have oilier skin and more visible pores (but not always) than their female counterparts.

For our cleanser, if you’ve got a partner with combo-oily skin, CeraVe’s Foaming Cleanser could be a good option, or if they have normal-dry skin, I’d go for something like La Roche-Posay’s Toleriane Dermo-Cleanser.

Moisturisers for our oily-combo guys could include The Ordinary NMF + Beta Glucan, CeraVe Facial Moisturising Lotion or Viviology Lightweight Moisturiser.

For our drier guys, Bioderma’s Sensibio Defensive Lightweight Moisturiser, Viviology’s Ceramide Moisturiser or La Roche-Posay’s Sensitive Prebiotic Moisturiser are solid picks.

Sunscreens we want to ensure are lightweight, non-greasy, won’t leave a white cast and won’t sting their eyes (they don’t need any more excuses not to wear it).

La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios Invisible Fluid SPF50+ is a popular choice, as is Bondi Sands Hydra UV Protect Spf 50+ Face Gel and Avene Aqua-Fluid SPF50+.

And if you read this whole article and you’re single, looking for a man in finance, trust fund, 6’5, blue eyes, feel free to reuse my Hinge prompt on your own profile and see if you can reel in someone who loves skincare as much as you.

(I will warn you though, you’ll burn through your products a lot quicker when you’re unwillingly sharing them.)