“Look after yourself” and “Take care” are two common phrases when taking leave from friends and family. Often greeted with the response “Of course” or ‘Always do” and “And you”. But how many of us actually do look after ourselves?

Where does self-care sit in our priority lists, is it even on the list at all?  If you were asked to look after somebody for 5 minutes a day what would your response be?  Most people’s response would be positive but a lot less people are prepared to spend time on self-care!  Crazy isn’t it when you consider that the health benefits of that 5-10 minutes a day.

At GRAFTED we want to show you that looking after your skin is a small step on the journey to looking after your physical and mental health needs.  In an industry that has traditionally catered to females we believe that now is the time to take back responsibility for looking after ourselves.  It isn’t only about looking and feeling good it is also about how it affects your skin, physical and mental health needs.

Self care is proven to increase self esteem, fight depression, anxiety and stress, it increases self knowledge and with that self confidence!  All those benefits for 5 minutes a day, its difficult to come up with an argument against looking after yourself isn’t it?

What we are talking about here is small steps and starting with skin care. 

5 minutes “me time” will reward you tenfold.  The simple act of applying moisturiser is soothing and calming, the more regular and repetitive the better.  Let’s be honest men haven’t traditionally felt that skin care is for them but why not?  Grooming is very much part of the culture now alongside fashion, fitness and health. 

Don’t complicate matters.  Build your own routine using products that are specifically created for men.  Why not use your partners skincare? The simple answer is the formulations for female skincare are different to mens. 

It is also worth remembering that healthy skin not only looks good and helps you look younger for longer but it assists in keeping us free of disease and infections. Moisuriser keeps your face hydrated and  protected, keeping you looking strong and younger. Of course this is a small part of physical and mental health.  Foods which help keep us on track include berries, citrus fruits, kale, grapes, tomatoes and broccoli.