A man's guide to skincare

Gone are the times when men could get away with tanned, patchy skin and an unkempt beard. Today he is taking care of his skin like there is no tomorrow. And guess what? His woman is loving every bit of it. 

Most men don't spend a lot of time worrying about skincare. They wash their face, they shave, and they go about their business. 

But maybe you should think twice about what you're doing to your face. While you don't go through the elaborate skin care rituals that women do, there are products you can use and steps you can take that will protect and nourish your skin, keeping it looking younger longer. 

Grooming 
There are certain skincare products you should have on hand for daily skincare: 

Face cleanser: You should wash your face twice a day with a good cleanser. If possible, it should contain an alpha hydroxy acid to help wash away dead skin cells, keep the pores clean, and reveal new skin. 

Shaving cream: You'll want to buy a product that will properly lubricate the skin so the razor blade will glide over it, preventing razor burn. You can choose a shaving cream or gel in pressurised cans, or you can buy shaving soap that comes in a small tub and is applied with a brush. Some believe the brush makes the hair stand straighter for easier shaving. 

Aftershave lotion : Many of you use an aftershave lotion to soothe the skin after shaving. The lotion may contain an antiseptic to prevent infection, a moisturizer, or fragrance. 

Moisturizer: Skin tends to dry out as its essential oils diminish with age, but a good moisturizer can help. You might want to choose a moisturizer that contains antioxidants like vitamins A, C, and E, which can protect skin cells from aging. Steer clear of creams or lotions with sodium lauryl sulfate, which tends to remove natural oils from the skin. 

Sunscreen: Sunscreen is the best thing you can do to prevent aging of your skin, and it should be applied whenever you expect to spend time outdoors. Some experts even recommend applying sunscreen right after shaving. Make sure it has an SPF factor of at least 15. 

A close shave 
Shaving has hidden advantages — the exfoliation that takes place every time you shave can keep the skin of your face looking young and healthy. But if you shave improperly, you can cause razor burn or razor bumps, which form when facial hair cut too short curls back into the skin. To shave properly, follow these steps: 

Soften your beard: Thoroughly wet your face with hot water. Prior to wetting the beard, you might even want to apply a warm washcloth to further soften hairs. 

Apply shaving cream: Cover your entire beard with shaving cream. Work it in well to make the hairs stand up and to lubricate the skin. 

Shave: Use a sharp razor, and shave in the direction the hairs lay. Avoid repeating strokes, and keep your skin relaxed. 

Rinse: Rinse the remaining shaving cream off your face. Use cool or warm water, as hot water will dry out your skin. 

Saving face 
The best anti-aging product you can use is sunscreen, which both moisturizes your skin and prevents sun damage. However, to treat skin that is beginning to show signs of age, like fine lines and dullness, consider a tretinoin gel or emollient (Retin-A Micro, Renova). These vitamin-A derivative topicals enhance the natural production of collagen and elastic fibers in the skin as they treats discoloration, wrinkles, and the degeneration of elastic tissue. They're available only by prescription, so talk to your doctor. 

Gifts you must avoid giving your girl!

Make your girl feel loved and pampered by buying her gifts. But you need to really think through her likes and dislikes before you go ahead and buy her something. Here is a ready reckoner of what not to buy for your beloved. 

These are some of the gifts that you must surely avoid giving your girlfriend. 

Clothes of wrong size: Men, it’s time to realize that girls usually (or maybe mostly) lie about their sizes. By doing so, they try to be as close as perfect, at least to you! So avoid buying stuff basis the size that she’s casually told you about as it could turn out to be a disaster. Call center executive Poonam Singhal shares her experience: “My boyfriend once wanted to surprise me with an ‘unexpected and sexy gift.’ I kept on wondering what it would be till he got me an expensive Gas dress that I had once looked at while on a shopping spree, but had to drop it because it was a size small. I, of course, didn’t let my boyfriend know and said it was highly priced. And then I saw it in front of me and felt terrible.” So guys, this is a cue for you to take your girl out shopping. Never buy stuff unless you are sure of her size. We mean, really sure! 

Cheap jewellery: Most women don’t like to be gifted inexpensive jewellery. You might spot her picking up stuff from a local flee market, but when it comes to gifting, do not even think of giving jewellery unless you can afford some really precious stuff. “My fiancé once gave me a piece of jewellery that looked very tacky. He felt pretty excited so I wore it on one of our dates, but the next day I developed a skin irritation and felt horrified,” says content writer Prachi Uppal. Same applies to cheap cosmetics. It will give a very wrong impression about you. 

Gym membership: You see your girl incessantly talking about a treadmill, power yoga, spinning and you imagine that giving a gym membership would be the most valued thing you could gift her. Wrong! This will send out a very wrong message to her that you want her to work out more and lose some unpleasant fat. 

Pup or a kitten: On the face of it, the idea sounds pretty cute and romantic, but, do not land yourself into trouble unless your girl has asked you for one. It is because once she gets over the initial excitement, she will realize that pets are just not adorable things; they also need a lot of care and time. The pet needs food and walks poop training, not to forget the occasional vet visits. She might think that it was the worst gift given to her. So your pooch love can wait! 

Something that you need: A gift that you are buying for her is not for you. So, do not even dream of giving her tickets for a cricket or football match or passes to a concert with free beer with one of your male buddies. 

Safeguard yourself from credit card frauds

In recent times, there have been a spate of news items revealing a credit card fraud. In one such item, two youngsters were caught duping credit card holders by offering them new credit cards with higher credit limits by trading in their old credit cards. The youngsters then used the old cards to make their purchases, mostly electronics. This is how they laid the plot.

They would call up credit card holders representing themselves as employees of the credit card company. They would inform these clueless customers about a new scheme about new credit cards with greater purchase limits in exchange of old ones. Then they would also inform customers that the company's representative would soon visit them with the new card, which would be activated as soon as they filled in a form!

This news only reinstates the importance of being a vigilant customer and using credit cards with utmost prudence. Here are a few things one can do:

1. If you lose your credit card, it is necessary to inform your credit card company immediately. This will enable the card issuer to freeze the card with immediate effect and prevent any purchases on the card. The important thing for you is that your liability is limited once you inform the credit card issuer.

2. Destroy your old card completely before you begin using your new card. This is important even if your old card has expired or you are upgrading your card.

3. Keep your card in a safe place and do not allow other people to handle it.

4. Be prudent about signing up for new offers. Double-check the genuineness of the scheme. A simple way to verify genuineness of any scheme is to call up the credit card company and inquiring with them.

5. Change your PIN at regular intervals. Do not use obvious PIN like birth dates.

6. Inform your credit card company immediately if you do not receive your monthly credit statement. It could be a case of identity theft where the fraudster has changed your billing address.

7. Use chip based credit cards. These cards offer better security than credit cards with black magnetic stripes. This is because in a chip based card, all information is stored in the small chip in encrypted format and it also uses a PIN. This makes changing or copying this data extremely difficult.

8. So, the chance of data being misused while swiping the card is very remote. It is the highest level of security that credit card companies can offer at present. Citibank and Kotak Mahindra issue chip based cards to select high range customers. Axis bank's VISA Platinum card is also chip-based. HDFC Bank also has begun issuing these cards.

9. Be careful while shopping online. This is because you are required to give the CVV number for making purchases over the Internet. For this, be sure you shop only from secure websites. Ensure that the website is certified by VeriSign. Look for a yellow lock on the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

10. If you have a large credit limit on your card and use it frequently for several purchases including online and telephone purchases, it is a good idea to get your card insured. You cannot prevent credit card fraud but at least minimize its impact on your financial stability! You can protect yourself from fraudulent charges on your card up to 12 hours before reporting the loss to the credit card issuer.