We're lucky enough to be able to work with some amazing bloggers and influencers at Mankind, and Carl Thompson is one of them. Carl set up his blog www.carlthompson.co.uk, back in 2013, after he founded a London shirt makers. It made sense for him to set up a men's fashion, style, travel and grooming blog, to pass on his knowledge to everyone.
Expect to see amazing style inspiration, travel guides and grooming advice from Carl's blog.
Carl's grooming routine didn't start off smoothly, he'll be the first to admit that he only used warm water until recently. Now Carl believes in keeping his skincare routine as simple as possible. The aim is to make it less of a chore, and more of a habit.
In this post, we've spoken with Carl to get an insight his experience with skincare and what he does to keep his skin in tip-top shape.
- Q Let’s start by telling us a bit more about you…
- A Having founded 'Hawkins & Shepherd' the London shirt makers back in 2013, it became a natural progression into menswear influencing & blogging. Helping all men dress better has become a passion of mine with my style spanning different generations, appealing to a variety of different age ranges. My menswear blog carlthompson.co.uk is an amalgamation of my lifestyle, fashion, grooming, travel with a touch of fitness and food.
- Q When did you first start looking after you skin? And what caused you to consider it more?
- A I'm very old school when it comes to caring for my skin and never really had a skincare routine until about a year ago, in fact prior to then, my grooming routine was to splash some warm water over my face in a kind of 'that'll do' mentality. The big realisation that I need to take some more care for my skin was after I had one of those face UV scanning reports - highlighting deep wrinkles, sun spots and dehydration.
- Q What steps do you follow in your everyday skincare routine?
- A Daily routines need to be quick and easy so that it becomes habit rather than a chore. First thing in the morning I cleanse with water getting rid of any dead skin cells. Whilst I'm in the shower, once or twice a week, exfoliate your face using two fingers on both hands to scrub the skin in a circular motion - if you get irritated skin, less on the exfoliation. Then I use a daily facial wash, I prefer products with mint, citrus or tea tree hints because I feel it wakes me up. Depending on the length of my beard, I'll now use a small amount of beard shampoo, which is more oily than hair shampoo. Out of the shower and whilst getting ready, I'll use a daily moisturiser with an under eye cream for those dark circles. To finish off, I'll use a beard oil.
- Q How did you discover your skin type and what products worked best for you?
- A For me I was lucky enough to get told my skin type by a professional which is important when choosing the right products for your skin. Prior to this, I had to find out the hard way, by trying lots and lots of product until I found some that worked perfect for me.
- Q What challenges did you face when starting to look after your skin?
- A My challenges were more mental than anything else, where I was using all sorts of excuses to not look after my skin. However what worked for me was to define exactly what product to use for each part of my routine... Don't have choices and line up the products neatly in the order in which you would use them. Having 5 facial scrubs, 3 beard oils and umpteen moisturisers all clumsily dumped together in a drawer will only add time to the routine and ultimately the failure of it.
- Q What three products are staples in your skincare routine?
- A Daily face wash, moisturiser and eye cream.
- Q If you had one piece of advice to give to someone starting on their skincare journey, what would it be?
- A As well as putting together and sticking to a daily skin care routine, there are so many other factors in maintaining that healthy glow. Hydration is key to exceptional skin. For men in particular, dark circles tend to be a massive concern, as no one wants to look tired and drained. To help with these retched dark circles, drink plenty of water before bed and moisturise using a night-time specific product - keeping your skin hydrated over night.
It’s clear to see how Carl’s skincare routine has evolved, and how keeping it simple does the job!
If you want to see more from Carl, you can check out his blog by clicking here. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter (@Carl23B) and Instagram (@HawkinsAndShepherd).
