Men's skin care once meant slapping on some aftershave.

What are the best anti wrinkle products for men?

The man who dared ask that question out loud would have been laughed at, not long ago. Men somehow convinced themselves that wrinkles and creases in their faces were macho, all part of being a man's man.

Most men have grown up a bit. They know they can use some help with anti wrinkle products, especially since many men have neglected their skin. They want to look youthful and healthy, and face it, guys: wrinkles and age spots don't send either message. Wrinkles arenotmanly.

Once you acknowledge that men's skin care is important, you naturally want to find the best anti wrinkle products for men. Here are just a few facts about men's skin care and the ingredients that really help.

First, men's skin is particularly prone to inflammation and redness.

Some of that inflammation may be due to the subtle genetic differences between men and women. Much of it is probably due to different behavior: most men shave every day, and they tend to be careless about sunburn, windburn, and letting their skin dry out.

Even where redness isn't obvious, signs of aging often are -- like dark spots and bags under the eyes, facial wrinkles and color variations in the skin. These are signs of hidden inflammation.

It is not easy to get this under control, but it's possible. One thing a good men's skin care product must do is halt inflammation. To say it more technically: it must reduce production of Prostaglandin E2 in the body: this is the major biochemical pathway leading to inflammation in the skin.

So look for a men's skin care product that promises toblock PGE2 production --and tells you exactly what ingredients will do the job.

One word of advice on allowing yourself to get sunburned:

Don't!

Sunburn, especially severe sunburn, is inflammation by definition. (Why do you think the skin turns red?)

Besides the wrinkles that develop, severe sunburn is linked to melanoma, a rare type of skin cancer but by far the largest cause of skin cancer deaths.

For those who ignore this advice and get sunburned anyway, there are a couple of ingredients that will specifically help with inflammation due to sunburn:

-- D-Panthenol (vitamin B5) helps repair skin tissue and acts as a natural moisturizer. It also protects the skin naturally against sunburn, provides relief for existing sunburn, and enhances the natural tanning process.

-- Witch hazel, a long-famous natural skin care ingredient, is helpful with sunburn, reducing inflammation and redness. Witch hazel is a natural antioxidant and astringent. It's effective in helping many skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema, and cracked or blistered skin. Witch hazel is also traditionally used as a good first aid for shaving cuts and abrasions for men.

For more specific advice on men's skin care and the best anti wrinkle products for men, check out my website.