Aisling McDermott on Beauty: Irish men should start looking after their skin

After years of Mrs Doyle-style “go on” nagging, I finally persuaded my husband to try a spa treatment. We were in Bali, the spa capital of the world, and he agreed to a massage. Upon entering the spa, his mood changed as the calming music tinkled and softly spoken, pretty Balinese therapists flitted around in their batik tunics. As one of the girls led me to a treatment room, I glanced around to give him a reassuring nod.

What can only be described as the Indonesian grandmother of Wee Jimmy Krankie had emerged from behind a curtain and was manhandling him.

“It was horrible,” he whimpered later as we lay on our sun loungers. “I had to strip, and she pummelled the life out of me. I was afraid for my tender bits.”

So I didn’t fancy my chances of getting him to visit a spa ever again. But recently we spent the weekend in Brook Lodge, which has a great spa. We were with another couple and everyone was happily discussing the treatments they would have. He agreed to a facial. A man facial.

He was at the end of a cold that had hung around for weeks, and his skin was grey and dull. The facial worked wonders to bring it back to normality. I dearly wish more men would go for facials, but most Irish men, despite all the guff about metrosexuality being the norm, are just not interested in looking after their skin. The market for men's skincare products in Ireland is tiny, but happily the younger generation think nothing about using skincare, so hopefully this will change.

There are certain rules surrounding the packaging of male skincare that will make or break a range. It must be either black, grey or navy, and it must have a suitably manly name such as “aftershave balm” or “face power scrub”. This means most products look so similar that you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between Nivea for Men or Boots Botanics for Men (both good).

So what are the best products for the clued-in man to use? Kiehl's makes superb skincare and its male ranges are no different. They hit the nail firmly on the head by naming their moisturiser Facial Fuel and promoting the alpha male, muscle-bound Matthew McConaughey as a user of the range.

Clarins for Men is also a favourite in our house as, despite my husband's aversion to spa treatments, he does use scrubs and "aftershave balm". Along with Kiehl's, he rates Clinique For Men (particularly the scrub). Molton Brown is another favourite, and its new Extra-rich Bai Ji Hydrator is a great buy for dry skin. He also rates the Lidl Cien range for men and reckons it is the best of the supermarket buys.

• amcdermott@irishtimes.com
• Twitter @aismcdermott