What do men really think of make up?

[Myusernameismyusername]

I'm asking this because I am single and I can't really ask a man

I have very bad skin and have had for nearly 15 years. I can't seem to cure it or really treat it (GP's are rubbish) it's all hormonal and have resorted to pretty much covering it in very expensive cover up (like for skin conditions/scarring/vertiligo which is amazing stuff. I don't wear other heavy make up such as big eyes or a lot of blush and try to make it look natural. It's thick but not some bright orange mask that is very obvious.

But I feel like it's a mask and not really the real me. Sooner or later I have to trust and feel comfortable enough with someone to say 'look here is the real me'. And it's not just on my face either although it's not too bad on my body the scarring is embarrassing.

I won't go swimming often and although I haven't had a relationship in a long time if I had sex with someone I would try to get up before they woke up and make it look better before they saw me.

I'm just not sure how much of a deal breaker chronic acne is, or if the thick make up is worse?

I would love to be comfortable in my own skin etc but it can be so overwhelming I don't even like going to work if it is really bad (I do, but I find it hard). I've been quite depressed about it and trying to just get on with it.

I've tried all the 'cures' so that isn't what I am looking for and I can't afford expensive laser treatment but I just wondered what men really think of women's bare naked faces, imperfections and all?

[DaveX]

I'm a male in my late 40's, I've been in several long term relationships, and to be totally honest with you I have absolutely no idea about makeup at all - I've never really thought about it. It's always been something that partners have to do - it's always part of them, like a third leg or something. I know there are things in the bathroom cabinet - that are makeup related things and around the bedroom and stuff. I know a few words mascara/blusher/foundation/gloss and few others that I've picked up from partners conversations - but I have no idea what any of it means!

My vision does notice a difference but I couldn't tell you what really - I guess my vision is not geared for the superficial!

And that ends my thoughts and story about makeup :)!

[Myusernameismyusername]

Thanks guys!
I did see something online where a woman was vilified for looking like 2 completely different people with and without makeup I don't think mine is quite that extreme

I'm going to look into diets today and see if something will help me.

Thanks

[Okkitokkiunga]

I know you said you didn't want to be told about cures but you haven't mentioned ultrasound. I had acne flare up in my late teens and early 20's and as you say it's soul destroying. I did have creams and tablets but can't remember what they see now. I can still remember over twenty years later comments people made and it still hurts. Anyway. I had ultrasound on my face - a course of ten treatments. It was a lot cheaper than laser. The first few made it look worse and I was so upset but then it got better. I don't wear any make up at all now and you can only see scars and poc marks really close up. Most people are surprised when I say I had acne. The pill did help me for a few years though I had to come off it. Now I only get the odd flare up on my jaw/ neck at that time of the month. Not even every month any more.

When I met my DH I wore make up. The only thing I wear now occasionally is mascara and lipstick which he occasionally notices.

[Okkitokkiunga]

Sorry about the multiple posting. I've reported it and asked for them to be removed.

[dovesong]

I just wanted to come back and add that most men have no idea how much makeup actually is makeup. One of my male friends recently pointed me out as not wearing much - at the time I was wearing foundation, two different concealers, two different highlighters, eyebrow pencil, blusher, mascara, eyeshadow, eyeliner, nude lipstick and powder. (I took it as a compliment because, despite all those products, I tend to go for a fresh faced look!)

[formerbabe]

One of my male friends recently pointed me out as not wearing much - at the time I was wearing foundation, two different concealers, two different highlighters, eyebrow pencil, blusher, mascara, eyeshadow, eyeliner, nude lipstick and powder.

Same thing happened to me...first date ages ago with a guy who said he liked that I didn't wear a lot of make up...I had a full face on! They have no idea!

[ProcrastinatingSquid2]

I don't think they notice, OP. I have to point my spots out to my partner and he just says, "oh, I didn't notice." Which is nice. It's just a shame he also "doesn't notice" the dog hair all over the floor or the washing up that hasn't been done or the dust across the surfaces...
I wonder if it's that men aren't bombarded with advertising that says their house needs to be sparkling and their skin flawless, so they don't get to that stage where they're constantly looking for signs of inadequacy. Or maybe that's a bit of a stretch...

[4merlyknownasSHD]

The use of the word "inadequacy" ........ a little harsh perhaps?

[ProcrastinatingSquid2]

Maybe, sorry, I meant it as a way of showing that a lot of us look for flaws in the way we look that no one else even notices.

[georgethecat]

I'm a long term acne sufferer. I had a really good book: skin written by an American lady who had acne. I got some really good tips from it.
I had done roaccutane at this point as well as every GP prescription.
Most effective for me has been daily benzoyl peroxide gel
But echo what others say, the right guy will see you for you not your acne or makeup. As I reflect back I've seen my skin as a useful filter to weed out the insincere twats!

[Gymnopedies]

My DH doesn't notice when I have a swollen eye with conjictivitis! He doesn't always notice spots either and would not know if someone was wearing foundation.

About treatments, found the anti spot washes really good (done 2-3 times per day), worked on DH and I.

[Whisky2014]

Actually, none of my previous boyfriends or current boyfriend likes red lipstick or any of my male friends thinking about it (yes I've asked over the years). So the people telling you to ignore that comment are being ignorant.

[Whisky2014]

I just asked my bf and he said "make up is probably a good thing as long as it's not too much. It's nice to be made up but not like a clown."

[Corabell]

My DH loves me in red lipstick but to be honest I wouldn't give a fuck if he didn't!

OP I doubt anybody worth being with would be bothered about you using make up to enhance your skin or cover your acne.

[Cocoabutton]

I agree with low carb being helpful - I did very low carb to lose weight and do low carb to maintain weight loss, and my skin is much clearer. I read somewhere that glucose/insulin impacts on your hormones. Any carbs, particularly refined carbs, are turned into glucose by your body.

[PanGalaticGargleBlaster]

Less is more in my books. I don't find heavy make up particularly attractive.

[LovePGtipsMonkey]

Dave , Pan and also other men who replied on this thread - OP isn't talking about a lot of make-up on normal skins - her question was, what would men think if they saw her without the makeup with her bad skin conditiion. It's SCARY foe her to expose her bad skin and possibly get a rejection as a result. You don't really notice on other women because they have an ok skin - thoug eye make-up alsop make a lot of difference to some women. So I do wonder what your opinion/reaction would be?
Do you suggest with the 'less is better' advice, that OP doesn't cover up and goes around with inflamed skin on show? would that not affest how you see a woman?

[LovePGtipsMonkey]

sorry for the typos!

[LovePGtipsMonkey]

OP sorry to say but all these tests won't do much good because you will not be prescribed hormone treatments - they aer much more harshh and harmful than even long-tern antibiotics and therefore get prescribed in very serious cases where there are severe symptoms apart from the skin condition. Menopause is the only saviour - meanwhile maybe take credit for laser treatments? Not that I'm sure that they are harmless - at least not enough long term evidence, I think.
Diet may help a bit but honestly is it possible to cut out carbs? that's more than half of what we eat and what we enjoy (unless you are more of a meat lover), it's also in the wine (sugar) - so it's a question whether cutting out all enjoyment from food is good /worth it - especially as it's unlikely to cure the skin, may improve to an extent but boy you need the iron discipline!

[Cocoabutton]

You don't cut out all carbs, but your carbs come from leafy green veg and other low carb veg. I did it to lose three stone but the benefits to my skin were a welcome side effect. I don't drink anyway so that was not an issue. The first few weeks were hard but it is just a way of eating now, not a diet. Just my view. Period pains and mid-cycle pain got less too.

[Myusernameismyusername]

There is one treatment I have heard works and that is spironolactone but this seems to be more available in the US than the UK. The reason I don't want any more anti biotics is that they are not a cure of the root cause, I do not have a bactierial skin problem so over time they stop working. The BP cream some one mentioned causes my skin to become hyper pigmented (light and dark patches) so I now use a low dose antibiotic cream with topical retinol.

Period wise mine have been so heavy and severe I have been anaemic. I have an IUD but they haven't stopped and I was told they probably would. They are better and I can live more easily with them now with the IUD because they are about 1/4 as heavy (but like what I would expect is normal)

I need to look at adjusting my diet but previously it hasn't made a huge difference to my skin.

I just wondered how scary it would be to show someone my skin and then I saw the stretch mark thread by a woman and just know I would have to truely trust someone before they saw it at its worst!

[GinAndOnIt]

Does changing diet affect hormonal skin problems though? I'm not disputing what you're saying, but I thought just changing diet wouldn't fix the hormonal imbalance that causes the acne? I read somewhere that spots come on different places on your face depending on the cause - e.g. Forehead spots are diet related and chin spots hormonal. Could have been complete garbage though.

My skin looked the brightest when I did a dairy free diet for a very brief period, but i still had really sore spots on my chin due to the mini pill (that I was testing at the time). I eat all sorts of crap now, but my skin is finally quite good because my hormones have settled. Eventually.

[Myusernameismyusername]

Apparently it can affect hormonal acne. There are many different ideas to it. I suspect my hormone problem is a massive surge of testosterone. That's just from researching and I am not sure diet would help or not (it didn't in the past but I didn't cut out all carbs)