Salgardo - MANMADE: The Essential Skincare & Grooming Reference for Every Man

From cleanliness and purity, good things can grow.

I have found this to be true in all aspects of life: my love, my family, my career, my philanthropy. For me, getting rid of all the noise, the distraction, and the dirt of life makes everything else possible. As a man, doing so is a commitment to those I love. As an actor, it is essential to what I do when I transform myself for a role. As a citizen of this planet, it is how I keep my promise of shared respect and stewardship of where we all live.

So in my life, being a man is about finding ways to achieve a clean mind, spirit, and body. Caring for myself is how I prepare to care for and connect with others. It isnt just a ritual I go through, it is a philosophy I live by. It may be tempting to see skincare and grooming as nothing more than necessary tasks, but they are more than that. They are, very often, our first intentional acts of the daythe moments when we focus and decide how to present ourselves to the world.

At least that is how I see it: getting ready is really about becoming readyfocused, preparedfor what is to come. Life can be tough, random, even chaotic at times. We all have to put on our game facesour bestand push through it. Thats why I think a book like this matters.

Of course, like so many men, I had to learn how to care for myself and what it meant to do so properly. It wasnt part of how I grew up. My dad worked construction for forty years, and used no more than a bar of soap at the end of workdays. End of story. No SPF for his hours out in the sun. No moisturizer to help his skin recover while he slept. No hand salve to ease the wear of labor. Believe it or not, I grew up not even aware that as an African American I could get a sunburn (and, wow, was the first one was a doozy).

There was a lot to learn along the way to where life has taken me. I did not even know what to buy, nor where to buy it. I followed the advice of experts, Chris Salgardo among them. And I soon ended up realizing that by caring for myself with intention I looked better, felt better, and presented myself to others with more focus.

You dont have to be in the public eye to take your grooming and skincare seriously. And doing it right doesnt have to be a big deal. For me, it is part of the jobbut it is also part of my life. It does not matter what type of guy you aremaybe polished and professional, maybe rugged and carefree. We all benefit from taking just a few minutes to ready ourselves for the world before us.

For younger men, getting the basics right early on will help more than I can tell you. You will be protecting your skin, finding what works best, and feeling confident sooner in life. My six-year-old son loves the time we spend getting the dirt to go away and making all things bright and fresh. He is incredibly keen on being put together and looking good at school. From this clean place, I know he can grow into anybody he dreams of being.

No, there is no secret potionbut yes, there is a bit of magic that comes when we decide to care about the details. It is how we show respect for ourselves and those around us. This book will help you do that, no matter who you are now or may become throughout your life.

When I first met Chris Salgardo at an event in Los Angeles, I confided in him that I finally understood why skincare and grooming matteredfar beyond just that bar of soap my dad used. We became great friends. I hope you will benefit from his insights and wisdom here as much as I have.