UrbanUpdate

In coronavirus quarantine, there seem to be 100 hours in each day, but only two days in each week. Time is now a flat circle wrapped in sweatpants fleece. We're anxiety-ridden, trying to be productive, and stressed out about trying to be productive while anxious. Which is why we need to find ways to step back, to let our minds loosen up. So we've pulled together some ultra-luxe treatments for your beard, feet, and face. They'll take you beyond your everyday moisturizer, but also outside the timelines and inboxes and FaceTimes with family.

For best effect, do 'em whenever you need to decompress for a moment: before your first Zoom meeting, after you log off, on whatever the hell a "lunch break" is anymore. Maybe when all this is over, you’ll be the one back at the office who doesn’t look distressed, with extra spring in your fresh-footed step, and extra sparkle in your big, bushy beard.

Foot Peel

It’s hard to find the right time to do a foot peel. In a normal day, you’re always on your feet, or at least on the go between work and home and the gym and errands and so forth. But it’s because of that “go go go” lifestyle that your feet are callused all over, with rough patches of dead skin. Your heels could cut glass (or, as you've been told, your partner's legs). So the present lockdown seems like the exact right time. Foot peels are blends of enzymes and acids—exfoliating ones, like those found in chemical face exfoliants. They aren’t harmful at all, but when applied to skin they eat away at dead skin cells while leaving the healthy, lively ones.

You’ll let it soak into the skin for an hour while you watch Tiger King. After a rinse, it takes a couple days for the skin to start peeling off. (Just wait until days 3 through 7.) It’s a somewhat gross, fascinating process—but on the other side, a week or so later, you'll have soft enough feet to start your own cam site.

One tip: Wear socks for the whole day and overnight during the peel process, and turn them inside out when you wash them. You should be able to still go for a walk or run each day during the process, but perhaps on the most dramatic day you’ll want to take it easy.

Oh, and don't make this a monthly habit, satisfying as the results may be—aim for six months or more between foot reboots.

Baby Foot foot peel$25

Blue Mercury

Hot Beard Oil Treatment

If you’re rocking a robust quarantine beard, you are not alone. But the key is that you need to take even more care as the bushiness grows. You want James Harden, not Ted Kaczynski.

To keep the beard hydrated, itch-free, and tamed, consider doing a hot beard oil treatment. It’s a soothing, spa-like procedure that opens the pores and encourages natural hydration, treating both the hairs and the skin underneath. You’ll warm up a vial of this oil in hot water, massage it all over your beard, roots to tips, and rinse it out after a few minutes.

Proraso hot beard oil treatment (4 pack)$18

Grooming Lounge

4-Mask Facial

This is some real-deal spa action. We devised a series of four products to clean out skin gunk, shrink pores, and bring your skin back to a healthy, movie-poster-worthy glow. Cucumber slices optional.

1. An enzyme exfoliant

This is a wash-away version of an exfoliating serum. Leave it on freshly cleansed skin for 10-15 minutes (or as directed) and it will dissolve the dead skin on your face and keep your pores clear. It's safe, but be mindful of what you feel when wearing the peeling mask. If it stings before the time is up, wash it off. Either way, lukewarm water should suffice for the final flush.

Elemis non-abrasive papaya enzyme exfoliating mask$45

Dermstore

2. The pore cleanser

This was what we knew as a face mask before the pandemic. It'll stick to your face and absorb all the gunk and grease in your skin, tightening and drying as it goes. Use as directed—typically 10-15 minutes—and rinse with lukewarm water.

MUDMASKY clay detox mask$45

Amazon

3. The hydrating sheet

After the exfoliating and deep cleansing, it’s time to do some hardcore moisturizing. For this step, use a serum- or gel-packed sheet mask. If you have a beard, you may need to snip the lower half of the mask since it won’t stick to your whiskers—though some masks designed for men, like Jaxon Lane’s, featured below, create a top half and bottom half so you can skip the unneeded part. (But don’t trash all that great moisturizer! Rub the unused half on clean hands, or neck, or feet, or just save it for later.) Whether you have a beard or not, wear the sheet as directed, typically 15-20 minutes. Then, don’t rinse your skin, but gently pat the product with your hands in so that it absorbs.

Jaxon Lane hydrating sheet mask (4 pack)$28

Amazon

4. An overnight rescue mask

The last step is the one product that you can leave on until your morning cleanse. It’s the night mask, which is essentially a night cream. It’s thick and sits on top of your skin, plumping your face full of nutrients and moisture, and ensuring you wake up looking rested, with a bright and clear complexion. Think of it as a magnifier of the replenishment and rejuvenation that happens to the skin while you sleep—it’s like getting two night’s rest in one.

Aesop replenishing night mask$125

Nordstrom

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Adam Hurly has been covering men's grooming since 2013 (and for GQ since 2016). He is also a travel writer. In Fall 2024, Adam is launching Blue Print by Adam Hurly, a men's grooming platform. Adam resides in Lisbon (previously Berlin, NYC, and San Francisco). He is a Sioux Falls, SD, native... Read moreWriterInstagramRelated Stories for GQMoisturizerBeardsCoronavirus