We sat down with Hollywood’s original Eye Brow King Daniel McFadden to talk about skin care for men over 50.
JR: What inspired you to focus your beauty services specifically on men over 50?
DM: In 2023 I decided to leave my celebrity make up artist career behind in Hollywood and head to sunny South Florida. I quickly realized that women here are not seeking professional makeup artist as much as they were in Los Angeles. It’s hot and humid so formal makeup with false eyelashes is not as desirable. Women will wear a flower in their hair and boom boom pink lip gloss to go to a wedding. No need for Glam Squad.
I switched my attention to the men down here. Fort Lauderdale is filled with either young college boys enjoying spring break or older men getting near retirement. Everyone wants to warm their bones and get away from the snow. The men that are moving here still want to be physically fit and look attractive, but they don’t always know how. Women have multiple options and they know every salon in town. Imagine a man walking into a nail salon and asking for an eyelash tint. Suddenly 20 women having a their manicure spin around and give them a look. The guy suddenly feels embarrassed and signal out. He quickly leaves the establishment never to return. I offer a safe space that’s one on one. Men can sit in my chair and ask me questions about how to look better. Most men just go to a barbershop. Next thing you know their barber is jamming a clipper into their ear canal, nose, and mowing off their eyebrow hair without even asking them. I give men the opportunity to tell me what they don’t like about themselves. Similar to a doctor, I can prescribe what they need to look better. Men sometimes don’t know they can have their ears waxed, and make it feel like a baby’s butt. Nose hair is not a problem when you whisk it away with wax. They walk out feeling better about themselves and more confident.
JR: Why do you believe grooming and appearance become even more important as men age?
DM: Men want to feel good at any age. They like to stay physically fit, work out, keep their weight and blood pressure under control, but also look better. They don’t always know what the options are so they wind up in aisle three at CVS buying boot black hair color. Once all the grey is gone somehow they feel younger, but we all know that’s not a good look. They need a professional for guidance.
JR: How can well-shaped eyebrows change the overall appearance of an older man’s face?
DM: Time goes by and it eventually marches across our face. The wrinkles appear, and the skin starts to sag. Along with that our eyes start to drop down. The eyebrows start to grow incredibly long and drop-down over the eyelids. However, with a precision trimming to get rid of excess eyebrow hair, followed by an eyebrow wax, it’s almost like an immediate facelift. You never want to create too high of an arch on a man because it makes the eyebrows look overdone. Sometimes men don’t even realize they need their eyebrows done until they see it for the first time and realize how much better they look.
JR: What are the biggest eyebrow grooming mistakes older men tend to make before coming to see you?
DM: The biggest mistake men make with their eyebrows is allowing their barber to groom them. Barbers tend to use a clipper on the eyebrow, which is a blade moving left or right. It is chopping away at every single eyebrow hair, leaving them, pokey and sticking straight out. The correct way is to brush all of the eyebrows straight up and trim only the long ones. You then brush them straight down and trim only the long ones. If you have short hairs in your eyebrows that don’t require trimming, leave them alone. Also, men will buy Just For Men hair color and apply to their eyebrows. Big mistake, you don’t want to have black eyebrows to look younger. A professional eyebrow artist will custom blend a color that’s correct for you. Sometimes leaving a little bit of gray hair in the eyebrows actually makes them look more realistic than having them covered 100% with hair color.
JR: How does men’s skin change after 50, and what skincare routines do you recommend to keep skin healthy and youthful?
DM: Men are typically not into a lot of skin care routine. That’s OK as long as you have your basics. You don’t want to use your body soap on your face because it contains way too much alkaline and is stripping your skin bare of its natural oils. Look for a cleanser that’s gentle and removes your daily dirt and oil without stripping the skin. A low alcohol toner is always nice after you clean your face to remove excess oil and debris from your pores, especially after shaving. A moisturizer with an SPF 15 or higher is essential in maintaining an older gentleman‘s skin. The sun damage we got back in the 70s is now starting to show up on our face. A consultation with a dermatologist who could possibly give you a peel would remove a lot of of those mistake mistakes from our youth.
JR: What makes eyebrow waxing and shaping for mature men different from working with younger clients?
DM: When you’re a young man, you’re just naturally handsome. The skin is smooth, the balance is perfect and typically a nice shave with a few pats the cheek is all you need. However, as you get older, we tend to get a little crooked. We sleep on one side of our face, which usually makes that side drop down a little lower. We accumulate some fat in the neck, which tends to make it sag, and of course the face begins to drop. A neck lift for a man is not out of the question. That alone can really help. Most women think that wrinkles on a man is actually attractive so it’s not about having the perfect tight skin. An eyebrow wax can really help to bring balance back into a face that is starting to drop. It’s like an instant facelift. I think we all used to see our Uncle Joe at Thanksgiving, who suddenly had hair growing out of his ear and nose. The eyebrows were 3 inches long and we just felt sorry for them. Those days are long gone because you now have professionals like myself who help men to stay 100% on top of their daily grooming.
JR: Many men are hesitant about professional grooming services. What would you say to encourage older men to invest in their appearance?
DM: Unfortunately, sometimes older men don’t actually know that they should be grooming themselves. Typically it can take someone like their wife to force them into a salon and have some grooming services. Once they see the results, they actually feel better about the way they look and want to keep it up. It’s difficult when you don’t have someone who exposes you to the services. You’re often lost and not quite sure what to do. I like to offer a consultation so someone can come in, sit in front of me and ask me what I can do to help make them look better. I analyze and then begin to make suggestions. In most cases during a consultation, a man will tell me “can you just go ahead and do it now?”. They clearly see that I have a plan in mind and I’m not going to make them crazy so why wait when you’re sitting right in the chair?
JR: How do proper skincare and eyebrow maintenance contribute to looking more refreshed, energetic, and professional?
DM: Men and women are definitely living longer lives than they did years ago. In the time of pilgrims, the average age to die was between 28 and 32. Clearly that’s not the case now and many people are living past 100. If you’re going to be around a long time, why not look your best. Mother nature will do a number on you so you have to fight it every step of the way. Have a consultation, listen to what the person is telling you, keep an open mind about change. Stay physically fit, eat well, take supplements in a long walk every morning. Breathing often helps to maintain the mind and spirit. Keep your wardrobe, modern and contemporary. You don’t want to be the old man wearing Penny loafers, plaid cuffed pants and an old faded white shirt with a gigantic collar. Fight age, every step of the way with everything you have. No matter how old you are you can always be attractive if you want to be. None of us will ever be 19 years old again, but we can look pretty damn good as senior men if we put a little effort into it.
To learn more about Daniel McFadden follow him @danielmcfaddenstudio