Extreme minimalist skin and grooming?

[Deleted member 20927]

Before you accuse me of being a hippy and incel and shit, does anybody have experience cutting down most of their grooming products? Toothpaste for example apparently has no benefit for teeth health aside from temporary breath freshness and I’m sure you can get fresh breath through other means, Brushing is what keeps your teeth healthy. I’ve found that having a cleaner diet of red meat, eggs, and carbs mostly coming from fruits has helped clear my skin and I’m using less and less skincare products. After I run out of stuff I was thinking of doing something really minimal that’s consists of:
Dove soap (sensitive skin, no fragrance),
Some type of endocrine safe sunscreen
Razor
Tooth brush

Literally nothing else, but maybe toothpaste if I can’t find a good natural alternative for my breath

 

[Deleted member 22381]

This will be for skincare:

First of all genetics plays a huge roll. Some guys will have flawless skin with no effort and another guy will have to result to accutane. But there's no point worrying about that because you can't change this unless CRISPR or something else improves.

You've already identified that the most basic thing you can do is lifestyle changes. This is mainly about eating healthier, avoiding stress, sleeping on clean sheets etc. This in theory is the bare minimum because in a vacuum skin can actually maintain itself pretty well.

But we don't live in a vacuum. There's all sorts of shit you encounter day to day that will make your skin worse. So, you need a cleanser. But when you use a cleanser it strips the moisture barrier of the skin so you have to follow up with a moisturizer. These two are the absolute bare minimum for skincare.

The next tier above these are other products that aren't necessary for skin health but will help a ton:

Sunscreen (antiaging)
Tretinoin (antiaging)
Exfoliants (promotes general skin health and maintenance)

Again, you don't "need" these but you will be missing out on their very real and potent benefits if you forgoe them. Above this tier is every other product or service you could get, such as professional microneedling or CO2 lasering, but they will have diminishing returns for your skin if you are already doing the above and in fact doing too much is harmful for your skin.