Men & Melanoma: Why Skin Cancer Disproportionately Kills Men (And What to Do About It)

Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. One in five Americans will develop it in their lifetime. And yet, when most people picture a skin cancer patient, they picture someone who spent decades tanning, not someone who simply went to work, ran errands, and lived a normal life outdoors.

The other thing most people don't picture? A man.

They should.

Men are significantly more likely to develop melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer,  than women. They're more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage. And they're more likely to die from it. This isn’t because male skin is inherently more vulnerable, but because of a persistent, measurable gap in how men approach skin health.

June is Men's Health Month. And I want to use it to talk about something the aesthetics industry doesn't say loudly enough: skin care isn't a beauty issue. For men, it's a survival issue.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

According to the American Cancer Society, men are nearly twice as likely as women to develop melanoma over the course of their lifetime. The lifetime risk for men is approximately 1 in 27; for women, it's 1 in 40. And while melanoma accounts for only about 1% of all skin cancers by diagnosis volume, it causes the vast majority of skin cancer deaths.

Men don't just develop melanoma more often, they die from it more. Five-year survival rates for melanoma are lower in men across nearly every stage of diagnosis. The gap is widest at later stages, which is exactly where men tend to get caught: presenting with more advanced disease because they waited longer to seek evaluation.

This isn't a fluke. Research consistently shows that men are less likely to perform skin self-examinations, less likely to apply sunscreen regularly, less likely to see a dermatologist for preventive screening, and less likely to respond to early symptoms with urgency. A 2019 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that even when controlling for sun exposure, men were significantly less likely to use sun protection than women. Not to mention, less likely to believe they were at risk.

This is disparity is from behavior, not biology.

What Men's Skin Actually Looks Like (Biologically)

To understand why this matters, it helps to understand how men's skin actually differs from women's. The differences are real, and they can actually be beneficial, when taken care of properly.

Men's skin is thicker. On average, male skin is about 25% thicker than female skin, with a denser collagen structure and higher tensile strength. This gives men a structural advantage early in life. They often show fewer fine lines in their 30s and 40s compared to women of the same age.

Men produce more sebum. Testosterone drives higher sebaceous gland activity, which means men tend to have oilier skin. This provides a degree of passive hydration, but also makes men more prone to enlarged pores and a different pattern of aging. Think less fine lines early, more deep creasing later.

Men have higher baseline collagen density. This is the reason men often appear to age more slowly through midlife. However, it might surprise you to know that men experience a sharper and more abrupt collagen decline after the age of 50. Unlike the gradual estrogen-driven collagen loss women experience across the perimenopause transition, men's collagen decline accelerates more steeply once testosterone begins to drop significantly, typically in the fifth and sixth decades.

Men's skin heals differently. Testosterone influences wound healing and inflammatory response, which is part of why men's skin behaves differently after procedures, sun damage, and injury.

None of this makes men's skin invincible. It just means that it behaves a little differently and requires a different approach to protection and care.

The Sunscreen Gap: What the Research Shows

If there is one behavioral pattern that explains the melanoma disparity more than any other, it's that men don't wear sunscreen.

Multiple studies have examined this gap, and the findings are consistent. Women apply sunscreen at significantly higher rates than men across all age groups. Men are more likely to report that sunscreen is "unnecessary," "inconvenient," or "not something they think about." They're also more likely to underestimate their personal risk.

In Arizona, this has a particular dimension worth addressing. We live in one of the highest UV-index environments in the United States. Phoenix and Scottsdale routinely register UV index values of 10 or 11 on a standard summer day, a category that dermatologists classify as "very high" to "extreme." Year-round sun exposure here is not incidental. It's continuous. And cumulative UV damage isn’t instantly obvious. It accumulates slowly over decades and then presents as texture changes, hyperpigmentation, or, in more serious cases, as a lesion that needs a biopsy.

The most dangerous myth in sun protection is that you only need SPF when you're "out in the sun." Incidental exposure like driving, walking to the car, sitting near a window at your desk all contributes meaningfully to lifetime UV accumulation. A broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher, applied daily, is not just a cosmetic choice. It's the most effective anti-aging and cancer-prevention intervention that exists, and it costs less than a cup of coffee.

Men's skin care routines, when they exist at all, rarely include SPF. This needs to change.

The Hormonal Piece Everyone Ignores

Here's where I want to go a little deeper, because this is where my training and clinical approach intersect with men's health in a way most aestheticians won't address.

Testosterone is not just a sex hormone. It's an active regulator of skin function, collagen production, sebum output, wound healing, and inflammatory response. As testosterone levels decline, something that begins gradually in men's 30s and accelerates in the 50s, changes in skin behavior are among the first and most measurable consequences.

Decreased testosterone correlates with reduced collagen synthesis, slower cellular turnover, and impaired barrier function. It also correlates with changes in the skin's ability to mount an effective immune and inflammatory response, which matters for wound repair and, critically, for how effectively the body responds to cellular damage, including the kind caused by UV exposure.

This is one of the reasons I approach men's skin health the way I do at Bare. You cannot fully address what you're seeing on the surface without understanding what's happening hormonally. A 55-year-old man with declining testosterone, chronic sun exposure, and no skin care routine has a fundamentally different skin situation than someone the same age with optimized hormone levels and a basic protective protocol. Treating them identically makes no sense.

I try to work with men on the full picture: hormone optimization alongside topical care, treatment protocols, and preventive screening. When you address skin health from the inside out, the results are categorically better and more durable.

What Preventive Skin Health Actually Looks Like for Men

Prevention doesn't require a 12-step routine. It requires a few things done consistently:

Daily broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher. Every morning, year-round. Not just beach days. A medical-grade formula will perform better than most drugstore options (the difference in formulation, stability, and bioavailability is real). But any SPF worn consistently outperforms a better SPF that lives in a drawer.

Basic skin self-examination. Once a month, check your skin. Look for anything new, anything changing, anything asymmetrical, or anything that bleeds without injury. The ABCDEs of melanoma (Asymmetry, Border irregularity, Color variation, Diameter greater than 6mm, Evolving) are a clinically validated screening tool. Know them.

A professional baseline. If you have never had a professional skin assessment, this is the starting point. You need to know what you're working with. This includes what sun damage is already present, what your skin type is, and what treatments or protocols are appropriate, before you can build a meaningful plan.

Annual dermatology or skin health check. Particularly for men over 40, particularly in high-UV environments like Arizona, annual professional evaluation is a reasonable standard of care. Many melanomas are caught first by aestheticians and skin health providers, not physicians. We are often the first point of contact.

Hormone evaluation. If you're a man over 40 experiencing changes in energy, body composition, skin texture, or overall resilience, testosterone and related hormone panels are worth evaluating. Hormonal health and skin health are not separate conversations.

What to Expect at a Men's Skin Assessment at Bare

I designed Bare's men's skin assessment to be the opposite of intimidating. You'll sit down, we'll talk about your history, covering sun exposure, family history of skin cancer, any changes you've noticed. Then I'll evaluate your skin directly. We'll discuss what we're seeing, what it means, and what makes sense as a next step, whether that's a topical protocol, a treatment, a hormone panel, or simply a referral to a dermatologist for a mole that needs a closer look.

There is no upsell. There is no pressure. There is a provider with a relevant science background who takes this seriously and will give you straight information about what your skin needs.

Men's Health Month is a good prompt to make the appointment you've been putting off. Father's Day on June 21 is a good reason to bring the men in your life along for the conversation.

If you're ready to get a real look at where your skin health stands and what it will take to keep it there, I'd love to see you at Bare.

Book a Men's Facial or Skin Consultation → HERE

Christalyne Causey is the founder of Bare and holds a PhD in a health science field. She specializes in integrative aesthetics, combining hormone optimization, evidence-based skin care, and advanced aesthetic treatments to produce results that work from the inside out.