Dear Men: Frank Ocean Really Wants You To Take Better Care Of Your Skin

Frank Ocean, notorious recluse, has given a super rare interview for GQ’s Music Issue — and turns out he really wants the men of the world to look after their skin more.

In a chat with Vegyn and Emmett Curddas, the co-hosts of his Apple Music show Blonded Radio, Ocean opens up about all manner of topics, starting with his recent choice to make his Instagram public as a way to counter misconceptions about him.

“I feel like there was dissonance between how I was seen by the audience and where I was actually, so that contributed to the decision to make my Instagram public, for sure,” he said.

“When you’re completely minimal with media, there’s a lot of pressure on whatever one thing you’re doing, the stakes are higher. Social media helps that, ’cause you’re fully in control and can message that how you want.”

As a glimpse into the mind of one of contemporary music’s most influential yet elusive figures, it’s well worth a read. In it, Ocean and co. cover a lot of topics, including his many cover songs; his recent move to New York; how he can’t stop photographing every little thing in his life (inspired by ’80s photographer Peter Hujar); fashion predictions and advice, and why he offered free merch to fans who proved they voted in the 2018 US midterm elections.

“It feels less like responsibility,” he said, “and more like a great opportunity that I had and still have…[With politicising your own merchandise] sometimes you have to know what people want and say, “Let’s do a trade.”.

But, if there’s one thing we need to take out of the interview, it’s Ocean’s dedication to skincare — and his plea for men to start putting in the effort in 2019.

“I really do believe in a night cream,” he says. “I feel like men just go to sleep. They may wash their face or they don’t even bother — they go to sleep with the day face on.”

Alright, we’re listening. According to Ocean, the real ‘life hack’ is a night moisturiser, because the retinol in face creams makes your skin susceptible to the sun during the day.

“You really need to do a gentle wash and put a night moisturiser on,” he says. “You can’t have the retinol in your creams in the day because it makes you more sun-sensitive, so you wanna throw that on at night.

“I need the night cream because when I wake up I feel very beautiful, moisturised and ready to have people making eye contact with me, ready to look above my eyebrow, below the eyebrow. [laughs] That’s the life hack right there. It’s been all these years, and Pharrell still hasn’t given us the keys yet. He just says “exfoliate,” but it’s not just “exfoliate”: We need more keys.”

Thank you Frank — now, if you drop a new album, we’ll buy whatever face-creams you say, no matter how expensive. While we wait, listen to Blonde on repeat and read his GQ interview, or revisit his chat with Timothée Chalamet.