Larenz Tate Reveals Skincare Routine, Talks Bevel Partnership

Bevel's mission to address grooming needs of Black men aligned with Tate's desire to support Black narratives and self-care.
Tate's daily skincare routine focuses on using natural, moisturizing ingredients and avoiding harsh chemicals.
Tate emphasizes the importance of hydration, cutting out dairy and refined carbs, and incorporating more vegetables into one's diet.

Bevel x Larenz Tate — Bevel / Larenz Tate

Men’s grooming is becoming a big business as men have begun taking it more seriously and incorporating it into their daily routines. For Black men, it’s even more essential because their skin requires extra care and maintenance. Bevel is one of the few head-to-toe grooming brands specifically made for Black men, and that mission continues with the release of a new body cream.

To help launch its new product, Bevel teamed up with an iconic actor and someone who takes their personal upkeep seriously, especially regarding their physical appearance: Larenz Tate.

CassiusLife spoke with Tate about his partnership with Bevel, why he chose to work with the brand, which of his characters he would hand a Bevel kit to, and, of course, the secret to keeping his Black from cracking.

Step into the interview below.

CassiusLife: Bevel is known for addressing issues like razor bumps and irritation, particularly among Black men. What was it about their mission that made you want to partner with the brand?

Larenz Tate: I‘ve been a huge admirer of Bevel for a very long time. I remember when they first launched and started, the days when they were starting and launching with the incredible icon Nas. And I was like, “Yo, I want to be a part of that however I can.” And I believe in divine timing. And so what they have been able to do in terms of finding the needs of Black men, making sure that the grooming is elevated, all the things that we need when it comes to grooming, but also skincare, man. Oftentimes, we don’t have brands that look out for who we are and what we need, and so I recognize that Bevel certainly was that brand doing some amazing things, and I wanted to be a part of it. So I’m excited that we’re partnered up now.

You often speak about supporting Blackness. How do you feel about partnerships like yours at Bevel helping change the conversation around Black men’s self-care and vulnerability?

Well, listen, it’s all, again, about evolving and evolution, man. We’re always trying to make sure that when it comes to Black men, we’re not seen as monolithic. We have to continue to take control of our own narratives and let people know that there’s so many different kinds of Black men, but certainly making sure that the narrative is clear that we are smart, we’re intelligent, we’re compassionate, we’re very loving, we’re loyal, we’re forgiving, we stand on business, 10 toes down, of course. But at the same time, it’s one of those things that it’s important for us to continue to push the narrative of unity amongst Black men.

Absolutely. Now people often joke that you got “vampire blood,” because you haven’t aged in like 30 years, man, you look fantastic. Beyond the jokes, what are the three non-negotiable steps in your daily morning skincare routine?

Oh, skincare. First of all, you got to wash your face, that’s a non-negotiable. You have to, off top, off rip, you got to be able to wash your face every day. Some people they step, get up and keep moving. But no, washing your face. For me, various products, people find whatever works for them, man, but my thing is about minimal things and not too many things that have chemicals in it.

So I love things that have ingredients like cocoa butter or shea butter, any thing with those are really important. Aloe vera, lavender, any of those type of things are always really good for me. So I just try to make sure that my skin is moisturized, washed properly. And also part of that is your daily routine, what you eat and what you put in your body, it helps you preserve that youthful look.

I think you answered my next question. You often focus on locking in moisture in your skin as one of your keys. As someone who travels often and is always in the harshest light through your work, do you have any specific moisturizer oils?

Well, anything that’s dealing with Bevel, you know what I mean? All my Bevel products that I use. And sometimes I will say that there are moments where I just want to let my skin breathe, you know what I mean? I don’t want to use nothing at all, just a light cleanser and just that. But again, for me, just being able to be mindful, and there’s a lot of things that are out there as men’s grooming is becoming a big thing for us. At first, we just got up and just use the old-school bar soap.

We are not doing that now. And it’s okay, we still can be confident and feeling masculine, if you will, because we take care of ourselves. Self-care is important, man.

Now, actors often wear heavy makeup, such as for you, roles as Rashad Tate in Power and stuff like that. How do you ensure your skin recovers overnight? And do you have a specific ritual to reset your face?

Oh yeah. I do a skin routine when I wake up and when I go to sleep, especially when I’m working, man, because again, you’re using a lot of things, whether it’s powders, because you sweat underneath the lights. You want to be able to make sure that your skin seems even, so sometimes they use certain products on your face. I try not to do too much makeup, but I certainly have to wash all that stuff off. You’re never going to catch me sleeping and staying in that stuff, I want to get it off my face as quickly as possible. And again, daily routines of washing my face in the morning, but certainly at night when I get out the shower, I have my own routine that I like to do.

If you were stranded on a desert island or on a long press tour, if you had your pickup, you had to choose your one go-to Bevel item. What would it be?

Oh, man. Right now, I’m going to keep it real. I’ve been anticipating this body cream for a long time, because we don’t have a lot of them. You can be out there all day on this deserted island and baking in the sun, and you ain’t got nothing to keep you right. But this new body cream, I would definitely rap with that.

Now, you famously credited water, H2O, as the fountain of youth. How much are we actually talking about? Are you a gallon-a-day kind of guy, or did you add a secret electrolyte or a vitamin C boost?

Yeah. No, for me, I’m also big on coconut water, man. I like natural coconut water, but I can drink a lot of coconut water. H2O is great, but I like my watermelon juice. Fresh watermelon juice, if I can get that, you know what I’m saying? I like to blend that up, especially when they’re in season. I try to do all that I can to stay hydrated.

Now, you often say that beauty is a marathon, not a sprint, but what specific foods or inflammatory habits have you cut out of your lifestyle to maintain?

I try to cut out as much as I can, a lot of dairy if I can. Dairy doesn’t go all that well with me, so that’s one of those things I try to keep out. And refined flours and starches, man, I try to keep that out of my system as much as I possibly can. I try to just balance things out.

If I’m doing a lot of vegetables, man, that’s always good for me. I love vegetables, whether it’s zucchini, whether it’s mushrooms, whether it’s spinach, asparagus, all of the good stuff. I just try to keep a lot of my vegetables and greens going on, and my collards, man, I love some collard greens.

If you can go back to the Larenz Tate of Menace II Society or The Inkwell, which is one of my favorite movies of all time, honestly, and hand him a Bevel kit, what grooming advice would you give your younger self to start?

Oh, wow. For O-Dog? Or for Inkwell? For O-Dog, I would probably give him the Bevel Trimmer + T-Blade. I’m going to take it back to Love Jones. I would give Darius, —because people have been talking to me real slick and greasy about my little hairline—So I would get him a Bevel Trimmer + T-Blade.

Bevel’s new body cream is available now on their website and at any Bevel retailer.