How To Manscape Your Body Hair And General Grooming?

[Roy]

Could you help me out?

Manscaping and general grooming. I need the hows of ear/nose/facial/body hair maintenance.

I feel like an idiot, but I don't know where to start with this.

[David]

What's up, Roy?

First off, let's clear the air here for everyone who's reading these words: There's no shame at all in "manscaping".

Contrary to what some may say, this isn't necessarily about being a "metrosexual" or anything like that. Rather, it has everything to do with simply doing the best with what you've got.

As you well know by now, women genuinely appreciate that and often credit it to you as raw physical attractiveness.

Now okay, maybe if you become obsessed with this stuff and get a full-on Brazilian wax and a pedicure you might be going "metro" on us.

But for the rest of us, it's about being more attractive to women instantly with relatively little effort. That's [I]always[/I] a terrific plan.

Similarly, there's no shame in not knowing exactly where to start with this, either.

It's not really hard wired into us as men to be so interested in anything that sounds like it should take place at a salon, which could be why relatively few guys ever do what they should to get their body hair, nails etc. under control.

Nevertheless, it doesn't have to be rocket science to get it right.

In fact, regular maintenance can be disarmingly quick and easy to take care of.

As for so many other technical jobs in a man's life, it all starts with having the right tools.

The first and easiest place to start here is your nails. Own a good pair of fingernail clippers AND a pair of the larger toenail clippers.

Some guys prefer to file their nails instead, and that's fine... especially if there are any rough edges.

I'd say keep your fingernails evenly trimmed at about 1mm at all times, and ride herd on this faithfully. Women look at our hands and instinctively consider whether or not they want them running all over their bodies.

(And admit it...we look at a woman's hands and think the same thing, don't we?)

This also means that dirt under the fingernails is a bad, bad idea. That's what nailbrushes are for. Use one in the shower with some good, organic soap.

What's good for your fingernails is also good for your toenails.

You can leave your toenails a bit longer (up to 2mm, I'd say). Just remember that if you find yourself in bed with a woman, you don't want to kill the joy by scratching her legs with your ragged toes.

There are two other tools you can and probably should stock your bathroom drawer with. I have to say I never even knew these things even existed until I was in my thirties.

The first is a cuticle knife. All you do is run your fingers under water for about 20 seconds, push your cuticles back with one end and carve the excess skin off with the other.

It sounds ugly, but it's actually a pretty straightforward and painless process when done by the book. Your fingers look tons better afterward.

The other tool to get is a heel scraper. You use it to literally shave off the calluses from the back of your heels. Again, having rough, cracked feet is a killer when in bed with a woman, so why not make it a "non-issue"?

When it comes to body hair, I recommend owning an electric "body trimmer" and what's sometimes called either a "personal trimmer" or a "precision trimmer".

The latter is a clipper with, for lack of a better description, a pointier head than the regular body trimmer. They run about 12 bucks and are custom-made to tackle ear and nose hair.

Ear and nose hair start being an issue around 35 or so, and it seems to grow nearly as fast as your beard, unfortunately.

Getting into the habit of trimming it at a relatively young age is a great idea, as it grows thicker and more abundantly as we mature.

You don't want to end up looking like the old guy from [I]Up[/I] at 45 or so.

The personal/precision trimmer really is the most efficient way to seriously get at both ear[I] and[/I] nose hair, as it tends to grow from a really tough angle.

Be sure to shave the outside edges of your ears also. It's amazing how doing away with ear and nose hair gives your appearance an immediate lift.

The "body trimmer" is for more general tasks, like touch-ups or stray hair growth.

I recommend either Remington or Braun trimmers. Others I've tried are notorious for burning up motors and/or wearing out their rechargeable batteries WAY too quickly.

Fortunately, eyebrows grow much more slowly.

Getting them trimmed is also a must, and since one unforgivable slip of the wrist can hack a bare spot into your brow that won't resolve itself for weeks, I say leave the task to your barber when you get your regular haircuts--which should be a maximum of a month apart. Three weeks is better.

Obviously, most guys shave their faces. Having tried just about everything, using a blade still delivers the closest shave compared to any electric razor I've tried.

For best results, shave after showering so your beard is softened up some.

Splash some more water on your face and use your choice of foam or gel. I personally prefer foam because it just seems to be less work to lather up and I would swear it performs better too.

As for which razor to choose, I've always had good luck with Gilettes and therefore gravitate toward them.

Razors with replaceable heads work much better than disposables, I've found. Go figure.

Take your time when shaving and importantly, make sure the blades are sharp. Cartridges will definitely keep their edge longer than the manufacturers advertise, but make no mistake--it's [I]dull[/I] blades that'll likely nick your face up, not the sharp ones.

Nowadays they've gone overboard with multiple blade heads and even battery-powered manual razors. It's all a grand scheme to charge more for cartridges, I think, which they've been wildly successful at getting away with.

I'll admit I've tried the battery powered manual razors and the benefit realized was minimal, at best.

If you do use the battery-assisted razor, note that the Gillette cartridges are exactly the same as for the non-powered ones, kthey just cost two dollars more per pack (go figure). As such, you can feel free to purchase the ones that are labeled as being for the non-powered razor.

I've had a hairy chest my entire adult life and have seldom had women object to it. Most, in fact, like it.

Ridiculously, chest hair is said to have gone in and out of style over the years but I wouldn't pay much attention to what's current in that regard since you are who you are no matter what.

Back hair is a different story, of course I confess it's an issue for me, and I've always just used Nair on it once a month, around the time I get a haircut.

Believe it or not, you can simply use one of those long wooden kitchen spoons to apply it with, just make sure to dedicate one to the task forever, keeping it under the sink in the bathroom or wherever.

If you try to use that spoon in the kitchen ever again, I can assure you it won't end well.

Be sure not to miss the back of your arms where your triceps meet your delts.

Amazingly, back hair isn't as huge a turn-off for many women as you might think, especially if you're not exactly gorilla-esque back there. Then again, I've never had a woman beg me to let it go [I]au naturel[/I].

If you have a higher tolerance for going to any establishment that resembles a salon than I do, then you could definitely get your back waxed or lasered and consider it a great investment.

I wouldn't shave my legs unless sports or medical procedure demanded it.

And with THAT, the only area that's really left to talk about is the pubic region.

[Roy]

Thanks for your advice David.