A natural part of life is, unfortunately, growing hair ‘downstairs’. Naturally, you don’t want that lucky someone to be shocked by an untamed bush, so you need to learn how to manscape properly.
You pay regular visits to the barber to keep your hair looking prim and proper, so why wouldn’t you do the same for the hair on the rest of your body? Admittedly, you wouldn’t visit a barber to carry out such ‘manscaping’ tasks, but you may pay a visit to a beauty salon for a waxing session to tame your chest or back hair. As for the hair below the waist, you’re most likely to take care of that in the privacy of your own bathroom.
Otherwise known as ‘manscaping’, the phenomenon has become a common part of men’s grooming routines and remains a hot topic in grooming discussions. While the term refers to the maintenance of all body hair, manscaping is generally used in reference to your downstairs region. Naturally, it’s an area you want to be careful with, as even the thought of a slight cut induces shivers through men worldwide.
If you’ve never taken a trimmer of body groomer to yourself before, or if you have and are wondering if there are ways you can change things up or reduce irritation post-shave and, not to mention, if you’re unsure how to tackle your tackle, then read on.
This is the ultimate men’s guide to manscaping.
In this manscaping story…
Tools For Manscaping
Today, men are given several methods to use to remove unwanted body hair. These include:
- Body Trimmer/Body Groomer
- Waxing
- Hair Removal Cream
- Laser Hair Removal
While the latter three options are all good, they’re not entirely painless and won’t provide permanent results. The easiest and best option for men is to use an electric and/or manual razor so you can have complete control over your look. One of the best options for men is the Manscaped electric hair trimmer, and you can check out our full review here.
Shaving Your Balls
Manscaping the hair below the belt needs a complete guide on its own. Such is the delicate nature of the nether regions, you’ll want to arm yourself with the knowledge and the right tools before hacking away. The ramifications for the ill-informed man are not worth thinking about.
Trim With Extreme Care
The methods you need to use when it comes to your manscaping session will depend on just how much growth you’re sporting down there (we’re still talking hair here, fellas). If what you’re rocking resembles an Amazonian rainforest, you’ll want to get rid of some excess length using a body groomer first to ensure the area is prepared for when you want a close shave with a razor later.
Using a body groomer will give you a smoother and tidier look immediately with little fuss. There are several excellent body groomers on the market but the Phillips Bodygroom Series 7000 or the Panasonic 3-in-1 Body Groomer are good options to start with
Using a guard on the blade, run the body groomer across the whole pelvic area to bring the hairs down to a much shorter length. You’ll also want to run your body groomer over the inner portion of your upper leg to make the entire area look a lot more presentable. Be sure to pull the skin taut when using your body groomer to ensure even cutting.
As for what to do with those hairs; you can opt to simply trim and let them fall to the bathroom floor and sweep or vacuum them up when you’re done, or you can use something like the Philips Bodygroom 7000 in the shower and let them go straight down the plughole. For us, we think cutting hair when it’s dry is much easier, but where you carry out your business will come down to personal preference.
A Close Shave With A Good Razor
The body groomers mentioned above should be more than enough to offer a tidy, smooth look. However, if you’re after an even closer shave and you’re feeling brave, you can give your family jewels the once over with a razor.
It’s important to have a hot shower beforehand to open pores and soften the remaining hair. Once you are ready to shave apply a liberal amount of shaving cream to ensure a thick layer of protection between your skin and the blade. You’ll want to use shaving gel as opposed to cream so that you can clearly see the area you’re looking to take a razor to.
Be sure to pull the skin taut again to avoid any nicks and cuts (we can’t stress this enough). If you’re having trouble getting the skin taut splash a little cold water on the area for added firmness. Slowly make a pass along the skin with gentle strokes and repeat the process until you are pleased with the result.
Call Upon The Aftershave Balm
You may think aftershave balm is only for your face, but for the purposes of this grooming ritual, it can very much be used downstairs. If this is the first time you have shaved your nether regions then chances are you are going to suffer some irritation.
Redness, cuts and nicks are all unfortunate side effects of shaving and the last thing you want is to suffer these ailments down below. Apply a soothing aftershave balm that has no alcohol to avoid stinging and dry skin.
While most aftershave balms will work just fine, if you can find one with soothing ingredients such as aloe vera or lanolin, you’ll help to better cool that great ball of fire post-shave.
Don’t Neglect Day-To-Day Care Down There
The tricky part is now over, you’re freshly shaven and now it’s just a case of keeping the area just that…fresh. Besides talcum powder, there isn’t much in the way of grooming products for your family jewels.
Fortunately, Below The Belt Grooming have been kind enough to release a line of grooming products specifically for your junk that will keep you fresh and comfortable all day long.
Following your shave, you may be prone to uncomfortable chaffing which can lead to itching. Apply Below The Belt Sports Lubricant to prevent painful chaffing whether you’re on the treadmill or just in the office.
For added and continual freshness use Below The Belt Groin Confidence for a fresh and clean sensation and to limit unpleasant odours.
Trimming Your Eyebrows
Manscaping your eyebrows can help make them a defining feature on your face. Too bushy and you’ll look unkempt, remove them altogether and you’ll just be plain unsightly. Of course, they provide a function too, to prevent sweat and debris from falling into your eyes.
When it comes to maintaining your eyebrows, you’re not looking to remove excessive amounts of hair, but rather remove any stragglers. To find out which ones need to the boot, take a small comb and move the hair in the direction of growth. This should present any hairs that fall out of the natural line of the eyebrow (this should be pretty obvious).
The easiest way to remove rogue hairs is with a pair of tweezers. Do this post-shower or after washing your face with warm water to help open the pores and soften the hairs. After this, grab the hairs at the root using the tweezer and pull away quickly. Using tweezers doesn’t eradicate the problem entirely, and you’ll need to regularly grab your pair out of the drawer, but keep on top of it and it will only take a couple of minutes each time.
Trimming Ear Hair
Manscaping ear hair is an interesting subject. While it’s more likely to be seen sprouting out of the ears of the much older gentleman, it’s not to say you’re immune from excessive ear hair growth in your youth.
To remove ear hair, your best bet is to use a pair of facial hair scissors; the blunt kind you’d use for nose hairs as well. Using blunt scissors will greatly minimise the risk of cutting yourself. Place the hair scissors into the ear opening (you may need to become a contortionist to see properly in the mirror) and snip away.
Trimming Nose Hair
Moving onto manscaping nose hairs, you’ll probably start seeing this sprouting from your nostrils at an early age. While you don’t want to remove all the hairs in your nose (as with eyebrows, they provide a purpose) you don’t want to have stragglers poking out unless you’re looking to grow a fully-fledged moustache.
Once again you’ll want to arm yourself with a pair of blunt scissors to snip these off, or alternatively, you can invest in a nose hair trimmer specifically designed for the task (you can use a nose hair trimmer on ear hairs too, if you wish). Nose hair trimmers are easy to use, as all you need to do is put the trimmer up your nose, however, they do occasionally suffer from not being as accurate and precise as scissors.
Waxing Or Shaving Chest Hair
We image many guys have attempted to manscape their chest hair at least once in their life. It’s most likely going to be the area with the largest amount of hair and an area that will be on show a lot of the time during summer. While there seems to be a trend among a certain male demographic *cough*gym bros*cough* for chests that are smoother than a baby’s behind, having some hair on your chest is regarded as a sign of masculinity.
Of course, you don’t want a full-on bush growing and with some tactical trimming, you can even help to enhance your frame and muscular definition with regular maintenance. To manscape chest hair, the best tool you can use is a body groomer, as you will be able to adjust the length of the blade to a precise setting, putting you in total control of how it looks.
If you have excessive body growing on your stomach too, simply use the body groomer on the same length setting (or a little shorter) to leave a streamlined finish.
On a side note, you should also consider trimming your underarm hair if you have an excessive amount of hair sticking out when you have your arms down by your side. Less hair will also equal less chance of suffering from nasty body odour.
Waxing or Shaving Your Back Hair
We don’t think we’re alone in saying back hair doesn’t look good on anyone and if you grow it, you’ll want to get rid of it. The only issue is back hair isn’t the easiest to manscape by yourself. You can invest in a back-specific body groomer with a longer handle to help cover the entire surface, but for the best results, this is where we would suggest paying a visit to a salon to get it waxed off.
Painful it may be, but leaving with hair-free back will be worth the droplets of blood. You may also want to think about laser hair removal for your back, although it won’t provide a permanent solution and could take several sessions depending on how follicularly-endowed you are.