Manscaping. No other word in the world of men’s grooming conjures such varied emotions. While thoughts on the topic range wildly, you may still be left wondering “what is manscaping exactly?”. To put it plainly, manscaping is any routine where men remove body hair so they don’t look like apes. To help build your own routine, we’ve created a short manscaping guide to offer manscaping tips, manscaping techniques, and our ideas on men’s body hair removal.
Manscaping 101
For us, the goal of manscaping is not for men to remove as much hair as possible, but a routine that keeps the hair on your body in check. The hair on your body serves many purposes; it assists in regulating temperature, protects important (ahem) body parts, while also preventing skin irritation. Despite what some suggest, your significant other might love your body hair, but probably not so much when it’s unsightly or out of control. It’s not all that complicated either. One worry we have heard from guys is that a regular manscaping routine is too time consuming for any man on the go. In our experience, men often only need to spend as little as fifteen minutes a month trimming and removing body hair to stay well groomed.
To help you create or alter your own routine, we’ve broken the body down into segmented parts to lead you through the best manscaping tips and manscaping techniques out there.
Chest Hair Removal for Men
One of the most hotly contested areas where a man could remove body hair is his chest. At Brickell, we are of the opinion that unless you are 1980’s Schwarzenegger chiseled, than you should probably avoid complete removal and stick to just trimming your chest hair. Men’s chest hair is often seen as one of the masculine signs that can help make a guy look manly.
Men’s chest hair trimming is really simple. About once a month, take your men’s body trimmer and apply it to the highest setting, the goal being only to cut off just a few centimeters. Work the men’s body trimmer over your chest and stomach until the majority of the hair is the same length and there are no obvious patches.
If you are ripped, then you can pull off the men’s hairless chest look. Guys will often try to shave their chest, but we think this is one area that you should probably spring for the professional waxing. Unless you spend your days shirtless, your chest is constantly rubbing up against things – your bed and your clothes – so shaving a chest usually creates in grown hairs and irritation, even in cases where guys use a men’s aftershave.
Men’s Back Hair Removal
No matter how it grows on you, the only cool back hair is no back hair at all. In our opinion, men’s back hair removal should be the centerpiece of any manscaping routine. We recommend getting a back professionally waxed or if you have the money, lasered. Unless you moonlight as a member of Cirque du Soleil, the back is an impossible to reach area for razors. Aside from convenience, these two options also will prevent men’s back hair removal itchiness. Nothing is worse than having hair growing back in on your back and no way to scratch it, even if you have someone willing to be your back scratcher 24/7.
Pubic Hair Removal & How to Shave Your Pubic Area for Men
One aspect of manscaping requiring razor sharp focus is when a man shaves his pubic and groin area. We recommend buying a special trimmer for your pubic area as you don’t want to mix business with pleasure. Start pubic hair removal by trimming the hair in the pubic area, always making sure to use a razor guide (the plastic part that prevent you from cutting yourself on the razor). As usual, the point is not to completely remove hair from your pubic area. Trim so most of the hair is a more manageable length, without any major bushiness.
Once you’ve trimmed your pubic area, jump into the shower for a real quick rinse. This will help soften your skin for shaving the detail areas. Out of the shower, stand over a towel and shave your men’s pubic area by applying a natural shaving cream for men around the shave area. Always shave with the grain of your hair and only clean up areas that need it – you’re not trying to win an award for best men’s pubic hair.
Read our guide for more in depth manscaping tips on how to shave down there men.
Men’s Facial Hair and Men’s Neck Hair
No matter if you have a full beard or rock a five o’clock shadow most days, you should make sure to trim facial hair at least weekly. Allowing men’s facial hair to grow without regular maintenance makes a man look lazy and unkempt.
One area many men forget to maintain is the back of their neck. Even though you can’t see it, others can see how long it’s been between visits to the barber if you don’t regularly maintain this area. Once a week, take a small, hand mirror and hold it behind your head while looking in your bathroom mirror. Apply a natural men’s shaving cream over the areas of the neck where hair starts to grow outside of your natural neck line and shave it. We recommend using a men’s after shave to prevent any in grown hairs or irritation.
Read our guide for more in depth manscaping tips on How to Grow & Trim a Beard. More of a shave guy? Get men’s shaving tips in our Perfect Shave article.
Men’s Eyebrows Grooming
Men’s eyebrows, in general, only need to be cleaned up when you get a haircut or about every month. You’ll want a trimmer that allows you to only take off a few millimeters off the top. Once trimmed, pluck the areas above the eyebrow, and below the arch. Take special care to make sure you follow the natural shape of your eyebrow and avoid finely detailing it like women do. The goal is to trim your eyebrows, not detail them.
Read our guide for more in depth manscaping tips on How to Trim & Pluck Men’s Eyebrows.
Legs, Arms & Armpits
When it comes to men’s body hair removal, the legs, arms, and armpits are no fly zones. Unless you’re a body builder getting ready for a competition, or a swimmer about to compete, leave your extremities and arm pits their natural length.
In the end, the best way to remove body hair for men is to not remove hair at all. Buy one of the best men’s body hair trimmers and use it about once a month. If you adhere to a schedule regularly, the process shouldn’t take longer than fifteen minutes and you’ll have a nice trimmed body.
