It turns out we guys grow some pretty serious body hair. If you are anything like me, body hair started cropping up in massive quantities sometime around middle school and things haven’t slowed down since then. Many men simply choose to go natural and let the chips fall where they may. Yet there are a number of reasons to consider trimming, shaving, or otherwise maintaining that unruly body hair.
Today, we will discuss some high level tips for dealing with body hair for men, how to shave your face and neck, why body hair maintenance is beneficial for skin health, and how shaving can potentially lead to minor skin concerns such as razor burn.
How to Shave Your Face and Neck
Regardless of whether or not you choose to remove excess hair from other parts of the body, most men will have to shave our faces with some sort of regularity. Here are some ways to make your shave effective, pain free, and easy on your skin.
- Always shave with a sharp razor blade: if you ignore everything else on this list, please don’t scrape a dull, rusty razor blade across your face. Not only will you likely give yourself razor burn, but you will not get a close shave either.
- Use proper lubrication before shaving: this means wet skin and a proper hydrating/lubricating product like shaving cream or shaving butter. If you have ever been too lazy to use shaving cream and shaved dry, you know it ain’t pretty.
- Use short, light strokes: no need to get medieval with your shaving technique. Let the blades do the work and stop to rinse often.
- Moisturize your skin after shaving: last but not least, applying a nutrient-dense moisturizer after shaving restores your skin and keeps you looking and feeling your best.
How Men Deal with Unwanted Body Hair
Now comes the tough part, how exactly are we supposed to deal with the rest of the mess we’ve got going on beneath the neck? Body hair grooming for men is extremely personal. What might work for your buddies might not be your preference. Basically, we have three options for each body part:
Do nothing and go au naturale. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being comfortable with whatever body hair you’ve got going on. Everyone has their own preference, and it is always plan A to simply let sleeping dogs lie.
Trim your body hair with a body hair trimmer. The middle ground is maintaining a trimmed body hair with a personal groomer. Recently, body hair trimmers like the Lawn Mower from Manscaped have gained popularity, and for good reason. This option allows you to control your body hair length without needing to shave close to the skin.
Shaving or waxing to completely remove body hair. If you are Michael Phelps or just want to get rid of your body hair completely, you’ve got options. The only major concern here is that you’d better believe that hair is growing back. And if you thought your girlfriend didn’t like your five o’clock shadow, just keep in mind that your five o’clock chest shadow might not be a huge hit either.
Is Shaving Beneficial for Skin Health?
There is evidence to show that regular shaving is actually great for your skin. In fact, you may have heard some of the women in your life complaining that “all men have to do to get clear skin is to shave”. While we’re not so sure it’s as simple as that, there is some truth behind that statement.
The primary reason why men’s skin can look better with regular shaving is that shaving is a natural, mechanical exfoliant. In other words, that razor blade won’t just be removing hair, but also dead skin cells, dirt and debris. Additional skin benefits to regular shaving include improved hygiene and even helping skin look and feel younger.
Shaving Can Lead to Razor Burn and Other Health Concerns
Shaving is very safe when performed properly. Unless you have a skin condition which complicates matters, most men are able to shave daily without major concerns. Yet the operative concept here is “when performed properly”. We reviewed how to properly shave your face in a previous section, and the same basic concepts apply no matter where you are taking that razor blade.
The bottom line is that shaving is safe for your skin. Whether or not you choose to shave is a personal matter. As long as you take care to keep your skin hydrated and shave with caution, your skin will thank you.
Repair, Restore, and Renew Dry Skin with HEFF for Men
No matter whether you have a bare chest like a swimmer or are hairy from head to toe, we all get dry and damaged skin from time to time. At HEFF, we have developed a once-daily moisturizing cream for hardworking men. After years of dedicated research, our formula is comprised of essential amino acids and powerful moisturizers without any unnecessary filler. Think of our daily moisturizing cream as maintenance for strong hands, elbows, and feet.
If you are in need of some serious dry skin relief, look no further! Our products are available in major retailers across the country, online, or you can feel free to contact us directly with any additional questions.