Men that are hairy often face the strong temptation to do something about their body hair. In the past a man’s desire to appear less hairy than they actually are would have been laughed at, but in more recent years the art of manscaping has gotten more and more attention. Some of this is practical – my friend John, for example, shaves his arms, chest, legs and back because he is a competitive swimmer, and doing so gives him the physical and psychological advantage to swim faster in the pool.
However, most of the shaving, waxing, trimming and/or sculpting body and facial hair is driven to alter their appearance and feel more attractive. But are these steps that many men take as part of their regular grooming routine necessary? Let’s Discuss.
Men’s Body Hair
So why are men hairy?
Body hair is sometimes referred to as androgenic hair, because their growth is related to the levels of testosterone and other hormones called androgens. These hormones are normally higher in men than women, which is why men develop more facial hair, chest hair, abdominal hair, leg and arm hair, and foot hair than women. The amount of hair a man grows is mostly related to genetics. So, for example, if your father grew back hair as he aged, it’s more than likely you will too.
But, why are a lot of men ashamed of being hairy?
Most actors and male models are seriously lacking of any body hair, while guy’s with hairy torso’s are typically laughed at and teased. For that reason, more and more men begin to believe that having a hairy body is gross and unappealing, yet despite what they’ve come to assume through modern culture, many women actually find a hairy man to be quite attractive. According to a survey by Askmen.com, 76% of women said they like men to have some chest hair. Just as men are attracted to the distinct characteristics that make women, women – such as breasts and womanly curves – women are attracted to our manly features such as our muscles and body hair.
So what’s a hairy man to do?
If you’re hairy, you need to learn to accept and embrace the man you are. Being hairy is nothing to be ashamed of – it’s what makes you a man. I’d encourage you to stand in front of the mirror and learn to love it since no matter how hard you try, you’re not going to be able get rid of everything from head to toe. However, if you want to continue manscaping or you’re partner likes you less hairy, then there’s nothing wrong with maintaining your body hair to a certain degree.
In fact there are several good reasons for maintaining your manly body hair:
- Keeping a neatly trimmed chest, back, shoulders will make you appear cleaner and gives the impression that you care about grooming and your personal hygiene.
- Your muscles look more defined when your body hair is well groomed.
- Trimming your pubic hair will make your penis appear bigger.
Although I think men should embrace their body hair, it is also my opinion that regular body grooming is a good thing. I’m not a big fan of the shaved chest, or shaved anything for that matter. Men are hairy and it should stay that way. However that doesn’t mean we can’t be well groomed men.
So, before you decide to pick up the trimmers and start cutting everywhere, consider my 8 rules of body grooming.
Manscaping
Your ears should always be hair free. How you remove it is up to you. Maybe have your barber or stylist trim them thoroughly for you and keep a good ear and nose hair trimmer at home for touch-ups between visits.
Your nose should not have any visible hair. Plucking those nose hairs is an eye watering task. I suggest you buy a trimmer with a nose attachment (mentioned above). Get it up there and deal with it.
You need to maintain your eyebrows. A little trimming and plucking will usually do just fine. The most important area to keep hair free is the space between your eyebrows (unibrow). A pair of good tweezers is really all you need, like this pair from Tweezerman. Remove one hair at a time by working in the direction of the hair growth. After you take care of the middle, you can use your tweezers to remove any stray hairs along the edges and sides.
If you have bushy eyebrows or a few unusually long hairs, you can trim them with a pair of small scissors. Comb your brow to locate the stray hairs and trim in the direction of hair growth.
Facial hair should be kept neat and tidy. How often you shave is up to you, but this is not what it’s about. Whether you’re clean shaven or fashioning a bit of stubble, it should always look tidy. Shave every morning if you like the clean shaven look. If you like having stubble, use an i-stubble trimmer and maintain to your desired length.
Your back and shoulders should be smooth. This is a tough one as it’s hard to deal with it yourself and women hate it the most. If you happen to have a really hairy back you have a few options. Have it waxed, get laser hair removal, or try the do-it-yourself mangroomer back hair trimmer. In terms of your shoulders, you should remove hair there too. If you have very hairy shoulders, use whatever method you picked for your back. If you just have a few stray hairs here and there, use a pair tweezers and pluck them.
Your chest and stomach should be hairy. As mentioned above, 76% of women like a man with hair on his chest. My advice is to make it neat and even. You can use the Bodygroom Pro Trimmer to deal with this for the most part. Pick your length setting and start trimming. To determine if your chest needs trimming, do the “finger wrap” test. If you can wrap the hair around your finger, it needs to be trimmed. If you have more hair in one spot than in others, pay special attention to that area and make it even with the rest.
Your pubic hair should be trimmed. Shaving this area can be difficult. Use the Bodygroom Pro Trimmer (mentioned above) to keep your pubic hair under control. If you’ve got a hairy shaft, shave it off using a razor as trimming in that area isn’t good enough. If you want your lady to go down on you more often then I suggest you also shave your scrotum. Another added benefit; it’ll make your penis look bigger.
Leave everything else alone. A little bit of light trimming on the arms, legs and other places is fine if you’re very hairy; just make sure you leave them natural looking. Unless you’re a bodybuilder or competitive swimmer, arms and legs should be left a little hairy.
Suggested Tools
Make sure you add the following tools to your manscaping arsenal:
Philips TT2040 Rechargeable All-in-One Bodygroom Pro
Remington NE3350 Angled Hygienic Trimmer
BaByliss For Men 7890U i-stubble Trimmer
Mangroomer Do-It-Yourself Electric Back Hair Shaver
Tweezerman Midnight Sky Slant Tweezer
