12 Grooming Tips for Men
If you want to look dapper among all men, start learning these 12 easy grooming tips and adopt it to become your daily routine.
Grooming Tips for Men
How to look your best. Men’s grooming ideas that will make you feel great about yourself.
Grooming Tip 1. Get a haircut regularly
Like many things in life, your hair requires maintenance to look its best. You should visit your barber / hairstylist every month or so to get a haircut before your hair goes out of shape. The frequency of your visit depends on factors such as your hair growth and length. Consult your barber for further advice. Also check out this pre-date grooming checklist.
If you’ve just moved to a new town or are exploring new salons, go on social media to check out their review and portfolio. Bad reviews probably predict that you’ll be having a bad hair month. Check out the salon’s Facebook page and Instagram to see what haircuts are their specialties. If you have a certain hairstyle in mind that you want to get, but they don’t seem to have done it before, chances are high that you won’t be getting what you’re looking for. Consult with the barbers first before deciding any new hairstyle because not every one’s hair is created equally.
Grooming Tip 2. Healthy scalp = healthy hair
The secret to good looking hair is a healthy scalp. By making sure that your scalp is clean and healthy, you are also preventing your hair from thinning and going blad. Do some simple research to find out which hair products work for you. Apply hair conditioner after washing your hair to make sure that your hair gets the proper nutrients it needs.
Grooming Tip 3. Learn how to shave like an expert
Many men are doing it wrong when it comes to shaving. You can reduce problems such as irritation, bumps, and ingrown hair problems after shaving by following these simple shaving tips:-
- Soften the skin by exfoliating the shave-zone with a men’s face scrub as it will remove excess oil and dead skin cells that can clog up your razor blade.
- The best time to shave is right after a shower when the skin is warm and moist.
- Apply shaving cream or gel before shaving. Choose shaving cream labeled for “sensitive skin” if your skin is dry and sensitive.
- Use an aftershave as it will greatly reduce irritation post-shave.
Grooming Tip 4. Trim your nose hair
If you don’t want someone stares at your nostrils because you have a strand of hair sticking out, you should start trimming your nose hairs every week. For a safer option, we recommend every man to use a nose trimmer. But if you want a budget option, a tiny pair of scissors will do the trick. One thing to note – choose a scissor with rounded tips to prevent you from poking your skin and bleeding. The skin on our nostril walls are very delicate — don’t ask me why I know.
Grooming Tip 5. Use a proper face wash
Your face is your ambassador. It represents you, so take good care of it. Using the wrong face wash, or worse — using a harsh body soap — and your face becomes dry and exposed. That will speed up the appearance of wrinkles.
Understand your skin type and get a face wash that will balance the pH on your face so that it will leave your skin more comfortable and moisturized after washing. If you have dry skin, like most people do, go with a milder product. Another factor to consider when choosing a face cleanser is the season. For example, you might want to go for a moisturizing, cream cleanser in winter.
Many men don’t do this but if possible, apply some toner and moisturizer after face wash as it helps to shrink pores, adds a layer of protection, and reduces the appearance of wrinkles.
Grooming Tip 6. Picking your signature scent
Smell is one of the five basic Human senses along with sight, touch, hearing, and taste. That is why smelling pleasant is an important aspect of personal grooming.
Get yourself a cologne that represents you. You can have several — one for different occasions — but in my opinion, the main cologne should only be one. And it is an extension of your identity. Read also: style tips for teen boys.
You should never buy a cologne just because someone left a good review on the store’s website. Pay a visit to the department store, and test all colognes by spraying on the sample card or on your wrists to get an idea of how the scent changes over time. After proper research, invest in the cologne you like most. I know, it’s easier said than done. Here’s another trick if you’re willing to spend some money. Buy a sample kit. This way you get to try on different scents in your daily life before committing. In my experience, some colognes smell great in-store only and not so great when you wear them for a few hours. So getting a cologne sample kit will help you to find out your preference via experimentation.
When applying a cologne, your goal is to smell pleasant — not to suffocate other people who share the same elevator with you. So few sprays on the heated areas/pulse points will do.
Grooming Tip 7. Wear deodorant
Get yourself a deodorant. Everybody needs one. If you don’t think you need one because you don’t think you smell bad, oh boy, stop reading and hit the store now.
If you’re worried that its smell will clash with your cologne, invest in an unscented deodorant instead. Read also: style tips for bald men.
Deodorant helps reduce the smells created by your sweat and the bacteria live on your armpit. Remember to get a natural and aluminum-free deodorant so that it won’t block the pores and leave yellow stains on your shirt.
Grooming Tip 8. Take care of bad breath
You may look smart and well-groomed on the outside, but having bad breath will shatter your image the second you start talking.
To get rid of bad breath, always brush your teeth after eating. You should also floss at least once a day. Flossing helps to get rid of plaque and food build-up between teeth where a toothbrush can’t reach. Left unattended, the food build-up & plaque causes odor in your mouth and other oral problems.
Of course, you don’t always have access to a toothbrush. If you can, always keep an antibacterial mouthwash in your bag. And if all fails, just rinse your mouth with plain water after eating. This action can also help to remove some loose food particles that get stuck in between your teeth.
Another tip on getting rid of bad breath is to watch what you eat. Certain food ingredients are known to cause bad breath. For example, the infamous garlic and onion. They make food taste so much better but you might want to keep the balance in the name of fresh breath. There’s this one time when I ate like a spoonful of chopped up raw garlic (don’t ask why) and my breath was bad for literally 3 days.
Grooming Tip 9. Eyebrow grooming
Trim your eyebrows every 1-2 weeks depending on the growth speed of your eyebrows. You should get a set of tweezers to pluck off the stray hairs appear in your brow arch or between your eyes. For extra long eyebrow hairs, you can comb the eyebrows first and then trim it using a tiny scissor. If you think plucking eyebrow is too time-consuming, you can always ask your barber to trim it for you on the next visit.
Grooming Tip 10. Nail your hand-care routine
One of the basic grooming routines all men should already be doing. Trim your nails at least once a week or every two weeks. All you need is a nail clipper and you can do this at the comfort of your home. Personally, I prefer to work with my regular hard nails. But if your nails are too hard for the clippers to handle, you can do it after a bath or shower. The nails are softened post-shower, making them easier to trim off.
Grooming Tip 11. Wear sunscreen
This aspect of male grooming is often overlooked. Personally, I’m guilty of not using enough sunblock. The Sun both rejuvenates and harms us every day. Harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the Sun causes premature wrinkles and, in some cases, skin cancer. The solution to this problem is the sunscreen.
Many sunscreen products today include moisturizer content and we suggest adding a light SPF 15 moisturizer into your daily grooming routine will nourish and protect your skin from wrinkles and dark spots. If you are doing sports under the sun, get a higher SPF sunscreen.
Grooming Tip 12. Exfoliate
Face washes and moisturizers protect your skin from aging and free radicals. But they do nothing to those layers of dead skin cells on your face. One of the ways to get rid of these dead skin is by exfoliating by using a face scrub regularly. A face scrub or exfoliating face wash can help to remove excess oil and dead skin cells on your skin, leaving you with skin that feels clean and smooth and looks glowing. Also, a cleaner skin will have a better absorption to any kind of moisturizer and serum that is going to apply afterward.
Even though face scrub has many benefits, but you shouldn’t do it every day as it will irritate the skin. Personally I recommend exfoliating your face as part of your weekly grooming routine. The most you should do is 3 times a week, anything more than that will probably hurt more than it helps.
Recommended Grooming Routines
Here’s the recap of what we have covered so far… in the format of a routine.
Monthly Routine
- Get a haircut
- Stock up on products (no product = routine goes haywire)
Weekly Routine
- Trim your nails
- Get rid of nose hair
- Exfoliate
- Groom eyebrows
- Thoroughly wash your hair – remember to massage the scalp apply hair conditioner
Daily Routine
Morning Routine
- Brush your teeth
- Shower
- Shave
- Wash your face
- Apply toner & moisturizer
- Apply sunblock
- Use a deodorant
- Wear some cologne
Nighttime Routine
- Floss
- Brush your teeth
- Shower, wash your hair (daily if you use hair styling product)
- Wash your face (daily) or exfoliate (1-2 times a week)
- Apply toner & moisturizer
Personal Grooming as a Mindset
It’s true, an unkept man is unattractive to members of the opposite gender and other people in general. But personal grooming should never be about other people. Don’t do it for other people, do it for yourself. Why? Because you deserve to look your best. You deserve to smell excellent. You deserve to feel confident and feel good about yourself. Personal grooming can help you achieve that. Subconsciously, or perhaps even consciously, your mind and body feel the care that you’re giving them. And they will care for you in return by making you feel energetic, focus, and confident. This is why I think it’s important for a man to be well-groomed.