In the past, it was unheard of for men to be overly concerned about how their bodily hairs looked. But over time, many men are finding it necessary to manscape their body due to a variety of reasons.
While Manscaping or shaving bodily hair in a fashionable way may appear as the height of vanity, there are many men who take it seriously and claim that it has a number of benefits.
Men have taken on the manscaping craze as a way of attracting members of the opposite gender. There are also hygiene reasons because people with overgrown hairs are more susceptible to diseases and infections. In fact, a number of reasons have been put forward as to why the manscaping fever has caught on over the years. One is the fact that women have expressed themselves on the issue and most prefer a well-groomed man to an unkempt one.
Why Manscape?
There are also practical reasons for grooming as it improves the sexual experience during coitus, not to mention the physical appeal and attraction.
While there are many men who are taking up the craze, many others have never done anything even close to shaving their chest.
The following are the reason why you should consider taking up manscaping especially your groin and chest:
- It makes you look good.
- It is hygienic as germs have been known to breed faster in hairy areas of the body.
- Tanning the skin is easier.
- It prevents ingrowing of hair.
- Hair will not grow back thicker despite the myth that it will.
- Increased sensitivity of the skin will increase pleasure during those close moments.
- Manscaping makes you look younger than you really are.
- It is much more comfortable than waxing which can really hurt.
- Makes the manhood appear bigger.
There are also disadvantages of manscaping especially in the sensitive areas around the genitalia:
- If not done properly, one might get cuts as well as wounds to the sensitive areas.
- Skin can become so and very uncomfortable due to the close shaving.
- For people with sensitive skin, they may experience rushes which can turn into serious wounds if not attended to in time.
- Sharing of manscaping tools and not cleaning them properly can lead to the transmission of STIs and other diseases.
It is these negative effects of manscaping that an article like this comes in handy. We will look at the safest and most effective methods of manscaping and give you handy tips so as to prevent any problems.
When manscaping, the two most important tools are the body groomer and the razor or trimmer. In addition to these, scissors and tweezers also come in handy especially for those areas that are hard to reach or too sensitive to use razors.
Whatever the case, the choice of manscaping tools depends on the method of shaving preferred as well as the desired final result. Using razors is appropriate in situations where you want the closest shave but it is also the method that can result in the negative effects described above if not done properly.
In cases where the desired shave is not as thorough, an electric groomer will suffice. This will achieve a result of trimmed hair and can also be used for shaping the hairs to give a certain effect especially if there are designs that need to be cut into the hair.
In cases where the desired effect is to completely get rid of all growth, a manual razor will serve the purpose adequately. While the results are far more obvious than with electric shavers and groomers, a manual shaver requires a lot of care when using and it can, therefore, take longer to achieve the desired results.
For manual shaving, the Schick Quattro Titanium has been proven to be the best tool as it is sturdy and gives a clean shave without problems. For quick grooming, the best machine to use is the Philips Norelco Body Groom that we have reviewed extensively below.
Like with any other activity, proper grooming and shaving require prior preparation and all the necessary equipment must be in place before starting. At the very least, your manscaping session must have the following equipment and consumables:
- Schick Quattro razor blade.
- Wahl Micro Groomsman Personal Trimmer.
- Jojoba pre-shave oil.
- Art of Shaving Unscented Cream.
- Coolpix antiseptic.
- Balla baby powder.
The equipment and the other consumables listed above are premium products which give the best quality and despite their cost, are very effective. You should not under any circumstances try to circumvent quality as these products are being used on very sensitive areas of the body and we wouldn’t want any damage to occur there.
Reasons Why People are Manscaping Groin
People manscape for a variety of reasons as mentioned earlier but the main motivation is for cosmetic purposes. It is because of this that you will find personalities who are in the constant glare of the public are the ones who are most likely to do it.
However, there are also practical reasons for sports such as swimming and bodybuilding. For swimmers, every second count and they would want their bodies to be as streamlined as possible. Bodybuilders want every muscle in their body to be seen during competitions and that is why they prefer a smoothly-shaven body. Can you imagine a hairy bodybuilder?
Manscaping Tools
Given the peculiar nature of body hairs, some of which are located insensitive and hard to access areas, various tools have been developed specifically for manscaping. Each of these tools is specific to each area of the body and must be used accordingly. Some of these tools may look like equipment right out of the torturers’ toolbox due to their peculiar shape but they are designed with the end in mind.
1. Manscaping Tools: Scissors
Believe it or not, scissors are one of the most (if not the most) important tools for manscaping. This is because they have very specific functions when it comes to cutting and trimming nose, ear, anal and scrotal hairs. Without scissors, the shaving job would be less than satisfactory.
The scissors are shaped in such a way that they are easy to grasp as well as use. Most of the scissors used for manscaping have slender blades and rounded tips because any wrong move in the sensitive parts of the body can lead to serious injury.
The only scissors with sharp blades should be used because blunt equipment tends to tug on the hairs leaving it bruised and pimpled.
The scissors used must also be cleaned thoroughly and disinfected before using. They must, therefore, be made from high-quality stainless steel rust can harbor harmful bacteria. Stainless steel has also been known to be less allergenic than most materials and is therefore highly recommended for shaving materials.
2. Manscaping Tools: Electric Hair Clippers
Wahl Body GroomerThis are the first tools to be used to get rid of overgrown hairs and are mostly used in the less sensitive parts of the body such as the torso and head.
Electric clippers are also very easy to use as they do not require the kind of attention to detail that is required when using scissors. As you will shaving hairs close to sensitive parts, it is advisable to invest in a clipper that has guards to limit the extent of the trimmer and avoid any damage to the skin. These are desirable equipment to have for private shaving as there are areas you cannot take to the barber for shaving.
3. Schick Quattro
While this manual razor may appear quite highly-priced compared to other products of the same type, it is of utmost importance to use high-quality products down there in order to avoid infections.
Given the fact that the Schick will last you for years to come, it is actually saving as the rest of razors out there have been known to have a very short useful life. Apart from the durability, another positive point with this razor is the fact that it has useful safety features that make it impossible for one to get cut. It has intuitively placed wire meshes that prevent direct contact between the blade and the skin.
4. Wahl Personal Trimmer
Wahl Body Groomer is normal sometimes to let the hair grow to unmanageable levels. When this happens, a normal razor will not be able to cut the hairs and that is when a trimmer comes in handy. This tool is used as a means of reducing the hairs to a level where you can then manscape it and the Wahl Personal Trimmer does the job very well. It is cheaper than the other trimmers but is of very high quality.
The reason why razors do not do a good job of cutting overgrown hairs is that the hairs jam the blades rendering it useless. The Wahl Personal Trimmer is highly recommended because it is made from polished stainless steel. Unlike other brands in the same category, the Wahl Trimmer is compact and easy to handle which makes it the right tool for using in hard to reach areas. Though the materials used for the trimmer may appear plastic like and cheap, it is still a very high-quality device in terms of performance. In addition, the shaving head is easily removable with a single click release. One can attach different sized heads depending on the desired result and use. For example, you can attach the head for hair cutting, double foil for shaving the head and a nose and ear trimmer. The only downside with this trimmer is that it does not include attachments that are under 2mm.
You will notice that the trimmer operates only on battery power. If you want a product that is devoid of frills but can perform without a problem, then the Wahl Personal Trimmer will do the job fine. Remember to replace the trimmers once a year because by that time they will have outlived their usefulness.
5. Philip Norelco Bodygroom Pro
There are anybody groomers in the market today and very few able to match the quality and performance of the This shaver is very well suited to remove hair from the rest of the body. It is well suited for shaving under the shower as it is waterproof. In my personal experience, this makes the shave significantly more thorough and pleasant.
The shaver is completely waterproof and you do not have to worry about damaging it. Charging takes about eight hours and it can last up to five hours on a full charge without needing to recharge. This relatively short charging time (compared with other shavers) is convenient it can be done overnight and the device will be ready by morning. Though the sound of the Philips Norelco Bodygroom is slightly higher than that of other shavers, one can live with it. The shaving performance is absolutely amazing and you can expect the cleanest shave. It has a thicker shaving foil than that you would normally find in face razors. There is a reason for this – a slightly thicker foil ensures that the most sensitive parts of the body are not prone to injury.
The manufacturer appears to have a very good balance between safety and performance with this body groomer. Shaving result is sufficiently smooth and skin protection is excellent. While safety considerations have been made on the device, one still needs to be careful when passing it through the wrinkled part of the groin. If not careful while manscaping the groin area, there may be some small incisions to the skin. It a rare occurrence but it can happen if you are not careful. The shaver is cleaned by rinsing it under a shower. The shaving head is a closed block and can be removed from the shaver. This is only necessary only while washing it as it is completely waterproof.
6. Desert Essence Jojoba Oil
Shaving can cause a lot of discomforts especially when you are manscaping down there and a pre-shave oil such as Desert Essence Jojoba Oil will come in handy in preventing razor burns. Jojoba Oil is also known to contain useful ingredients that nourish and soothe the skin making your shaving session comfortable and enjoyable.
One distinct advantage of Jojoba oil is that it nourishes the skin without leaving that greasy feeling because it is absorbed deep in the skin. It also has the effect of unblocking clogged up pores which prevent the development of pimples and other skin infections.
7. The Art of Shaving Unscented Cream.
This cream addresses a very important issue with the groin area- it is very sensitive and one does not want to go putting all kinds of chemicals there. This can lead to irritation, sensitivity and even injury. One must, therefore, choose the right cream for applying in the groin area if these problems are to be avoided.
The fact that the cream is unscented means that there are fewer harsh chemicals that have been used and therefore there is less likelihood for the problems mentioned above occur.
8. Cool Fix Antiseptic
The shaving process will also leave the skin exposed to the likelihood of getting infected as the protective layer of the skin might have gotten some cuts. It is therefore important that you disinfect the skin so as to prevent any problems.
However, applying antiseptic can do more harm than good if the wrong type is used. Cool Fix is a safe antiseptic that leaves your skin feeling relieved and refreshed. It is not exactly cheap, but it is worthwhile as it prevents red dots and ingrown hairs especially in the groin area.
Balla Powder
This powder prevents irritation to the groin area and relieves the skin of the harsh effects of shaving. It is important to apply powder especially in the groin as the natural cushioning effect of pubic hair is lost once you shave that area.
Preparation for Manscaping the Groin
Like any other process, manscaping needs prior preparation for it to be successful. You have to set aside a nice and quiet place in so as complete the process without interruption. Most people prefer using a bathtub because it is comfortable and safe.
Another reason why people prefer the bathtub is that one’s body is fully submerged and all areas get to be soaked and therefore softened by the water. It is also easier to clean the tools and equipment after you have finished manscaping.
You make sure that all the electrical equipment is waterproof so as to avoid the risk of getting electrocuted. Any loose and bare wires must never be allowed in the bathroom. Another precautionary measure that must be taken is to ensure that the skin is taut and not flabby when shaving so as to prevent any cuts. Shaving along the grain is the preferred manner because going against the grain, while it provides a thorough shave, it may cause irritations and infections.
Steps to Follow When Manscaping Groin
Follow these simple steps when manscaping so as to get the best results:
- Disinfect all equipment and also the bathroom because it is a breeding ground for bacteria due to the moist environment
- Trim the overgrown hairs so as to make it easier to shave and manscape
- Apply Oil so as to make the shaver glide smoothly as well as protect the skin
- Apply Shaving Cream thoroughly and work it into a lather on your genitalia. It is preferable that you use warm shaving cream for comfort.
- Shave the area carefully and avoid sudden actions that may result in cuts. Try and stretch the skin around the scrotum and shaft so as to prevent cuts as you shave
- Apply antiseptic in small quantities and dub (not rub) gently. The initial burning sensation will eventually go away after some time
- Apply baby powder to give you comfort and ease the irritation that is caused by your clothes rubbing against the newly shaven area.
That is all that is required to get a clean-shaven groin area. Remember that to maintain this look, you will have to shave at least twice a month or you may revert to your old hairy and bushy self. Avoid shaving in periods that are too close as this can lead to infections and skin breakouts.
You are most likely going to get addicted to the new look and will wonder what you have been doing all those years.