Manscaping: body grooming for gentlemen

Since we evolved from scrambling around on all fours and began wearing clothes to keep us warm, much of male body hair has become obsolete. Subsequently, manscaping has risen in popularity, and in order to tame the fuzz, many modern day gentlemen are learning how to manscape.

WHAT IS MANSCAPING?

It is a word we hear a lot, but how many of us actually know what the meaning of manscaping is? If you've ever found yourself wondering "What is manscaping?" or "How to manscape?". Then this article is for you. Manscaping essentially means male body grooming - removing or trimming bodily hair for cosmetic purposes. Most men revolve their manscaping routine around shower time as it is best to manscape when your body is clean of impurities - also warm water softens body hair which makes for easier grooming.

Now that you understand the manscaping meaning, it is important for you to understand the manscaping specifics. We like to divide these into the following regions: chest, back, armpits, arms & legs, above the neck (excluding the beard) and the genital area. Note that each individual males manscaping preferences are unique to him, there is no one-size fits all. Men will manscape differently depending on things such as: lifestyle, personal (or partner) preference and in general, just how furry they are.

How to manscape

#1 MANSCAPING: TRIMMING CHEST HAIR

How to trim chest hair? When it comes to manscaping chest hair, surveys show that a little hair is actually preferable to none (just a little!), so we suggest between 1 or 2 centimetres for the best results. Keep in mind that according to the survey the optimal amount is "Just enough to run your fingers through." In order to embark on the chest grooming journey correctly, the manscaping tool we recommend is your trusty trimmers. Once you've cut your chest hair down to a consistent density all over, moisturise your freshly trimmed chest with the fast absorbing NIVEA Soft to prevent any redness, irritation, or itchiness.

how to manscape

#2 MANSCAPING A BARE CHEST

For those who prefer a totally smooth hairless finish, the razor is the only way to go. Lather yourself up with the NIVEA Body Shaving Gel, carefully designed to prevent irritation from shaving, then go over with a blade. Make sure to always shave with the grain and those with thicker hair should be careful not to assume the grain is always growing in the same direction all over your chest. For a more comfortable shave, take a shower beforehand to soften up the hairs. To finish up, add a layer of NIVEA MEN Post Shave Balm to fight any signs of irritation and sooth your skin. Now you've manscaped your chest!

man manscaping his chest hair with a razor

how to manscape

#3 MANSCAPING: YOUR GENITAL AREA

Now, we can't do a piece on manscaping and not mention your man-parts. That's right, It's time to shave your genitals. This can get risky so it's important you stay calm and in control: You do NOT want any nicks or cuts down there. If done correctly, one can transform a shrouded shabby bushel to a strong majestic bonsai tree.

It's all in the technique. After lathering, get a good grip on any skin that needs to be pulled back to allow for the closest shave possible and rinse regularly to prevent the blades from getting blocked. We suggest getting a leg up on a stool or side of your bath for those hard to reach areas and a mat on the floor to clean up the aftermath of your manscaping routine. Some recommend shaving in the shower for an easy clean-up and the added bonus of the hot water making your hair softer and easier to deal with. When you're done, don't forget to reward your newly bald genitalia with a soothing cream to prevent/treat razor burn. It'll take smooth to the next level.

Some men like to dive even deeper when intimate shaving to right under and around. This can be done in a similar way, however is much harder to reach and the risk of nicks is higher - so proceed with extreme caution if venturing that deep, you definitely want to avoid razor burn down there.

man in the mirror manscaping his privates

manscaping your back hair using a mirror

how to manscape

#4 MANSCAPING: BACK HAIR

Unfortunately surveys show that out of all types of male body hair, back hair is the least popular, so it's time to learn how to manscape it. Even more unfortunately, there is no easy way to DIY manscape your back - so for best results you will need assistance from either a very loving partner, generous friend or to visit a salon. If you want to try manscaping your back on your own though the best tool will be your trimmer, set to its lowest setting. This will achieve the most even result, although may not prevent you from having to contort into funny positions in front of the mirror. To achieve a thoroughly smooth and even back though, have someone shave or wax it for you.

how to manscape

#5 manscaping: armpits

Manscaping the pits is maybe slightly off the beaten track compared with the chest and back. Reasons men cite for shaving their armpits are usually either:

- To help reduce foul smells of body odour
- Lower chance of visible sweat patches
- Preferable look (long armpit hairs poking out of a t-shirt tend not to be favourable)

The trend generally for manscaping armpits is to trim the hairs to a short length, rather than to cleanly shave. These are our steps for how to manscape your armpits:

1) Prepare the skin: preferably by taking a shower as this will soften up the hair to make for a smoother shave. Also take time to cleanse and exfoliate to remove any dead skin or dirt
2) Trim the hair: don't go straight for the razor as long body hair can be difficult for it to cut through. Use a trimmer to take the hair down to a more manageable length. You might be happy leaving it at that, but if you would like a closer shave continue with the next steps
3) Apply shaving gel: lather up under both pits to moisturise the hair and lubricate the area. The armpits are super-sensitive so look to use a gel that is kind to your skin such as NIVEA MEN Sensitive Shaving Gel

man smiling topless in the mirror with shaved armpits

4) Away with the hair: ensure that the skin under your arm is pulled as taut as possible, then begin to remove the rest of the hair. Make sure to glide the razor with the grain (in the same direction the hair grows) to prevent from shaving related irritation
5) Finish off: once you have removed the last of the hair be sure to rinse away any excess foam, then either pat your armpits dry or leave them to dry naturally. Once they have dried off apply NIVEA MEN Sensitive Cool Post Shave Balm for long lasting hydration and instant relief from any irritation that shaving may have caused

How to manscape

#6 MANSCAPING: ARMS & LEGS

Generally more common in sports and fitness worlds whereby excess body hair can negatively impact performance, or to show off hard earned muscle definition from the gym. Even if you're not hugely into your fitness, it still doesn't hurt to know how to manscape your arms and legs in order to tidy them up once in a while.

Most men who decide to go manscaping on their limbs generally use a trimmer just to tidy up to a shorter length, after-all taming exceptional fuzz can help to smell better, relieve heat and help prevent sun damage (as thicker hair holds onto sweat which magnifies suns rays and also makes applying sunscreen harder). If you wanted to go fully bare on the arms and legs however, manscape in the same way you would your chest. The skin on your arms and legs is tougher than that on your chest though, so you can go against the grain for a closer shave with less risk of irritating the skin. Remember after every shave to moisturise as shaving dehydrates the skin.

how to manscape

#7 MANSCAPING: EARS, NOSE & BROWS

Some of us might notice as we get older that our nose, ears and eyebrows might appear a bit more bushy. If this this a case, and you want to tidy up we've got all the tips and tricks to get you looking sleek and smooth again.

Find out how to groom your beard here.

Preening Your Ears

You'll be pleased to learn that taking care of unsightly ear hair isn't as hard as it may seem, it's actually easy to groom!

You can use either scissors to trim the hairs, or an electric trimmer if you want to speed the process of manscaping your ears up. First, you need to pluck out the longest hairs using tweezers, then carefully use the scissors or trimmers to cut any existing hair that goes just inside the ear. You should never push things too far in your ears so pay close attention to what you're doing to prevent hurting yourself.

Trimming Your Nose Hairs

If you notice nose hairs tickling the edge of your nostrils or dangling a bit further, you may feel it's time to give them a quick trim. There's only one rule when it comes to manscaping your nose hairs, and that is under no circumstances should you pluck the hairs. Nose hairs are there to catch dust and dirt going into your nose as well as bacteria, so you only ever want to trim the hair to ensure they can still carry out this function. Plucking also causes tiny little tears in the skin which can leave your nose feeling sore, sensitive and leave you vulnerable to infection.

Therefore, to safely trim your nose hairs, you should use scissors specially designed for this, or nose trimmers.

Plucking Your Eyebrows

Eyebrows are what frame your face, most people when they talk to you look at your eyes so you don't want them hidden behind untamed brows. Of course if that's what you prefer then you can skip this part. Eyebrows grow back quickly, so it's best to stay on top of your eyebrow manscaping and do it little and often. Focus on trimming any long stray hairs that stand out from the rest using a small pair of scissors, and pluck hairs that sit outside the natural shape of your brow.

It's easy to get carried away with plucking, so use moderation when manscaping your eyebrows.