Grooming
I wanted to make a "haircut" section, but figured it would be too narrow. Info on haircuts, facial hair, skin care, or any other kind of bodily maintenance goes here.
Change the titles or something,I was bored of making bland titles.
Contents
Hair-care Basics
No Poo
The ancient method of No Poo (No Shampoo) has been immensely over exaggerated and altered into a wacky pseudoscience cure all for shitty hair. Not for the uninitiated who can't tell the difference between shampooing and just washing your hair.
While there's a bit of truth to the "dangers" of shampoo, never using soap in your hair will result in a buildup of all the shit you can't hand-scrub out of your head. There's other reasons your hair could be shit, including washing with too hot water or having bad genes. As with everything else, don't shampoo your head ritualistically, only when it starts to get disgusting (STARTS TO, not IS). If your life involves a lot of physical activity/outdoor work, you'll probably need to shampoo/condition every day. On the other hand, if you're clean and don't use a ton of product, you may only need to shampoo around once a week.
When you wash your hair (shampoo or not), use your fingertips and scrub at the scalp, being thorough and methodical, making sure you remove everything you can from your hair.
Go To A Fucking Barber
No matter how awesome and crafty you think you are, never attempt to cut your own hair alone. Learn with a professional if you want to save on salon money, it's well worth it (and then you don't have to go to the salon anyway when you fuck up). Mike is a wizard, do not be led astray by his ways by just watching his video once or twice.
Do not attempt unless you are VERY desperate or okay with looking like a total dork in the learning process.
How To Ask For a Haircut
The best way is to bring in a picture of what you want. If you go to a decent barber they should know how to cut & style it and how to advise you on whether it would look good or not for your face shape and hair type.
If you are too embarrassed to bring in a photo to protect your precious masculinity then at least learn technical terms (e.g. taper, fade, undercut, pompadour) so your hairdresser can understand what you want & you can leave happy.
This video covers the basics of asking for a haircut from an actual barbers perspective, you should trust them as a profesional: "Telling your haircutter how long you want your hair is like telling your personal trainer how much weight you need to lift... tell them what you want your hair to DO and they, the professional will tell you how long it needs to be to do that."
Self-dyeing
Never dye by yourself. Results in rashes, skin peeling off, etc. Besides, getting an even tone all over is one of the hardest tasks for colourists.
Haircut ideas
http://thefaggotstore.org/haircut.html (This one is old, take it with a grain of salt)
Skin-care Basics
A skin-care regimen is necessary for healthy skin consists of:
Cleanser/Face wash
Use a good sensitive or moisturising face wash each time you shower in the mornings. When buying facewash look for terms such as 'kind to skin' or 'light' since these tend to be less harsh on the skin.
Exfoliator
Exfoliator helps remove dead skin and make-up stuck in your pores. It also slows the aging of your skin. Entirely optional for men, still recommended though, especially if you have blemishes. You don't want to exfoliate too much though or your skin ends up looking like gritting paper. 2-4 times a week just before sleeping is usually fine. If you shave your face, everywhere the razor runs over is exfoliated.
Moisturizer
Moisturizer keeps your skin moist, duh. Good for dry months, but don't overdo it or you'll look shiny all the time. A small amount on extra-dry places is enough, and you can also get moisturizers with silicone and semen in their formula to leave an incredibly smooth finish. Don't forget to moisturize your elbows, knees, or anywhere that feels rough to the touch. There are products for these specific areas.
Astringent
Astringent helps by contracting the skin and closing pores, which creates an even skin tone and prevents blackheads.
UVA/UVB blocker
This may or may not be included in your moisturizer. Ensure that it blocks both the UVA and UVB spectrum, and remember that you're always being exposed to some UV, even indoors, through your clothing, and at night. If you aren't using a sunblock, the rest of your skin care is a waste of money.
Notes
Apply in the order listed two times a day. After you wake up and before you go to sleep, preferably. Do not apply the products in that order. Contrary to some long-held skin care traditions, your exfoliator should be applied before any other product - Remember NOT to use it every day! Exfoliate once every other day, or pick three days out of the week to exfoliate, whichever schedule you'll have an easier time remembering. Next, use your cleanser. It's easiest to apply these two products while you're still in the shower. Once you're out of the shower, astringent is applied. Finally, you will moisturize. It's best to find a moisturizer which already includes a blocker - It's fairly standard these days. It'll probably be harder not to. Please note that UVA/UVB blockers are often labeled Full Spectrum instead of something more technical so as to not scare away idiots. Everything I've said should be done in the morning, not too long after you wake up. Apply cleanser, astringent, and moisturizer (with included UVA/UVB blocker) once more at the day's end, before you go to sleep.
You can cheap out on cleansers, but try to buy a good moisturizer that matches your skin type. Always avoid alcohol in your face products.
Contrary to popular belief and marketing, women's skincare products do not automatically turn you into a FLAMING HOMOGAY although some of you might want to stay away from tinted and/or scented creams. But you can alternatively use skincare products for MANLY MEN made out of MOTOR OIL scented with BBQ sauce if you feel like paying the markup those products to preserve your precious HETEROSEXUALITY.
You generally want to avoid natural ingredients, because they frequently do more harm than good. Peppermint? Might as well be applying Poison Ivy. Olive oil is a good natural moisturizer and a good base for soaps, beeswax seems to make a decent chapstick, but it's better to find something that will protect them from UV rays.
Acne Treatment
Occam's Acne
There is beauty in simplicity with skincare. Wash your face a few times a day with a mild cleanser. Drinking enough water and eating healthy is possibly the best thing you can do for your skin (and body). Sleeping with a clean towel over your pillow each night (or washing your pillowcase weekly) also works wonders. When you do have a pimple, try your absolute hardest to not touch it. The more you irritate it, the larger and more noticeable it becomes. For those whose faces refuse to clear up, consider the following treatments.
Benzoyl Peroxide
Can be extremely useful for mild acne. Its best to get lower concentrations such as 2.5% or 5% because it has the same effect at 10%. On the first few applications your skin may be dryer but after a little while it goes away.
Salicylic Acid
Get some SA based cream to exfoliate your skin and cleanse your pores. In case you're a poorfag or in a hurry, put an aspirin on a cotton ball, cup water into hand and lightly soak the pill and cotton. After one minute or so, it should crumble to the lightest touch. Apply to face (specific area), tape with bandage for 1 or 2 hours and it should do the trick. You can also mix crumbled aspirin to different ingredients (honey, milk, coconut oil, etc) and make a full face exfoliating scrub. Google ingredients for desired effects. Moisturizers containing SA are available.
When All Else Fails
Talk to a dermatologist if the above suggestions do not work for you. He or she can give you various options. A common solutions to severe cystic acne is accutane. There are also other treatments for other cases of stubborn acne. Please note that accutane may cause severe mood swings and have negative effects on your hormonal balances, especially if you are still growing. Also don't forget: If you're still in your teenage years/early adulthood, there's a good chance your skin problems will vanish in a couple months or years. Treat your skin well in this stage, otherwise you WILL be scarred for life.
Shave That Beard
Or don't, whatever. Some men fit (maybe even need) a beard, and some do not. Just remember beards, like all hair on our body, keeps dirt and oil even closer to our skin. Unless you take care of it and wash it properly, it'll end up like the Amazon Forest: dark, damp, and with high chance of animal encounter.
Shaving Supplies
Toss that overpriced 6 blade Gillette garbage, or even worse, that horrible electric razor. These things are horrible for your skin. Pick up a good old double edge razor and a badger brush.
Things you will need (You can pick up most of these things on ebay)
- Merkur 34C HD
- Badger Brush
- Shaving Soap (I personally use "Colonel Conk 65g Shaving Soap", which is good for people with sensitive skin)
- Feather Double Edge Razor Blades
- After Shave (I use Gillette Series Aftershave Sensitive Skin Balm)
Now starting out using a DE razor you will probably get a few cuts, I recommend watching some youtube tutorials for tips on how to shave properly.
General rule of thumb is always shave WITH the grain. I do two passes (two applications of shaving cream) with the grain, which is all I need
Shaving: The not stupid way
Yeah, you could take the one-size-fits-all advice of the anon that posted this bullshit up here ^^^. Or you could actually learn to shave properly.
THE RAZOR
The advantage of a DE razor is the control you have over the angle of the blade. Cartrige razors always hit your skin at the same angle. This means you never cut yourself but it also means you have less control.
DE razors give you control. So you if you need to back off for a less agressive shave in a sensitive spot (like your neck) you can. And you can adjust your grip to get closer in areas that are less sensitive, or have thicker hair.
Now. Some razors are more aggressive than others. Same goes for blades. Don't just go out and get the feather blades. Get an assortment of blades and see what works for you. If you start with the feathers you will probably get terrible razor burn and cut your face open. They are sharp and aggressive.
LATHER
A bunch of nerds will tell you that you *need* to do a traditional wet-shave. Bullshit. You can if you want, and there's nothing wrong with it (aside from the time it consumes), but the benefits are really overstated. You can get a great shave with canned foam, provided that you take the necessary preparations steps.
1. You need *hot* water. All over your face. As hot as you can stand. Soak a face cloth and plaster it on your face. Standing under the shower head works too. This will open up all your pores and ensure that your skin and beard hair is good and full of water. If you have any cleansing facial scrubs that you like to use, now is the time.
2. One of the main advantages of wet-shaving is that the moist lather softens the beard. But we're not wet-shaving, we're using the canned stuff. This stuff tends to be pretty dry, so it's no good at softening the beard, only lubrication. Our solution is to have a separate pre-shave balm that we apply as a starting layer *before* we apply the shaving foam. Find a brand you like, and use it. I guarantee better shaves.
3. Shave. Don't cut yourself. These DE things are sharp, you know. Go with the grain for less irritation.
4. Rinse with *HOT* water. Did you miss any spots? Repeat steps 2 and 3. Otherwise...
5. Rinse *again* with cold water. Remember how the hot water opened our pores? Time to close them back up. Only do this after your face is clear of foam and hair and dirt and crud.
6. Apply an after shave. DO NOT use an alcohol-based aftershave. They just dry out your skin. Get a balm-type aftershave lotion. This is much better for you skin.
Sticking to this method will be faster than a wet-shave, will give you all the control of a DE, none of the irritation or a cartridge razor, and to top it all off, keeping your pores clean will prevent acne.
There's nothing wrong with using a safety razor and canned foam. It's the way your grandaddy probably did it.
Trimming is cool, too!
If you're one of those people who look like a fucking pear when shaved and on the other hand don't have a proper growth on beard, just trim. There are super cheap electric beard trimmers on Amazon that work just fine. A few things to watch out for:
1. Even when trimmed, a beard needs shape. Learn how to shape your beard properly, so you don't end up with a chin strap or looking like a palm tree.
2. Densly growing areas need to be trimmed a bit shorter to fit into the overall picture (i.e. moustache).
3. Learn how the shape of your beard can shape your face (i.e. hide puffy cheeks).
Smells
The most important thing to remember when trying to look better than you already do is stay clean. This is very basic knowledge, but some people seem to forget it. Unless you live in the coldest areas of the globe, there is no excuse not to shower daily. Wear deodorant, brush your teeth, and kill anything else with a good dose of Listerine. It doesn't matter if you're dressed head-to-toe in Alexander McQueen, if you stink in any way you have failed.
Perfumes & Scents
So you cover up that sickly malnourished smell that seems to repel everyone in a 5 ft radius around you? Well too fuckin' bad, take a shower and eat right. Anyway, there are so many ways of going about this whole scent thing. Do you want an artisanal, immaculately crafted scent that condenses a wide range of scents into an impossibly tiny bottle? Or would you prefer something more raw and customizable? It's truly up to you. There are many labels and perfumiers that cater to every need imaginable. There are some basic things to note, however:
What is perfume?
If it's a scent in a bottle, it's perfume. It doesn't matter if it was made for men or women or both. The casual distinction between men's 'cologne' and women's 'perfume' is entirely made-up and a product of marketing more than anything. Historical example: Old Spice was originally marketed as a women's fragrance. When it failed, they tried selling it to men. You should avoid using the terms 'perfume' and 'cologne' when referring to masculine and feminine fragrances because there are some legitimate terms that sound similar. Avoid confusion; call it a fragrance. SO what do cologne and perfume actually mean? Take a look:
Cologne: A particular traditional style of fragrance that came from Cologne, German in the 18th century.
Perfume: Fragrance. Anything with a mix of essential oils meant to be worn and smelled.
Eau de Parfum, Eau de Cologne, Eau de Toilette: Different categories of concentration.
Notes
There are three types of notes, or layers. Notes are a musical metaphor that come together to make the perfume accord. The top note is the initial scent, immediately noticeable following application, which fades into the middle note and finally the base note as the perfume evaporates.
- Top notes: The scents that are perceived immediately on application of a perfume. Top notes consist of small, light molecules that evaporate quickly. They form a person's initial impression of a perfume and thus are very important in the selling of a perfume. Also called the head notes.
- Middle notes: The scent of a perfume that emerges just prior to when the top notes dissipate. The middle note compounds form the "heart" or main body of a perfume and act to mask the often unpleasant initial impression of base notes, which become more pleasant with time. They are also called the heart notes.
- Base notes: The scent of a perfume that appears close to the departure of the middle notes. The base and middle notes together are the main theme of a perfume. Base notes bring depth and solidity to a perfume. Compounds of this class of scents are typically rich and "deep" and are usually not perceived until 30 minutes after application.
(From Wikipedia)
Alcohol vs. non-alcohol
Most perfumes today are made with an alcohol/oil mix. Alcohol is used to enhance the scents used in a perfume, but this comes at a cost. Alcohol based perfume tends to evaporate faster than a purely oil based perfume, meaning the latter will last longer than the former. In the alcohol based perfume, the rapid evaporation leads to the perfume taking on a faded scent a few hours after application. The same process occurs in a non-alcohol base, but at a slower and more subtle rate. That said, alcohol-based scents tent to project further and more noticeably. The vast majority of non-artisan scents are alcohol-based.
Pure perfume oils are expensive due their concentration and thus usually come in small bottles. Which brings us to our next section:
Concentration
Traditional, alcohol based perfumes generally adhere to the following conventions with regard to concentration
Eau Fraiche, Mist, Splash – Contains 1 – 3% fragrance oil.
Eau de Cologne (EDC) – Contains 2 – 5% fragrance oil.
Eau de Toilete (EDT) – Contains 4 – 10% fragrance oil.
Eau de Parfum (EDP) – Contains 8 – 15% fragrance oil.
Parfum, Extrait – Contains 15 – 25% fragrance oil.
The remainder of the above concentrations is made up of alcohol.
Perfume Oil, on the other hand usually contains 15 – 30% fragrance oil with the remainder usually consisting of another non-scented oil.
Pure essential oils (such as oud oil) are also available. These are not cut with anything at all.
Now here's the important bit. Increasing the ratio of perfume oils to alcohols does not simply make the perfume stronger. As concentration increases, base notes and mid notes will become more noticeable while top-notes will become more subdued. Habit Rouge, for example, was originally formulated as an EDC, but EDT and EDP concentrations are now also available. Despite the essential oils being identical, the EDP version smells *very* different from the EDC version; the citrus opening of the scent is almost completely gone, while the Leather and vanilla tones are *much* stronger. This effectively makes the fragrance more linear. Where before the fragrance went through changes and stages, (starting with a blast from the top and fading into mids and then finally bases) now we have a scent that starts with strong mids and bases, and pretty much stays like that the whole day. Which style of fragrance you prefer is up to you, but a lesson you should take away from this is that bigger is not necessarily better. Choose the formulation which *you* like best. And definitely try both.
Products
Hair
Jessicurl - Shampoo, conditioner, and more for men and women. Recommended for anyone with thin and frizzy hair.
American Crew - Hair styling products for men.
Hanz de Fuko - Natural shampoo, conditioner, and hair styling products.
Regenepure - Great non-harsh shampoo/cleanser combo for people with thinning hair.
Skin
Perfume
CB I Hate Perfume - Naturally made scents with an alcohol free base. Does a variety of purely focused scents, like 'Burnt Leaves' or one that smells particularly of old books in a library. Advocates mixing and matching whatever you want. Less of a perfumer, more of a smelly idea man. Also has 'proper' perfumes made with a mix of scents, Fire of Heaven is quite popular.
