Body Grooming 101: Complete guide to men's grooming, shaving & trimming

So, you’re ready for some Body Grooming 101 knowledge bombs, eh? 

Let us tell you, this is going to be a lot more helpful than that Art History class you took your freshman year or Intro to Human Psychology. 

Not that we’re knocking how cool the geometric structures that are the Pyramids of Giza are, but seriously, why is there not more information about male grooming and hygiene? 

Well, men of the world, our team is dead set on changing this and we want to give you all of our MANSCAPED™ knowledge, so buckle in. 

When it comes to male grooming, we like to break this down into four main pieces:

1. General cleanliness
2. Trimming
3. Shaving
4. Post-trim/Post-shave care

Note: Remember that this is a 101 article, so this is just the surface level here, guys. 

At MANSCAPED™, we pride ourselves in not just providing the best grooming and hygiene products and tools available for you, but we have an impressive blog with articles that range from men's news, grooming, health, style, and other fun sciency stuff. 

If you read something in this 101 Guide that you want more information on, odds are we’ve written a more detailed step-by-step guide, so feel free to use that cool search function on our blog page. If you can’t find the information you need, the MANSCAPED™ community is quite large, so leave a comment or post your questions to our feed on Facebook so you can get the answers you’re looking for.

General cleanliness

While general cleanliness might seem like an obvious step in overall male grooming, it’s unfortunately something that a lot of men rush through. Part of rushing through general cleanliness is also straight up skipping really important pieces. 

As part of our research to improve male grooming over the years, we’ve observed, and even talked to a lot of men who feel just because they brush their teeth in the morning they should be awarded a cookie. 

General cleanliness applies to your entire body—head, shoulders, knees, and toes, and everything in between. 

As humans, we have a lot of holes in our bodies in certain places where things go in and other things come out. We also have a lot of nooks and crannies that allow sweat, dirt, grime, and other stuff to accumulate. 

Our skin is crawling with bacteria that like to consume our sweat throughout the day and then they emit super stanky odors as a by-product. Humans have the ability to get gross and start to smell at an alarmingly fast rate, so a general cleanliness routine is not just suggested, it’s required in our opinion to be a part of today’s society. 

General cleanliness is not just essential for hygiene reasons, but things like washing your hands and using soap have proven to be a key factor in keeping your immune system healthy (soap, who knew?). 

Having a solid general cleanliness mindset will keep you looking and smelling fresh and clean and will show others that you actually care about your well-being. It’s a confidence booster as well and believe us, people will notice. 

Because this is a 101 Guide, we want to lay out a solid list of the areas of your body to remember as part of a man’s general cleanliness routine:

1. Brush your teeth twice a day and remember to floss. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, “the American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste for two minutes each time.” They also recommend flossing daily, using mouthwash to help kill germs and give you fresh breath, and replacing your toothbrush every few months. Oh, and go to the dentist, men. Like just once a year. You can do it. Think about how much stuff goes on with your mouth. 

2. Clean your ears.

Like your mama said, wash behind your ears. We also suggest paying attention to the inside of your ears as well. Ear wax build-up is not positive. There are these really cool tools you can get on Amazon for ear wax. Just Google it, buy it, and use it. 

3. Wash your body regularly with water and soap. 

Humans sweat. Humans get dirty. Humans need to shower regularly with soap and water. At MANSCAPED™ we even have two awesome products to ensure full cleanliness and smelly goodness:

• Body Wash Daily Shower Gel
• Crop Cleanser® Groin Wash

These two products are filled with natural ingredients meant to clean and moisturize all with our Refined cologne-quality fragrance that keeps you smelling like a man who cares about his body. 

4. Trim your nails (both fingers and toes). 

While you might not need to do this daily, invest in a good pair of nail clippers and trim your damn nails. Unless you are a millionaire guitar player or banjo player, we suggest keeping nails short for hygienic reasons. You don’t want to be cutting anyone with your gnarly toenail—no, sir. 

Better yet, treat yourself to a manicure/pedicure. Yes, these are for men too and you’ll love them, we promise. 

5. Wash your hair and get a haircut regularly. 

You know that whole part above about humans sweating and getting dirty. Well, all that stuff gets caught up in your hair and since you don’t want a stinky, oily mess of a mop, wash your hair regularly, please. 

We’ve got you covered with our 2-In-1 Shampoo + Conditioner which produces a luxurious lather that cleanses and revitalizes those locks of yours. We’ve also thrown in that Refined cologne-quality fragrance bit as well, so don’t be surprised if someone tells you your hair smells AMAZING. Amazing. 

6. Exfoliate. 

Women picked up on this a while ago and yes, this has to do with that loofah thing. Exfoliating helps scrub away dead skin cells that build up, which really opens up and clears your pores which is essential for smooth skin and for eliminating acne potential. The exfoliation movement also stimulates cell growth and blood flow which are two good things for your body as well. 

Invest in a loofah or shower sponge and squirt a bit of our Body Wash Daily Shower Gel for your body and then we have the Crop Exfoliator™ for your groin bits. The Crop Exfoliator™ is designed to be a little more gentle because of your nuts and all. The results will be smooth and silky feeling skin though, so just do it. 

While we know some of you men are more active than others, this list of general cleanliness recommendations is kind of a daily thing. Depending on your sweatiness level you might need to do #3 more than once a day and that’s ok. Give yourself enough time each day to go to your bathroom, slow down, breathe, give yourself a look over, and take care of yourself. 

Alright, now that we’re clear on getting clean, the next pieces of grooming involve maintaining and controlling all that hair. Like everywhere. 

Let’s talk about trimming and shaving. 

Trimming

Men have face and body hair. As men get older this hair keeps growing and then there are certain genetics which also cause some crazy hair growth. 

This hair is found on men’s faces in the form of beards, necks, chests, stomachs, happy trail, bush, arms, back, butt, and legs.

In addition to keeping all of this hair clean, part of body grooming 101 is keeping that hair under control and trimming is a huge part of this. 

For some of you, this might just involve a weekly trim of the beard and then your groin area because your hair is lighter, thinner, does not grow as fast, or is just not as bushy. You might even be one of those lucky sons-of-a-guns who were blessed with the no-back-hair genes, so you don’t need to bother. 

If you are planning on trimming a beard and then the rest of your body hair, the first thing is to invest in a solid trimmer or trimmers. We recommend a separate trimmer for your face vs. your body for hygienic reasons and please YouTube how to properly clean a trimmer regularly. 

The Lawn Mower® 4.0 in our oh, so humble opinion, is the perfect tool for the job.   

It has adjustable guards so you can trim off just the right amount and the trimmer is designed to work in or out of the shower, depending on your preference. 

We suggest trimming at least once a week to keep things under control, but for some of you, this might be an every-few-days thing. 

We even have Magic Mat® disposable shaving mats to keep your bathroom floor clean while you’re trimming. Trimming can also be something you might need a little help with, especially if you’re talking about your butt or back hair, so do not be afraid to ask a friend or significant other to help you out. It’s not as scary as you think to ask someone for help…

A trim is also a necessary step before shaving, which just happens to be our next piece to our 101 Guide.  

Shaving

Once you have your face or body hair trimmed appropriately, there might be some areas that a man might want to be smooth-shaven. Areas like the chinny, chin chin, and areas like the balls and shaft. 

Depending on your profession, your involvement in certain sports or activities, or your partner’s preference, you might shave other areas, but the gist is the same. 

Trim first to get the hair as short as possible before a shave. This ensures that the hair will not pull or snag in a razor.

General cleanliness is also critical for shaving prep as shaving with a razor exposes skin and exfoliates on its own. 

We also recommend investing in a solid quality razor and you should have a razor designated for your face and another one designated for your other areas. 

It’s a good thing we’ve got you covered with The Plow® 2.0 single blade double-edged safety razor and The Crop Shaver® three-blade groin razor. 

The steps to shaving are pretty simple:

1. Trim the hair in the area as short as you can.
2. Hop in the shower. 
3. Lather up and clean thyself.
4. Use shaving gel for extra lubrication and protection. 
5. Grab that high-quality razor and in smooth, quick strokes, shave that hair away. Our MANSCAPED™ Team has even produced an amazing Crop Gel® formula that is a clear groin shaving gel. We know you get nervous when it comes to your balls, so we’ve got you covered. 
6. As you rinse, pay attention to missed areas and gently reshave as needed.  
7. Rinse off.
8. Dry off completely and even air dry a little. 
9. Moisturize!

#9 is an often skipped step and is the main piece of the last part of our guide which is the post-shower/post-shave care. 

Post-shower/Post-shave care

Your skin loves moisture. Having hydrated skin not only makes it look smooth and refreshed, but it helps things from getting scaly and flakey. 

After a shower and especially after a shave, finishing your body grooming routine with a solid set of moisturizing products will make a huge difference in how your skin looks and feels. 

At MANSCAPED™, we have two awesome hydration sprays for you:

1. Hydrating Body Spray
2. Crop Reviver® Ball Toner & Refresher

These sprays aren’t greasy and you just spritz on a little bit to cover the areas you need. They are lightweight and quick drying as well so you don’t have to wait that long before putting on your drawers and getting dressed for the day. 

Whelp, there you have it. Or at least you have the general surface-level idea of everything you need to keep in mind when it comes to male grooming. Remember this is a big topic, so if you want to dive into the details, check out our blog for specific areas.