Life is unfair, we all know it. Therefore a little bit more fairness here in writing about grooming to you, gentlemen, as well.
When I was writing the post for the girls, it came only naturall to think about the men in our lives, the sons we educate and the friends we have. To be a male in these days is not always easy, we all know it. Therefore here a little support to your cause, to the boys out there.
Actually, it seems, historically seen, that in times past it was much more fun to be a chap.
The old egyptians would use all sorts of delicious oils, mascara and shaving themselves at all possible and unpossible places. The middle ages started with the myth that a real man does not need to be clean - poor ducks, all those women, who had to put up with smelly beards and feet...
Still, in the 17th century somebody like Louis XIV had it all: Not just a great house, nice tapestries, water in the gardens and a lot of lovely and funny women, but he also was using perfumes ( he was highly partial to Jasmin, did you know that? And as a matter of fact, there are still some of his original orange trees alive in the hothouses of todays Versailles...) and high heels and having glorious baths built in Versailles. Using make up was de rigeur for The Gentleman.
After that, right up to 1968, it was normal for a man to be clean and not to offend eyes and noses of their environment. Now, after a short relapse into the hairy world, it looks like, that grooming "for him" is back.
Today, so tells us the telly, men are once more invited to take care of themselves. This is true, but also with a little twinkle: I do not believe, that the prediction made by a make-up artist last year, that men will start once again to use rouge and real red lipstick, will come true.... OR?
One thing is not to be avoided: men and their washing habits have become a huge industry - but the truth is, there is no secret. It has all to do with cleanliness and cleanliness again.
So, some thoughts, nevertheless.
First things first: we are all lucky to live in circumstances, which allow us to have a regular shower or bath. So please, make it a habit right from the early ages of manhood, to take a shower daily and use a bar of good smelling soap or douchgel. There are marvelous thing out there, and you can find good products in all prize categories, just shop around a bit. If this is the only beautyregime you follow, it is already great and your glamour factor will go up 56%. Cecil Beaton said, that for him glamour in a man is the "Cleanliness, nothing else". And right he is!
I will not come back on the imperative of brushing our teeth twice a day, this will be hopefully so automatic, that you even have to think about this.
But beware: bad breath is a super killer for elegance and good grooming.
If you smoke, please, for our sake, go regulary to the dentist and have your teeth cleaned. Who wants to kiss a man who smells of cigars or cigarettes? Many a man has lost his credits with bad breath - and it is so easy to do something against it, like drinking much more water ( very often bad breath has something to do with being dehydrated), having a little package of mints in your jacket and/or once in a while brushing your teeth during the day in the washroom of your office. Eating regularly enough is also a good idea...
Bad breath is a great and difficult theme to talk about, there fore it is much easier if I write it here and you just think about it.
Another not negotiable Fact: To wash your hair regulary. One is amazed, if you start to look around clean, shining hair makes all the difference - over all ages. Especially, if you like to wear your hair long, which can be lovely! But if you have long locks, then you have to take care of them. Nothing more revolting than long and dirty hair on a man - brrr!
On the other hand I cannot understand this fashion of shaving off a head completedly - I mean, if this is not a sort of political statement or something else, why would you??. It is simply not attractive and the economies you make on time, shampoos and water is a joke. If your hair thins, then let it be thin, take good care of it and don' t go bald on a voluntary basis. Please.
A real big no-no for a gentleman is dying one' s hair. A man who needs to colour his hair is always suspect - sorry to be so blunt, but here it is. The mixture between Sugar Daddy and pimp comes immediately to the mind of every well educted woman.
If you have white hair, go to the hairdresser and have one of those treatments, which take the yellow shimmer out of white hair - by all means. White hair that is clean and shimmering is a great asset indeed.
Speaking of hair: please please take care of the woody hairs growing in your ears and nose as you grow older - do cut and trim them. Every good barbershop will do this for you at your regular cut. Another major sin: not having a haircut regularly done...And a welltrimmed beard, if it has to be, is neccessarily also a clean beard, which is smelling good and is soft and does not remind people coming in nearer contact with a bushy wildernis with a life of its own...
It is no shame to use some bodylotion on those very dry legs or arms. Please take care of your fingernails - this comes without saying: not long and clean. All you need is soap, water and a brush. Nothing else. And toenails..... no need to put vernis on, but file them and clean them regularly. Especially the feet suffer quite often. It has never been presumed that you are a coward if you will have a pedicure once in a while and take care to slap some cream or oil on those poor old feet as well. Rather on the contrary. Many a loving relationship found its sudden death in poorly maintained feet and their toenails...
Using a good after shave is today quite normal. Even better, when it is discreet and not shouting out loud all over the chef-etage...
And last but not least: having not only clean underwear and socks, but also a clean shirt, which has made some aquaintance with an iron is helpful, as is a jacket, which is not smelling of the pub you spent the evening before or which is sprinkeled with a lovely coat of whitish dandruff.
If you get also your shoes right - (so lucky, you do not NEED so many variety as we do and can use shoes for 20 years, if they are well made..) and clean them properly, than only more thing to be a real gentleman is only one: a wonderful smelling and clean and ironed cotton hankerchief. In case you have to console a weeping princess somewhere.
Fazit: Especially as we all grow older, good or bad mother nature is kinder to you, gentlemen, than she is to us. Most men, when well taken care of and discreetly groomed, are looking better with age. So, take advantage of this unfair fact and give us the pleasure to be proud of you. Though it is really unfair, that an embonpoint and white hair give you more glamour than it offers for us poor women. For you, gentlemen, the silverfox existence means experience, wisdom and very often also financial security. For us girls it looks simply equal for old age. Mostly.
!
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