For so long, the body hair hype focused on women. Shaving, plucking, waxing…everywhere and everything is a standard most women have simply accepted as a result of cultural expectations. However, the tables are turning.
Manscaping, or the grooming habits of the modern man, are nearing women’s. Men now shave more than just their face, not to mention adopting plucking and waxing. From brow grooming to shaving what an ex-boyfriend fondly referred to as “the area”, guys are cleaner and slicker than ever before. However, where is the line lie between necessary hygiene and over the top preening?
“My manscaping goes only so far as keeping facial hair under control. Everything else either takes care of itself, or just doesn’t need it,” said Bobby.
Bobby’s got a point. Facial hair grooming ranks as a definite must for ladies. Beard or no beard, in between screams ‘I’m too lazy to take care of myself’…leading the gals to wonder if you are too lazy to put effort forth for relationships as well. Pick a side, fellas, we’re at war.
Hanna agrees that basic hygiene is a must for men, “Showering and wearing clean clothes: good. Tanning and waxing:…maybe no.”
Waxing? Tanning? Sounds like an episode of the What Not to Wear gone wild. Currently, these are practices almost exclusively for male models. But, like women, men may be attempting to mimic the new image of man in their daily life through the art of manscaping. The hairless-human’s popularity is expanding from the vintage Fabio to more contemporary celebrities like Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson.
Graduate student Jonathan is a manscaping fan. His routine is far from the daily shower and shave. “I use a barber’s clipper. It keeps the hedges trimmed without all the razor burn. Plus it’s fast. I always shave my armpits because it really cuts down on the sweating and pit stains. B.O. isn’t sexy,”
While B.O. is definitely not sexy, body hair still remains to some as a paradigm of manliness. There’s nothing better than untamed hair. To some, hair can be sexy, if manscaped to acceptable regions and areas. For others, it’s just a matter of personal taste. To help, College News presents a working guide of the dos and don’ts of manscaping, taken from suggestions of college students themselves:
Dos:-Showering
-Facial shaving/beard trimming
-Wearing clean clothes
-Controlling pubic hair
-Tattoo maintenance
-Embrace leg hair
Donts:-Excessive chest hair
-Long nose hairs
-Ear hair
-Adventurous shoulder and back hair
-Unibrows
-Wild beards
-B.O.
-Tanning (It’s bad for everyone!)
Follow these directions, and you’ll be making sure that the man in your life is properly manscaped.
