Now more than ever, staying clean and well-groomed is an important part of a happy, healthy, productive day to day life.
And for those of you ready to bring out your inner hunk, here’s Wild Willies comprehensive men’s grooming guide, with all of the most important things you can do to keep yourself looking suave, feeling good, and smelling even better!
1. Keep an eye on your nails
Keeping your nails clean and short is important.
We all know that long nails can be uncomfortable and look gross. But they also pose a threat to your health.
Dirt, food residue, and bacteria can all get trapped under your nails if you don’t trim them enough, and this can cause infections when you get hangnails, cuts or abrasions on your hands, or accidentally ingest it by touching your face or your food.
The best strategy for taking care of your nails is to invest in high quality nail care tools like nail scissors or even the clippers that you can find in The Arsenal from Wild Willies.
2. Buy an electric trimmer
Let’s face it—in 2020, manscaping is pretty much a must. Even if you’re the kind of man that feels most comfortable with a thick coat of fur, a little bit of touching up now and then can go a long way.
Think about places like the back of your neck that are difficult to touch up, but make a huge difference in terms of how clean you look and feel.
Luckily, high quality electric razors are generally pretty affordable and can be ordered online.
3. Wear deodorant and cologne
A lot of men make the simple but crucial mistake of not applying deodorant every day.
Some simply go without, and others use cologne instead.
As a man who’s personally sat next to someone without deodorant on a hot day, it can make all the difference in the world in terms of how clean other people perceive you to be—and how much time they want to spend around you!
A good strategy for optimal scent attractiveness is a combination of deodorant and high-quality cologne. Just be careful not to overdo it with the cologne. Think of it as icing on a cake; a little bit is great, but too much can be, well, a little disgusting.
4. Don’t forget to exfoliate
Skin is the armor that keeps your body safe from the world.
Unfortunately, that armor can get pretty grimy sometimes if you don’t care for it properly. Your pores can collect natural oil and dead skin, leading them to clog up and eventually break out into acne or general skin irritation.
The best way to avoid this problem is to use an exfoliating wash on a regular basis to clear away dead skin.
But if you use a washcloth or a loofah to exfoliate, remember to clean it regularly so that new germs don’t grow on the dead skin left behind.
5. Watch out for dandruff
Summer is here, and frankly, we’re all sick of the snow—so don’t make anyone suffer through more of it.
The unfortunate reality is that more than 20% of men suffer from dandruff. Dandruff can come from the scalp or under the beard, and it tends to rank as one of the most unattractive conditions that a man can suffer from.
But it can be hard to get rid of. Regular shampoo and conditioner won’t do the trick.
For persistent and heavy dandruff, the solution is usually a medicated shampoo that is formulated to clear dandruff and moisturize your scalp. When it comes to your beard, try to Wild Willies Progro Beard Wash and Beard Soft.
6. Wash your face every morning
Unless you’re a professional bodybuilder, your face is probably the part of your body people look at the most, which makes it either your greatest asset or your biggest hindrance, depending on how you take care of it.
Washing your face at least once a day will help keep your pores clean and acne free, give your face a smoother, less oily appearance, and help you resist the urge to touch your face, which can become itchy and irritated when not properly cleaned.
7. Deal with that ear and nose hair
Even for younger men, ear and nose hair can become a problem if not dealt with properly.
Ear and nose hair, which grows longer and thicker with age, can be highly unattractive. It even becomes matted and filled with residue if you don’t take the time to clean it regularly.
Just be careful not to remove too much of it—nose hair especially can be important to help capture debris and prevent infections in the sinuses and respiratory system.
8. Groom your facial hair
For a man, there is perhaps no more important element of grooming than facial hair.
Knowing how to shave, trim, shape, style and wash your beard is one of the baseline elements of men’s hygiene.
Even the men with the most naturally neat and well-kept beards benefit from periodic care.
But proper beard care is nearly impossible without the right equipment. Beard wash, beard balm, and other beard cleaning and styling products—along with the basics like clippers, scissors, and a brush—can make a world of difference when it comes to the overall appearance of your face and beard.
9. Pluck your eyebrows regularly
The truth is, style changes with time. The unibrow might have been all the rage 15,000 years ago, but today, well, not so much.
While it can be easy to forget about your eyebrows for months at a time, well-kempt eyebrows can make a huge difference.
People might not notice every time you pluck your eyebrows, but they certainly will notice if you forget about them!
10. Use mouthwash
As any dentist will tell you, brushing your teeth 2-3 times a day is one of the most important things you can do for both your oral health and your general wellbeing.
But when it comes to the smell of your breath, sometimes brushing alone doesn’t do the trick. If you want your breath to smell good throughout the day, mouthwash can be an important tool in achieving that goal.
Mouthwash is able to kill germs in hard to reach places like the surface of your tongue, and it often has a sharper, fresher smell than toothpaste.
11. Exercise
All of the grooming and men’s hygiene tips in the world are useless if you don’t take care of your general health.
Exercise is the most important way to do this. Not only does exercise help cut fat and build muscle, but it also releases important hormones like endorphins, adrenaline and testosterone.
These chemicals play a large role in your general mood, and encourage healthy growth of hair and skin, while reducing the risk of conditions like dandruff and acne, and fortifying the immune system against disease.
12. Eat a healthy diet and get regular sleep
This tip goes hand in hand with the previous one. A healthy diet is essential for the proper growth of muscle and—most importantly for the beard buffs out there—hair.
Eating a diet rich in vitamins A, C and E, as well as protein and Omega-3 fatty acids, is a one-way ticket to healthier skin, and a fuller, thicker beard.
The same goes for sleep. Men who get 7 or more hours of sleep every night are better suited to build muscle and strong, lustrous hair than men who deprive themselves of sleep.
This is because most of the building and repairing of skin, muscle, hair, etc. is done during deep sleep, and 6 or less hours a night usually just doesn’t cut it.
13. Take care of your feet
With summer coming up, your feet are likely to be out for the world to see a little more often.
If you’re like most people, your feet sometimes experience dryness, calluses, peeling, and even bleeding. This is the result of poor hydration on the soles of your feet, as well as the failure to remove dead skin.
One of the best things you can do to treat those ugly and painful dry patches on your skin is to soak your feet in warm water, then use a scrubber or pumice stone to scrape off hard, dead skin.
Once your feet are clear of excess dead skin, then you can move on to moisturizing them with lotion.
14. Keep your bathroom clean and tidy
This tip is simple: make your bathroom a place where you want to spend time!
If your bathroom is dirty, poorly lit, or cluttered, you just aren’t as likely to spend any more time in there than you absolutely have to for showering or self-care.
If you really want to take your grooming to the next level, you’re going to need a bathroom that you’re excited to spend time in.
This means having your tools and products well organized and keeping the entire room well lit.
The other benefit of good lighting is that you’ll be able to notice details like loose hairs that you might not notice if your bathroom was too dark.
15. Use sunscreen
Unguarded sun exposure is one of the worst things you can do to your skin. Spending extended periods of time in the sunlight without protection can cause skin damage leading to excessive wrinkles, uneven skin tone, and even skin cancer.
If you’re looking for a good sunscreen, be sure to choose one with a higher SPF (at least 30) like Wild Willies Smooth with SPF 30.
If you choose to go with spray rather than cream, be sure to apply liberally since it’s harder to be sure you’re covered.
16. Take cooler showers
A piping hot shower can feel great, especially in the winter when it is cold outside. But, taking a shower that’s too hot can have negative effects on your grooming and general health.
Cooler showers tend to be better for you.
First off, they’re a lot kinder to your skin. Cold water causes less irritation and strips off less of the natural oils that make your skin healthy, preventing peeling and acne.
Cooler showers also improve your circulation, which is good for your overall health, especially your immune system and your vital organs.
17. Replace your toothbrush more often
Replacing your toothbrush on a regular basis is another basic practice that can seriously improve your health and make you look great.
The American Dental Association recommends replacing your toothbrush once every 3 months, or whenever you notice that the bristles are frayed or matted.
This is because as the bristles grow harder with use, they become less effective at cleaning important spaces between teeth, but start to scrape off enamel, which is essential to the health of your teeth.
Replacing your toothbrush more often means brighter, healthier teeth, and a more comfortable brushing experience.
18. Find the right products for your hair
Not everyone’s hair is the same. While finding the right products for your hair (and beard) can be challenging, it is one of the most important aspects of grooming.
For example, if you’ve got naturally oily hair, avoid products that mention “moisturizing” or “hydration” since these products won’t treat oil and might even make it worse.
But if you’ve got naturally dry hair, avoid products that say “volumizing” because these tend to strip the natural oils from your hair, making it coarse.
If your hair doesn’t fit neatly into one category, a little bit of trial and error might be necessary to find the product right for you.
For a lot of men, having an awesome beard is one of the most important factors when it comes to style and self-confidence.
Some men have dreamt their whole lives of having a good-looking beard, but struggle to make that dream a reality.
Here at Wild Willies, we specialize in making that dream a reality. Check out our shop for all of the products and equipment you need to build your best beard ever!
