The Only 58 Grooming Tips You’ll Ever Need

Cut your nasty cuticles

“Leave the cutting of cuticles to a pro,” says Mike Gilman, founder of Grooming Lounge. If they are looking overgrown and you want to do something about them, “try soaking your hands in warm water with a little soap, then push the cuticles back with a cuticle pusher,” Gilman suggests. (Yes, that’s a real thing.) He also advises using a body scrub on the cuticle area to exfoliate and remove any extra skin.

Fake a five o'clock shadow

Beards are more common, but the 5 o’clock shadow is still the favorite of most women, and the chosen look of actors and athletes. No matter how long it actually takes to grow, once you have the right amount of coverage and basic structure in place, simply maintain it for a permanent look. “All that needs to be done is for the ‘neck beard’ to be given a clean line,” says Gilman. “Clean it up with a shaver and, ideally, an oil, which is see-through and allows you to clearly and evenly shave in the proper lines.”

Don't use soap on your face

“Choose a gentle cleanser over plain soap because the cleansers don’t strip way the skin’s moisture like many bar soaps do,” says Caroline Chang, M.D., a dermatologist in Rhode Island. If you have oily or acne prone skin, look for a cleanser that contains salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to absorb the oil and reduce breakouts.

Fix your dry skin

First, wash your skin with a gentle cleanser to get rid of surface grime (or else you’ll be exfoliating dirt, not skin). Next, apply the facial scrub in a circular motion  since up and down is too grating on your skin and can cause breakouts, says Dr. Chang. “It’s best to exfoliate in the shower because the steam helps to soften the skin and it’s easier to wash off.” Start by exfoliating just once a week to get your skin used to the mild abrasion and avoid any irritation side effects, then increase to two to three times per week to help your skin look smooth and healthy. 

Get rid of your blackheads

“Facials give your skin a deep clean and aid in removing blackheads,” says Chang. Plenty of salons and even barber shops offer male versions, but if that’s a step too far, you can do it yourself at home with Biore face face strips. Just don’t try to squeeze those blackheads — “doing so can lead to bleeding, infection, and scarring.”

Stop scratching your beard

Itchy beards can drive a man crazy, and the temptation to dig in with fingernails can do some real damage to the sensitive skin below. "Nothing is going to relieve an itch like scratching it, so the best suggestion is to purchase a beard or mustache comb," says Charles McCoy a master barber at Kiehl's in New York City. "It keeps facial hair from getting tangled, which can sometimes lead to irritation." And you can use it to gently scratch the area without dragging potentially dirty fingernails across the skin.

Keep your facial hair clean

There’s now an entire market built around quality, high-end beard-specific washes that keep your often coarse facial hair clean, fresh, and soft. If you love them, use them, but don’t use them more than 2-4 times a week, since the skin under your beard is more sensitive than scalp skin. Any more, and you’ll strip away the natural oils and dry out your face and beard.

Cover up a patchy beard

Not every beard grows in thick and perfectly shaped. Actually, most don’t. “A lot of guys find they have some spots that are thinner than others, or places where there’s a hole in the beard, especially when they are first growing it out,” says Greg Zorian, owner of Gregory’s Barber Shop in Albany, NY. While you’re helping it grow in with regular trimming to let weaker areas catch up, some barbers suggest combing a small dab of mustache wax through your beard, working to smooth hair in the direction of your hole (the wax will help hold it in place).

Five Rules for Your Feet

1. Get rid of the stink. Your feet produce up to a pint of perspiration a day, which gets trapped in your shoes and socks causing bacteria and a strong odor to fester. Clean and exfoliate then with an abrasive soap like Kiehl’s Ultimate Man Body Scrub, and then try odor absorbing shoe-liners if the problem persists. 

2. Keep your toenails at a moderate length and trim them straight across. “And always wear sport-specific, properly fitting shoes that allow you to wiggle your toes without having your foot slide around within,”  says Michael Elliot, founder of Hammer & Nails in Los Angeles.

3. Soak them. Thick calluses and painful corns can develop from ill-fitting shoes and repetitive friction on your feet. For an easy at-home fix, soak your feet for ten minutes and then slough off the tough skin with a pumice stone. 

4. Treat your toenails. Yellow toenails are caused by fungus onychomycosis, which you can pick up walking barefoot around damp, contaminated surfaces like a locker room. Treat it with over-the-counter anti-fungal sprays like Lamisil. If that doesn’t work after a while, it’s time to see a doctor. 

5. And finally, “consider a regular professional pedicure. Men often lack the skills required to properly cut their toenails and remove the miniscule pieces at the edges, which can lead to ingrown nails.”

Five Rules for Your Hands

1. Buy better soaps. The crappy stuffy in the office bathroom is is alcohol-based and “will tear your skin apart” says Paul Jarrod Frank, M.D., a dermatologist in New York City. Look for natural, moisturizing cleansers that include ingredients like shea extract and soy proteins.

2. You can’t over-moisturize. “Men have thicker skin than women, so to soften rough hands you need something that’s going to penetrate,” Frank explains. He recommends applying Aquaphor Advanced Therapy Healing Ointment liberally, especially before you put on a pair of gloves for work in the garage. 

3. Treat your nails right. Clean them regularly with soap (and a nail brush for deeply-entrenched grim), and cut them straight across leaving a small sliver of white, and moisturize your cuticles. 

4. Use sunscreen on your hands, too. You’re taking care of protecting your face daily, but your hands take just as much of a beating when uncovered. Put on Neutrogena Men’s Sensitive Skil Oil-Free Moisturizer with SPF 30 each morning while the skin is still damp to help it absorb. 

5. See a pro. When moisturizers just don’t work, you may have a bigger problem like eczema that only a doctor can fix. And if you want to fix your nails and cuticle properly, it’s okay to get a manicure now and then. 

Acknowledge your sensitive skin

“One of the best moisturizers for men with sensitive skin is aloe vera,” says Dr. Frank. It’s simple, you can find it at any drugstore, and it does the trick of calming irritated skin. You can buy it straight, or look for it as an ingredient on other products. And stay away from Vitamin C, fruit acids and retinols, suggests Dr. Frank. “They can have anti-aging benefits, but may also irritate sensitive skin.”

Use coconut oil, and lots of it

Try coconut oil. It’s cheaper than a lot of high-end lotions, available at almost every grocery store, and can stand in for a number of products. Use coconut oil in place of your regular lotion to reduce acne (it’s anti-bacterial), treat sunburns (it fades pigmentation), disinfect your skin (the oil forms a barrier over any wounds), and prevent aging (it contains antioxidants). Oh, it’s also good for your hair.

Trim and wax your body hair

Chest hair should be trimmed, not waxed. Back hair can be waxed, but be sure you allow about 1/8-inch of growth between appointments (usually about every 4-8 weeks), or there won’t be enough hair for the wax to grip. Technically, you could shave your back hair, but “waxing removes hair at the follicle, which weakens the hair so is grows back more sparsely,” says aesthetician Noemi Grupenmager, founder of Uni K Wax Centers.

Don't cheap out on moisturizers

You need four things: Lubricants, water-binding ingredients, humectants, and sunscreen. Natural lubricants for your skin include plant and mineral oils as well as shea or cocoa butters. Water-binding ingredients include ceramides and hyaluronic acids, which keep moisture from escaping. Humectants such as glycol-based ingredients actually attract moisture to your skin to keep it from getting too dry. Always look for an SPF of 15 or higher to reduce your risk of skin cancer.

Prepare your face before you shave

The quality of your shave depends on proper prep work. Follow these three steps:

1. Gilman says to “Start the party by washing your face while taking a warm shower.”
2. Next, generously apply a high-quality shave oil to soften skin and prepare the whiskers for removal. 
3. Lastly, “Apply a great shave cream on top of the shave oil and aggressively rub it into your beard area,” Gilman says. “Removing whiskers without incident should be simple from there.”

When buying a razor…

“My favorite method of shaving is actually electric because it’s less cumbersome and abrasive to most skin types,” McCoy says. “If you are a purist who has patience and non-sensitive skin, then by all means use a straight razor along with a great pre- and post-shave product like Kiehl’s White Eagle Shave Cream and aftershave balm.” Another option: Your standard Mach 3-5 series razors, says McCoy, which give you a close shave with minimal nicks.

When buying beard oil…

That isn’t just any hair on your face. You’ve spent weeks — months, even — cultivating it into just the right shape and fullness, so treat it right. “Invest in a great beard oil that agrees with your skin type,” and hydrates that with natural ingredients that smell good, too says McCoy. He recommends Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate. “One application every night before bed should keep the beard hair and the skin underneath in great shape.”

Prevent split nails

The two most common reasons that nails split is lack of moisture, and age, says Elliot. “Nails become weaker as we get older, but you can slow the process by keeping them hydrated.” Apply a hand cream immediately after you shower, or after washing your hands, making sure to rub the cream into the nails themselves. Look for ingredients like avocado oil, Jojoba oil, or Shea Butter, Elliot suggests. And keep them trimmed: Shorter nails limits the opportunity for them to split. 

Cure cracked knuckles

Your hand’s worst enemy is cheap soap. “These contain lots of detergents, which are super-drying, and contain almost no moisturizing ingredients, so your skin takes a double beating,” says Gilman. The result: Dry hands and cracked knuckles. The long-term solution is to switch your bathroom soap. But in the short term, “applying a quality hand moisturizer two or three times a day, focusing specifically on the problem areas is the easiest way to remedy things,” says Gilman.

Pluck your unibrow

There’s one simple answer: Ask your barber to do it for you, and don’t shy away if they bust out the wax. “It’s effective if you have a high pain threshold,” McCoy says. “For a more natural finish tweezers are great option, it might sting a bit but if you shave the area in between the brows it leaves dark follicle marks, and the hair sometimes comes back with a vengeance.”