Hair on Body of Man
Illustration by Zohar Lazar
How to not get carried away.
Let's get one thing established: Body hair is great. Nobody—least of all us—should demand that you keep it trimmed, waxed, or shaved at all times. But charming as your hirsute situation may be it still needs periodic taming, for both aesthetic and hygienic reasons. Here are the baseline parameters to follow, even if you have no plans to hit the beach any time soon.
1. Avoid razors
Razors invite an entire skincare regimen that we’d all rather skip: constant blade replenishment, a warm shower to prep the skin, messy shave cream application, and a disinfecting post-shave wash. The best way to uphold a low-maintenance body-grooming routine stick with an electronic trimmer, and just accept that you'll always have a baseline of stubble. (Do you really want to be hairless anyway??) If you don't involve a razor, you won't break out since there's far less risk of bacterial infection. Hopefully you’ve got a significant other who can get those back patches. Check out the Philips Norelco Bodygroom Series 7100. One end of this showerproof device trims longer hairs with adjustable guards, and the other end shaves everything right to the skin (with a minimal risk of razor burn and ingrown hairs).
2. Don’t use a beard trimmer, either
The point here is to save time, without compromising hygiene. Instead of putting your beard trimmer on your balls and armpits, get a second trimmer that is specifically designed for the body. There’s a difference between the two: Most beard trimmers come with small detailing attachments that help shape facial hair and snip away at long mustaches.
3. Buy a body hair groomer
Body hair groomers are a little less precise than beard trimmers; they tend to be wider at the head since the task at hand is less cosmetic. Just don't get them mixed up.
4. Start with a higher guard setting
Just like the barber says when you get a haircut: You can always cut it shorter if the first pass is too long. And, while this might add minutes to your chest-trimming routine, it saves days (or even weeks) of trying to grow it back to your optimal length. After a while, you’ll know which guard length is best for your chest, but don’t guess it on the first few attempts—play it safe.
