Manscape Your Face

The hair on your face is just as important, if not more, than the hair on your head. Eyebrows frame the eyes, nose hairs can age a person, and beard styles can change the shape of your face. With a little bit of effort, you can play up your features while keeping it looking natural, so no one will know you’ve done anything more than your normal shave. These tips just touch the surface of manscaping, so you can dip your toes into the metrosexual movement before booking a full body wax.

Unless you’re Anthony Davis and have adopted it as your trademark look, it’s time to get rid of that unibrow. To find out where your eyebrows should start, take a pencil (or anything with a straight edge) and hold it parallel to the side of your nose. Where it intersects with your eyebrows is where they should start, so tweeze everything in between. If tweezing is too intense, you can shave the space while working on the rest of your facial hair, but the results won’t last for as long and there is less control over exactly how much you remove.

If your eyebrows are so long that you could challenge your grandfather to a “Longest Eyebrow Hair” contest, it’s time to consider trimming them. Take a fine-toothed comb and comb your eyebrow hair up, then trim any hairs that come above your eyebrow line with a pair of small manicure scissors.

As much as you love a certain facial hair style, it may not show your face any love. Manscaping.com advises that your face shape should dictate the style you shave your facial hair into. For example, if you carry a lot of weight in your face, a goatee will help to define your chin; a soul-patch can break up a large chin. If you have a round face, Ask Men says you can make your face look more oblong-shaped and masculine with a “circle beard,” which is a mustache that connects with a goatee; Kanye West often sports one. Sideburns should be avoided by anyone with a round or chubby face, but they look good with sunken features. Any man with a pointed chin would benefit from sporting a beard because it will add weight to the bottom of his face. Ask Men recommends a “24/7 five-o’clock shadow” for rectangular and square faces (picture David Beckham), while nearly any style will work on an oval-shaped face.

Once you’ve chosen your facial hair style, you’ll likely have to shave (even full beards benefit from a little hair removal on the neck or upper cheeks, depending on how hairy you are). Make sure that you have a fresh, sharp blade to reduce irritation, uneven cutting and the risk of ingrown hairs. When you shave, going against the direction of hair growth will achieve a closer shave but can irritate the skin, so shave in the same direction of hair growth if you have sensitive skin. If you don’t shave in the shower, consider shaving after showering, because the time in the warm conditions will soften the hair and skin and prevent ingrown hairs.

No one wants to admit it, but everyone has nose hair. It’s there for good reason: the hairs act as a filter to keep particles from entering the body through the nose. To let the hairs do their job without being seen by the world, give the hairs a trim with either a nose hair trimmer or a very small pair of manicure scissors. A trimmer is designed specifically for this purpose, so it has special safeguards to prevent cutting the delicate skin inside the nose. Many electric razors now have attachments to remove nose hair, so you may already have a nose hair trimmer handy when you spot a hair sticking out of your nostril. If you choose to use manicure scissors, you’ll have to use a mirror and extreme caution so you don’t accidentally stab yourself.

Add a few extra minutes to your shaving routine every few weeks to take care of unruly eyebrows and unwanted nose hair and you’ll be looking your best. It’s nothing so drastic that anyone will assume you’ve spent the day at a beauty salon, but it will make a huge difference in how you and your face appear. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so let your facial hair leave everyone with a positive one.