Body Hair Grooming: Should Men Shave Their Armpits?

Manscaping and male body grooming is a topic of discussion today. In addition to offering some health benefits for the skin and reducing body odor, male grooming can help each man achieve the personal appearance that helps him to feel comfortable, confident, and attractive.

Each person will have different grooming needs depending on their Hair growth patterns, skin type, and personal concerns. Whether your primary concern is to reduce body odor or improve appearance, a little grooming will go a long way.

Intro to Male Grooming

It’s your body, and the way you groom it is up to you. There are some keys, however, that may help you choose how you want to appear. If you want your hair to look ‘natural’, less is more when it comes to removing hair. You might opt for trimming your body hair over shaving it entirely. On the other hand, if you want a clean-cut look, you would shave unwanted hair.

Body grooming can help to reduce trapped odors and keep the body smelling fresh for longer after bathing. Any hair that you leave unwashed or that you do not wash or groom regularly can trap sweat and grow bacteria that produces odor.

Additionally, a skin regimen is necessary to avoid irritation and ingrown hairs. Shaving an area without caring for your skin is only half the struggle. For healthy skin, you need to moisturize each day of your manscaping routine. There are really good reasons for this. Moisturizer helps to protect your skin from abrasions when you shave, and it helps replenish and seal moisture into your cells for long-term benefits.

Should Men Shave Their Armpits?

To begin with let’s answer the big question here. Should men shave their armpits, and will shaving your armpits make you more attractive?

Body odor tends to be a primary concern for male grooming. Many men worry about underarm hair odor where sweat builds up, which makes them wonder if they should shave their armpits. In most cases, it’s better to trim the underarms to effectively reduce sweat and armpit odor.

Most women agree that shaved armpits are unattractive for men. Not to mention, the underarms are a sensitive area, prone to irritation and ingrown hairs.

However, for men who are uncomfortable with the length of their armpit hair or want to make it less likely that their pits smell, trimming the armpit is a good alternative. Trimming your armpit hair will actually help you to sweat less, which can improve your armpit smell between washing. There are more reasons to trim the armpit area, too, such as having long armpit hair that’s visible without raising the arms.

When it comes to underarm hair, most men like to use hand clippers or an electric trimmer. For the most natural results, use an attachment that is 3/4 inches or longer.

Why You Should Consider Grooming?

How we groom is a personal choice. However, we often base the reasons for manscaping on others’ opinions. A question like ‘shaving armpits?’ or ‘should men shave their arms?’ has everything to do with self-presentation.

Many men choose to groom parts of their body hair in order to appear more attractive to the opposite sex. It can also help to accentuate your physical form and workout results. And, most importantly, this level of grooming can help to give you confidence and get you to feel more comfortable in your own skin.

Arms

It’s not recommended for men to shave their arm hair, particularly the hair that grows on the forearm. Most women agree that they don’t like for a man to shave his arms. Shaving the arms and armpits can also be difficult and must be done frequently, since arm stubble may feel strange.

Those with very thick arm hair, however, might consider trimming, which would thin it out without completely removing it.

Benefits of Removing Arm Hair

• For those with very thick, dark, or long arm hair, a natural-looking trim can help make the arms more attractive.
• Since trimming thins out your hair, it can help to make your arms softer to touch.

Methods for Hair Removal

To trim thick arm hair, use an electric trimmer, as opposed to hand clippers. This will help you to maintain consistency and cover a large area more efficiently.

Best Tips for Arm Hair Removal

• Length is always a personal preference, but it’s best to stick with whatever looks the most natural on your body. This can mean experimenting with different lengths to see what you like, starting with a longer trim, and going shorter until you’re satisfied.

Chest

According to this recent survey, the majority of women prefer a medium amount of chest hair. This information gives a lot of latitude, with some women preferring very heavy chest hair, and a larger group preferring a shaved or smooth chest.

Having a moderate amount of chest hair is typically not a deal-breaker, so those that fall into this category can leave their hair natural. For most, a shaved chest isn’t a deal-breaker either, if that’s something you want to do.

If you’re in a relationship, you might simply ask your significant other what they prefer. If you’re not, then find a grooming style that gives you confidence, and stick with it.

If you have a lot of chest hair, and you don’t know the preference of the person you’re interested in, it can be a good idea to trim the chest hair down to a medium amount.

Pros and Cons of Removing Chest Hair

Pro

• A clean shave helps to show off a muscular chest and overall physique. So if you’ve been hitting the gym and you want people to see, this is a good way to draw attention to those muscles. This includes shaving to show your abs and six-pack.

Con

• Shaving requires maintenance, meaning you have to keep up with it so that you don’t have a stubbly chest. How often you will have to remove hair from your chest will depend on your hair growth patterns.

Methods for Hair Removal

The easiest way to remove chest hair on a day-to-day basis is simply to shave it with a razor blade. Nonetheless, some have said that they prefer depilatory cream and even waxing.

Best Tips for Chest Hair Removal

• No one wants to cuddle against a prickly chest, so if you do intend to shave, make sure to keep up with it, using a razor before dates or special occasions.

Back

Back and shoulder hair is almost unanimously unwanted. If you can, go bare and shave it all off. A hairy back or shoulders can be a deal-breaker for some women.

Removing the back hair is often seasonal. When summer comes around, a shaved or waxed back will help you to look sharp at the pool or beach when it’s time to take your shirt off. Nonetheless, some men shave their back all the time for sex appeal.

Pros and Cons of Removing Back Hair

Pros

• If you have long or thick back hair, removing it will almost always make your back more attractive and enticing to touch.
• It can help emphasize your muscular definition of your back.

Cons

• If you’re trying to do it yourself, it can be difficult to reach many parts of your back.
• For those with very little back hair, this maintenance generally isn’t worth it.

Methods for Hair Removal

Back hair might be some of the most necessary hair to remove, but it is also some of the most difficult.

The most convenient method is to shave using a manual or electric razor in the mirror. This is much easier if you have a partner who is willing to help you. While it may sound tedious, shaving can often be your best option for removing your back hair.

Waxing is painful and can be expensive, but it’s one of the best ways to remove the hair for a longer time. This is a particularly good option for the first of summer.

You may want to remove your back hair permanently, in which case laser hair removal is an option. While it will give you long-term results, it is a very expensive option and requires multiple sessions to be effective.

Best Tips for Back Hair Removal

• Use a hand mirror to double-reflect so that you can see what you’re doing.
• Since your back may be one of the more neglected areas of your anatomy, wash it thoroughly and exfoliate the dead skin to make the shaving process much smoother.
• Use a visible shaving cream or shaving gel to help you keep track of the areas that you’ve already shaved.
• Use a razor or electric shaver with extra reach.

Neck

The hair that grows on the back of your neck will often be noticeably different from the hair on your head. It normally doesn’t grow as long or thick. It also may have a different texture, such as being curly.

Many people find that their neck hair takes away from a clean-cut look and can detract from a good hairstyle. On the other hand, not removing your neck hair can help contribute to a more natural appearance.

Pros and Cons of Removing Neck Hair

Pro

• It helps to give you a clean appearance and draw attention back to your overall hairstyle, giving you more of a crisp or neat appearance.

Con

• Once you begin shaving your neck hair, you have to keep up with the maintenance, since it’s difficult to disguise as it grows back out.

Methods for Hair Removal

Shaving the neck is similar to shaving the face. Your major difficulties will be reach and visibility, so make sure to use a hand mirror to track how everything looks as you go.

You can also trim your neck hair using clippers or your body hair trimmer. Simply use a guard that trims the hair to the desired length. This method can offer you a happy medium between shaving the hair completely down and trimming it to appear more natural.

Waxing will last longer than shaving, giving you a clean appearance with less maintenance. It can, of course, be painful. The good this is, your hairdresser may be able to wax your neck during a routine haircut. Having someone else do it also allows them to shape the neckline to compliment your hairstyle.

Best Tips for Neck Hair Removal

• Use a hand mirror to give yourself better visibility of the back of your neck.
• Make sure that the shape of your neckline shave complements your haircut and style.

When it comes to body, or armpit hair, maintain it in the way that makes you most comfortable. Nonetheless, for a lot of hair growth patterns, a little trim can give you a cleaner, neater appearance that demonstrates how you are able to care for yourself. Some men may not need or prefer much body hair maintenance, while others will find that a little maintenance goes a long way to enhancing their life, improving their appearance and confidence, and even improving their sex life.

The post Body Hair Grooming: Should Men Shave Their Armpits? appeared first on Groom+Style.