Men and Cosmetics

Any man who is obvservant of the world around him cant help but be aware of a big shift in attitudes. A decade ago, only certain types of men in certain situations would have ever considered using makeup. Moisturizing was something that middle aged women did, skincare was putting antiseptic cream on a cut. Times are changing, and quickly.

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Male actors have been aware of this for a while: taking care of your looks increases your value to other people. There, I said it. Is it shallow way of thinking? Perhaps, but not liking something doesn't cause it to stop being the case, and we live in a world and culture obsessed with appearance. Looking young and healthy has been important for women for centuries, and the time has come for men to catch up.

Or should I say, "catch on". Many men make the fairly common mistake of confusing good looks with good grooming. By taking care of, and pride in your appearance, you can drastically effect the way people react to you for the better. And it's not at all difficult or time consuming to do.

Grooming effects two of the key aspects of how you present yourself to the outside world: how you look, and how you smell.

Lets start with looks. Men have been shaving their faces in the west for all of recorded history. Being clean shaven today is synonymous with being professional, and is a clear indiciator to the outside world that you have enough social intelligence to be aware of the effect it has on your appearance. Most men have terrible shaving habits however - they shave too quickly or carelessly, and take no steps to protect their exposed skin once they've finished. Shaving wears and ages the skin, as well as exposing it to the elements, which pile yet further damage on top. By simply taking your time, and applying moisturizer afterwards, you can minimise the damage caused, and increase the skins capacity to heal itself.

There are also many facial products designed specifically for men - to counteract sun and wind damage, or the process of aging. If you want to put off having wrinkles and fine lines as long as possible, there are no shortage of creams out there that will do it!

The next subject broaches both looks and smell. We all use soap when we're in the shower, but do you use it on your hair? Mens hair care is often an afterthought, but shower gel and soap is designed to kill germs on the skin, not to keep your hair looking good. Just using shampoo can have a big impact on the health and vitality of your hair, and when you start to notice the difference, you'll realise how many other people can too!

Talking about smell, deodorant is more important than it is often given credit for. It's most often associated with the fragrance it has, but its most important feature is killing the bacteria that react with perspiration to create body odour in the first place. You might not be able to smell it, but if you're going out without deodorant, those bad smells will be sticking to your clothes before you know it! Aftershave or cologne is also an important topic. Aftershave gives you a persistant, pleasant smell, especially when worn along with deodorant. 1 or 2 sprays before you leave the house in the morning will make you smell wonderful all day, and believe me, the ladies in the office or on the subway will certainly notice!