Grooming and Hygiene for the gay man

Grooming decisions for the gay man

 

Grooming the body: to be clean cut or un-tampered beauty? Whatever your preference is, every gay man should evaluate their grooming habits and ask questions such as: should I shave my body hair or not?  And what about your love interest, does he need a trip to the “Pubic Hair Salon” as well?

Advice to single gays on the prowl: groom yourself the way you want A MAN to be groomed. Sounds simple enough, right? During the first occurrence of intimacy, the way you show yourself will be what the new guy thinks you are interested in.  If you want a smooth man, take it all off! If you want a man that is ONLY smooth in some areas, then I suggest hitting a few key locations: the neck, shoulders, stomach, upper back, lower back, and your naughty zones. Your best bet is to use shaving creme or lotion.  If you don’t have time, you can shave with just a razor and water, but be careful; this will likely cause red bumps or the ever-so-lovely ingrown hairs. Be cautious when taking a razor to the naughty zone; the skin on the genitals is more sensitive and thin than the rest of your body.  Be careful not to hurt your precious cargo!

Advice to gays in relationships: find out what your man likes and consider how you feel! A lot of time in a relationship, especially when it has just begun, men tend to groom themselves a certain way just to please the other person.  Yes, it is important to make sure that you are presenting yourself in a way that is attractive to your fella.  However, you also need to make sure that you like the way you look FOR YOURSELF.  It is prudent to make sure you feel sexy and confident in the way you look.  You can't love someone else without loving yourself first!  Also, don’t be shy to let him know how you feel about his grooming habits!  As a couple, you should communicate and keep an open mind while reaching compromises if necessary.

While some men like to shave or wax themselves smooth, there are men that like to keep things the way that nature created them. In the gay world, this is known as “the bear.” A message to the bears: you can still trim a little bit downstairs! You don’t have to shave or be bald in the areas you like your hair to grow. However, you can still take scissors to your body hair and at least minimize some of the concentration as a way to compromise for your lover or to make yourself look groomed with minimal effort.  Just taking a little off with the scissors once in awhile can make a big difference! And it is not as much work as shaving everything!

When the process of grooming starts, if you or your man is afraid to take that razor to the body,  clear away some of the hair with scissors first before using a razor.  Shave in the direction of the hair growth before shaving in the opposite direction.  Keep this is mind: it is much easier to clear a pasture than a forest! Most importantly, make sure however you decide to maintain your body hair that your decision makes you feel good and will please your love interest as well.

Male pubic hair shaving requires more patience and care because of this sensitive zone. Let’s just say, it's a bit different than your morning facial shave. Here we will show you how to get a close, safe shave while avoiding common problems like nicks and ingrown hairs.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 1/2 hour for male pubic hair shaving

Here's How:

1. Pick the right shaving cream. For this sensitive body zone be sure to get and use a good shaving cream or gel, using soap is definitely out. Brave Solider, Brave Shave (read review) is specifically made for male body shaving, and softens the hair follicle for a smoother shave.
2. The right razor makes the world of difference. Don't use straight, cheap disposables or you'll be left with cuts and nicks. Don’t use a regular electric razor made for the face. Instead, use a razor with a pivoting head and multiple blades to give you a smooth, close shave.
3. Take the length off. If you use your razor first you'll be likely to pull hair and cause irritation and also wear down the blade before shaving. So first trim hair down short by using the shortest guard with hair clippers or placing a comb flat on the skin and trim over comb with scissors.
4. Take a warm shower or bath. 5 - 10 minutes of the heat and steam will make skin and hair more relaxed and pliable.
5. Exfoliate. Removing dead skin cells with give a closer shave by using a mild body scrub or your favorite body wash with an Ayate washcloth (compare prices).
6. Shaving oil is your friend. The oil moisturizes skin and creates a barrier so the razor glides easier instead of dragging. On top of that shaving oil helps prevent razor rash, red irritation and ingrown hairs- all big offenders in the pubic area (compare prices).
7. Apply shaving cream or gel. Skin needs to be damp, but not overly wet. Work the product in circles with a shaving brush to help lift hair and get a closer shave. Without a brush, simply use your hands.
8. Shave with a fresh blade. First go in the same direction of hair growth and then in opposite direction without going over the same area too many times. (Holding skin taut does help give you a closer shave, but may irritate skin.) Only shave on your skin, not your genitals (read tips).
9. Clean blade. Rinse the blade from the front back and sides between strokes. A clogged razor won’t remove hair well.
10. Final rinse. Rinse area to remove all traces of shaving gel or cream. Then pat dry with a soft towel.
11. Hydrate. Apply a light, unscented lotion or aftershave lotion.
12. Fight irritation and bumps. In this area because of thick and curly hair, it has a tendency of getting ingrown hairs. Tend Skin (compare prices) can help with razor rash, irritation, bumps and ingrown hairs.

Tips:

1. If you keep getting irritation then use a single blade razor and only shave in the direction of growth.
2. Taking a small mirror in the shower can help you see better. Shaving while showering may be easier over a bath because you can prop up legs on side of stall.
3. Shaving has very short-lived results, waxing will keep hair away for weeks at a time. You may want to consider a male bikini or brazilian wax.
4. Use a clipper with a guard to trim hair short on genitals, don't use the razor.
5. Get more tips for grooming, trimming and removing hair down below in: Guy Pubic Hair.

What You Need

• Comb and scissors or hair clippers (with guards)
• New pivoting razor
• Hydrating shaving cream or gel
• Pre-shave oil
• Shaving brush (optional)
• Aftershave lotion
• Cortizone cream (for itchiness)

There is always Hygiene and Health to consider. So let's consider it now. We could also add comfort and peace of mind.

This page deals with simple hygiene and simple health matters.

Simple?

Yes. Normal hygiene, which includes the need to actually be clean when enjoying anal adventures, and normal health such as ordinary infections. For sexually transmitted diseases you just need to research on the net with any good search engine.

So let's start with hygiene.

Almost everyone' first reaction is that the anus and the rectum are dirty and smelly places. I mean just look at what comes out, right?

In part they are right. If that was your own first reaction, heck I'm not going to disagree with you. Shit smells. Faecal matter is the dead and decayed product of digestion. It contains a good selection of bacteria which you don’t particularly want to ingest, and it doesn’t smell too clever. Mind you, there are some folk who get off on that! To each his own, I guess. Just not around me, OK?

So we need to deal with total cleanliness.

Frankly sex is most enjoyable when there are no inhibitions. And being inhibited about any part of your body or your partner's body is a shame. If cleanliness and hygiene is one of those inhibitions, we're going to remove that one straight away.

 

An enema.

Now I don’t particularly want to confuse this with the apparently therapeutic fad of colonic irrigation, though this cleans you out too! I've always reckoned that colonic irrigation is done by the monied classes who have a servant do everything for them. "Take a shit for me, please!"

An enema is a simple, repeatable, cleansing operation either done solo, or, if less inhibited, with your partner. It is not in place of taking a dump. So take one. Before the enema I mean. And take as complete a dump as you can. No point in making the enema do more work that necessary.

While you are doing that, read on. No, print this off, dummy! Unless you have one of those online bathrooms with a webcam! If so, I reckon you're already so far ahead of me that you are in fits of laughter.

You are going to need some simple equipment. Ideally you need to visit the pharmacy and get an enema kit, but you might also be a tad shy. It’s easier asking for condoms! So, let's see what we need.

An enema is an anal washout. It is done by introducing water slowly and gently into the anus with some sort of device, and keeping it there for as long as fifteen minutes before allowing it to leave. And an enema kit is designed to do this.

The kit is like a hot water bottle, with a tube long enough to hang on the hook you have on the bathroom door, and a slim nozzle to insert into the anus to allow the water to trickle in. It contains about two litres of liquid..

If you don’t have a kit, you'll want to improvise. You know the shower heads on a flexible hose on the bath taps? Well, unscrewing the spray head usually reveals a simple small outlet which you can place against but not inside your anus. If using this method you will have to guess the flow rate. Do be very careful of the temperature!

What we are aiming to do is to introduce this two litre volume of body warm water with soap (shampoo but not dandruff shampoo) added into your already empty rectum over a period of about 20 minutes. Yes, that long. We are not aiming to hose you down with so much pressure that you can brush your teeth in the flow. In fact, if you did that you would injure yourself inside. Sometimes the obvious needs to be said.

Now it feels very strange. Very. Especially as you are quite likely to get sudden abdominal cramps at least a couple of times as the fluid goes in. Try to relax them away. They will pass. They just mean that the liquid is doing its work. Maybe passing some obstruction (extra shit) which will be washed out when it comes back down again. If you are using the bathtaps, turn them off until the cramp passes. If the kit, just relax through it.

You will feel full before the full volume is inside. That's normal. Relax again and it will all go gently in.

Now the fun starts. You are going to try to hold this slippery water inside you for as long as possible. I bet you can't do it. The anus leaks! Do not under any circumstance try to answer the front door or the phone at this stage, or you'll be redecorating the walls and replacing the carpet.

Sit on the throne, and let roar.

And when Niagara is done, let it roar again. Coz it will.

If you want, repeat with plain water and rinse. If not, then heck, you are so empty you could eat from the inside anyway. All that is left is to wash the external area to remove splashing, to dry it and to enjoy your new cleanliness.

Sound disgusting? Well, yes, a bit. But it can be erotic. Well, if not, why on earth did you get erect during the process?

Now your partner can literally kiss your arse almost with impunity.

Which leads us to health.

Even after an enema, and most certainly before it, the rectum contains a myriad of bacteria which are designed to deal with digestion.

These bacteria are not designed to go into your mouth, nor are they designed to go into your partner's urethra.

Well the former was pretty damn obvious.

The latter less so.