Contrary to what is popularly believed in today’s society, manscaping wasn’t invented by a metrosexual man. The history of manscaping can be traced back to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Both men and women used to shave their body hair to stay cool and hygienic in ancient Egypt.
Additionally, the Greeks used to shave their hair because they considered a hairless body to be beautiful. Moreover, the Romans firmly believed that it was virtuous for men to take care of their appearance, so they also shaved the hair from their bodies.
Recently, more and more men are choosing to manscape. That’s why it’s highly likely that you have heard about manscaping, as it’s the modern word for the practice that has been occurring for centuries. However, it’s expected that you don’t know everything there is to know about what it is and how to do it.
Even though it’s becoming a more widespread practice, you may have been asking yourself if it’s really necessary and what percentage of men manscape. Well, you have most certainly come to the right place as we will look at everything you need to know about grooming downstairs.
What Is Manscaping?
It’s popularly believed that the term “manscaping” is derived from the two words “man” and “landscaping.” Essentially, manscaping is a term used to describe men who shave, wax, laser, or trim the hair on their bodies. Usually, men will manscape select body regions like their groin, chest, and back, but some choose to also do their shoulders, nose, eyebrows, and legs.
The Actual Percentage Of Men Who Manscape
Men might not regularly talk about their manscaping practices amongst friends, but that doesn’t mean they are not doing it. In fact, many studies have proven that it is becoming more popular for men to manscape. Most men choose to groom their body hair for body image reasons and sexual activity reasons.
According to an exploratory 2016 survey by the American Journal of Men’s Health, American men who are participating in manscaping the most are between the ages of 18 and 65. This national survey of noninstitutionalized adult men explored the grooming practices of 4,198 men. The survey uncovered that, on average, 50.5% of men reported that they regularly participated in manscaping activities.
Interestingly, 73% of men between 18 and 34 groom their facial hair in preparation for sexual activity. Additionally, 61% of men groom for hygiene purposes, and 44% groom as part of their routine care schedule.
Furthermore, it was also ascertained that out of the adult men who groom their pubic hair, 87% will manscape the region above the penis. In contrast, 65% will groom the scrotum region, and 57% will groom the penile shaft.
Can Manscaping Negatively Affect Your Health?
With so many men deciding to participate in manscaping, a common question that’s asked is if it is safe for your health. Well, in general, manscaping is not an unhealthy grooming practice. Yet, there are a few health issues you should be aware of and keep in mind when you decide to next break out the razor.
For example, choosing to manscape your groin area can lead to injury if you are not familiar with using a razor. According to ER reports, there are many who visit the emergency department for lacerations. These lacerations are usually caused by non-automatic razors and are often seen on the scrotum.
Additionally, removing the hair from your pubic region does make you more susceptible to contracting STI’s. According to an insightful study done by the University of California, men who shave their pubic region have a higher likelihood of contracting HPV, syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, and even HIV.
The theory behind this is that when you manscape your pubic region with a razor, you are more prone to nicking your skin. Nicking your skin allows you to contract a disease when you have sex easier. Additionally, those who are manscaping frequently have been proven to be having more sex which is another reason they contract sexually transmitted diseases more often.
In addition to injuries and sexually transmitted diseases, those who manscape the pubic region also have a higher likelihood of contracting a bacterial infection. Since many men are nicking themselves when shaving their groin, minor cuts are more prone to becoming infected when appropriate first aid isn’t used immediately.
Ultimately, the groin is more prone to getting a bacterial infection because it is a place on your body that is usually moist, and bacteria loves to grow in a moist environment. Moreover, incorrectly manscaping can also lead to ingrown hairs and skin irritation that could lead to rashes developing.
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Five Tips On How To Mascape Correctly
Now that we discovered that manscaping is a widespread phenomenon and that you can get sexually transmitted diseases, bacterial infections, and injuries, it’s important to learn how to manscape correctly. If you manscape correctly, you have a lower chance of causing injuries and nicks that lead to STI’s.
Yet, we understand that not everyone wants to get a professional to groom their body hair. So if you’re going to undertake manscaping on your own, the tips we mention might be of interest to you.
1. Use The Correct Razor
If you are going to shave, you need to use the correct razor. That’s why cheaper razors are not always the best choice because they are manufactured with inferior materials that are flimsy. Using a flimsy razor can increase your chances of nicking or cutting yourself, which can lead to an uncomfortable trip to the emergency room.
It’s better to avoid this situation by using a quality razor from one of the more prominent brand names like Gillette and Edwin. You will want to use a razor with two blades because a razor with fewer blades is less likely to irritate and cut the skin.
Additionally, you should only use scissors that are specifically designed for grooming. You can get seriously injured if you use ordinary house scissors and your hands slip while you’re trimming your pubic region.
2. Don’t Cross Contaminate
You don’t want to share your razor with anyone else. When you are manscaping with a razor that someone else utilized, you increase your chances of getting an infection. Additionally, you should never use the same razor that you use on your face to shave your groin, as this can transfer bacteria. If you think that you will get confused about which razor is which, you can always use disposable razors to be on the safe side.
Besides avoiding shaving with a razor that someone else used, there is another way you can prevent cross-contamination. You need to be clean. This is usually the best way to avoid cross-contamination when shaving. If you shower before you manscape, you will not only avoid transferring the bacteria of your pubic region, but you will also soften the hairs and make them easier to wax or shave.
3. Do A Warmup Before Shaving
You might not believe it, but before you shave your nether region, you should do a quick warmup, especially if you are not a very flexible person. Shaving can at times cause you to contort in ways you usually don’t, which can cause you to strain your muscles or cause yourself injury.
Yet, fret not as there is a simple solution to this dilemma. All you have to do is a few simple stretches, and you should have no issue. However, if you want an easier way than contorting your body to see where you have missed, you can use a full-length mirror.
Additionally, if a razor seems too dangerous, you can opt to use a manscaping trimmer that is specifically designed for delicate areas, as these clippers tend to be much safer. Using a clipper will also decrease your chances of cutting yourself and irritating your skin.
4. Make Sure To Use A Pre-Shave Oil
It’s essential to invest in pre-shave oil if you plan to manscape regardless of where you will be shaving. Pre-shave oil will protect your skin by ensuring it softens it before you start manscaping.
Additionally, a pre-shave oil will also prevent skin irritation by ensuring there is enough lubrication where you need to shave. However, before using your pre-shave oil everywhere you want to shave, make sure it can be used on delicate regions like the pubic area. You should also learn what ingredients it has, as you don’t want one that has ingredients that will clog your pores.
5. Be Ready To Administer First Aid
You will inevitably nick yourself at some point in time while manscaping which is why you need to know your first aid and the items you need to have on hand. Since you can nick yourself and you don’t want to contract an STI or bacterial infection, you need to have a petroleum ointment and band-aids ready and waiting. You will also need to avoid manscaping the area until a scab has formed and fallen off.
However, before applying this first aid, you should wash the area so that it is free of blood with soap and water. Often tiny cuts don’t need to be covered with a bandaid.
The Different Hair Removal Manscaping Options
Now that you know a few convenient tips on how to manscape, you can briefly look at the various manscaping options that are not shaving. Many make the mistake of thinking that shaving is the most reliable way to manscape, but this isn’t always the case for everyone.
There are a few other ways to manscape that are perhaps easier and faster because you might not always have the time to diligently shave away your pesky hair situation.
- Hot waxing
- Laser hair removal
- Sugaring
- Depilatory creams
- Threading
- Electrolysis
- Medications
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