GQ South Africa — May 2017

Howtonotgetcarriedaway

BODY

MAY 2017 GQ.CO.ZA 105

Words byAdam Hurly

rooming

L

et’s get one thing

established: body hair is

great. Nobody – least of

all us – should demand that

you keep it trimmed, waxed

or shaved at all times. But

charming as your hirsute

situation may be it still needs

periodic taming, for both

aesthetic and hygienic

reasons. Here are the baseline

parameters to follow, even

if you have no plans to go

shirtless any time soon.

AVOID RAZORS

Razors invite an entire

skincare regimen that we’d all

rather skip: constant blade

replenishment, a warm shower

to prep the skin, messy

shave cream application and

abodygroomer:mostbeard

trimmers come with small

detailing attachments that help

shapefacialhairandsnipaway

at long moustaches.

BUYABODYHAIR

GROOMER

Bodyhairgroomersare

alittlelessprecisethanbeard

trimmers;theytendtobewider

attheheadsincethetaskat

hand is less cosmetic. Just don’t

getthemmixedup.Checkout

thePhilips Bodygroom Series

3000 (R669).hisshowerproof

device can trim

longer hairs

with its

adjustable

guards or

shave

everything

righttothe

skin (with a

minimalriskof

razorburnand

ingrown hairs).

STARTWITHA

HIGHER GUARD

SETTING

Justlikethebarbersayswhen

yougetahaircut:youcan

alwayscutitshorteriftheirst

pass is too long. And, while

thismightaddminutestoyour

chest-trimming routine, it

savesdays(orevenweeks)of

2

3

1

4

HERE’SHOWTOTAKECARE

OF THOSE SPECIAL REGIONS

FOR THE PITS

Takeofacentimetreortwoofarmpithairtobuy

yourselfacouplemonthsoftime.hen,restyourarm

atyourside,andtrimawayanyhairthatsticksout

betweenthearmandchest.

FOR THE PACKAGE

Becarefuldownthere.Putashortguardonyour

clippers, hold your member in your less dominant

handandtrynottotouchdownontheskin.Don’t

shaveyourshaftorballsallthewaydowntotheskin,

’cause no one wants to encounter stubble down there.

FOR THE FEET

You don’t need to trim your feet hair, but if you insist,

snip things down with those nose-hair scissors.

a disinfecting post-shave

wash. he best way to uphold

a low-maintenance body-

grooming routine is to stick

with an electronic trimmer,

and just accept that you’ll

always have a baseline of

stubble. (Do you really want

to be hairless anyway?) If you

don’t involve a razor, you

won’t break out since there’s

far less risk of bacterial

infection. Hopefully you’ve

got a signiicant other who

can get those back patches.

DON’T USE A

BEARD TRIMMER

he point here is to save

time, without compromising

hygiene. here’s a diference

between a beard trimmer and

trying to grow it back to your

optimal length. After a while,

you’ll know which guard

length is best for your chest,

but don’t guess it on the irst

few attempts – play it safe.

EYEBALL IT

After the initial pass on

the chest – and once you’ve

settled on that desired length

• you may notice a few patches.
  It’s hard to get a uniform trim
  across the contours of the
  chest. his is where you may
  just have to go in without
  a guard to trim away the hairs
  that escaped the trimmer. As
  a backup, you can always bring
  in some nose-hair trimmers
  for this step. Don’t rush it –
  the slightest slip of the wrist
  could lead to a totally bare
  patch. his gets trickier with
  shorter hair, but there’s
  one good way to cheat: use
  a ine-toothed comb as your
  guard, and comb against the
  grain to get the hairs to stand
  up. As you trim, you should
  have more control over the
  end result. We recommend
  Tweezerman Facial Hair
  Scissors and Comb (R300).

5

A guide

to body hair

and what

to do with it