You’ve been running yourself ragged. You spend more time at the gym than at home. You push yourself so hard you’re pretty sure you’ll bust a vein if you do one more rep. And despite all this, you still aren’t seeing the results you were hoping for.

Something is obviously wrong somewhere. Don’t worry, though, because the problem isn’t you. No matter how skinny you are, or how fast your metabolism is, you can still gain muscle.

If you aren’t building muscle like you had hoped, you might be making certain mistakes that are sabotaging your progress. You have to remember that every aspect of your life–from your social life to your workout–will influence your ability to build muscle. So, let’s look at some of the most common mistakes when it comes to building muscle.

Mistake #1: You Don’t Eat Enough

Eating insufficient calories is one of the biggest mistakes you can make if you’re looking to build muscle and gain mass.

No matter how much time you spend on designing the best workout or how hard you work in the gym, if you’re not eating enough, you aren’t going to see any gains.You need to have a positive calorie balance, meaning that you need to eat more than you burn. This will ensure your muscles have enough fuel to repair themselves and grow.

Ideally, if you are of average size, you should aim for an extra 300 calories per day over your basal metabolic rate (BMR), and if you are underweight, then you need about 500 calories per day. Note that these are only suggested starting points because it will vary from one person to the next. You can start with an extra 300 calories and if you still aren’t seeing results, then add some more. However, try not to increase your caloric intake by more than 300 calories at a time or you run the risk of gaining fat along with muscle.

Also, make sure that those extra calories come from lean proteins like beef and chicken, good fats like avocadoes and olive oil, and from healthy carbohydrates like brown rice and sweet potatoes. A clean, healthy diet will promote quality mass gains, which is what you want.  If you feel your lifestyle does not allow you to plan your meals properly then you will most likely need a whey protein supplement.

Mistake #2: You’re Overdoing the Cardio

When it comes to building muscle, doing too much cardio can hinder your efforts.

As we’ve already established, your body needs a surplus of calories so it can build muscle. However, if you’re running, cycling, rowing or doing any other type of cardio on a regular basis, you are burning up calories that could have gone towards building muscle.

While cardio will not stop you gaining muscle completely–unless you’re not eating enough in which case your muscles will begin to cannibalize themselves to provide your body with fuel–it will slow your progress significantly. So, if you haven’t seen any muscle growth and have been doing a lot of cardio, you need to cut back. You don’t have to cut it out completely, but try not to exceed three twenty-minute sessions per week.However, if you’ve always had trouble putting weight on and are relatively skinny, then you need to cut out the cardio for at least two months. During this time, focus on gaining mass. You can then incorporate a few cardio sessions per week to keep you lean.

If you’re overweight, then you might be focusing on the wrong thing. While you can build muscle and lose fat at the same time, it’s relatively inefficient. To lose fat, you need a calorie deficit, while to gain muscle you need a surplus of calories. So, if you have a lot of extra fat to get rid of, focus on fat loss first, which means creating a calorie deficit through diet and cardio. Once you’ve dropped some weight, you can switch gears and adopt a diet that will help you bulk up.

Mistake #3: You’re Overtraining

You’re probably irritated that you aren’t seeing the gains you want.

You leaf through bodybuilding magazines and want to look just like them, and you can’t understand why you’re not getting the same results. So, you add more sets, increase the duration of your workout and train more frequently, hoping to see better results. Unfortunately, the exact opposite will happen. Not only will overtraining lead to injury, which could keep you out of the game for weeks, but it will also stifle your gains. Resting is just as important as working out. , because that’s when the body repairs the muscle fibers you’ve torn during your workout. In other words, that’s when your muscles grow. If you don’t rest you aren’t giving your body the chance to gain mass.

And when it comes to the professionals, remember that many of them have excellent genetics, use steroids, growth hormones and various drug cocktails, and there’s also a good chance they don’t have a regular job they need to go to every day. All this means that they can train a lot more than regular people without any negative impact. On the other hand, a normal person who has average genetics, doesn’t take drugs, and has a job will simply be unable to achieve the same results, regardless of what they do.

Instead of rushing things, employ a bit of patience and you will achieve your goals, even if it takes longer. If you overtrain, all you’re going to do is hurt yourself and slow your progress. So, don’t train more than four days per week, and don’t train more than two days in a row, with sessions lasting up to 75 minutes.

Mistake #4: You’re Using Weights That Are Too Light

Muscles grow when enough tension is placed on the muscle fibers to stretch them and cause tiny tears.

Cells in your muscle fibers then repair the tears, but also make the fibers bigger and the nerves that activate them stronger so that the next time your muscles are exposed to the same level of tension they are better able to handle it. When the fibers get bigger, so do your muscles. However, for your fibers to keep growing, they need to be exposed to an increasing amount of tension or your growth will stagnate.

So, if you’re not seeing any gains, there’s a good chance that you aren’t lifting heavy enough. If you are able to complete a set easily, then your weights are too light and you aren’t placing enough tension on your muscle fibers. They’ve already adapted to handle the weight you’re using, so no tearing is taking place. No tearing means that there’s no need for your cells to increase the size and strength of your muscles.Ideally, you should be using weights that are heavy enough to cause muscle failure after 8 to 12 repetitions per set. If you don’t have a partner to help you continue lifting with good form, then rest for a few seconds and continue lifting to finish the set. This approach will offer you better results than using weights that will let you finish a set easily.

Mistake #5: You’re Using Too Many Minor Isolation Exercises

If you study what most successful bodybuilders do in terms of training, you will find that most of them use a small range of basic exercises that are all concentrated around big lifts.

If you want to build a muscular body, you’re going to have to forget about minor isolation exercises and start focusing on the big, compound movements.

Your body is limited in the amount of energy it can expend on recovery and growth, so it doesn’t make sense to waste that energy on exercises that offer limited returns. Instead, focus on basic lifts because they will offer better returns, allowing you to grow faster. Once you’ve gotten so strong that these lifts aren’t cutting it anymore, you can add more complex exercises, but while you’re still trying to grow, stick to a few big basic movements as they’ll offer you the best gains.

Mistake #6: You Aren’t Using Proper Form

Lifting heavy isn’t enough. You have to make sure that you are using proper form in all your exercises.

The weight you’re using is important as it places tension on the muscle. However, the way you do the exercises determines whether the correct muscle is being targeted.

If you’re not using the proper form, you won’t be able to lift as much weight, you are exposing yourself to injury, and you might even be targeting the wrong muscles. Thus, learning proper form is essential. And no, throwing weights up and down is not proper form. If this is what you do, you’re only deluding yourself in terms of your actual strength because you’re using momentum and not your muscles. Instead, perform exercises slowly and with controlled movements, both when contracting and extending your muscles.Also, don’t make the mistake of using weights that are too heavy because you won’t be able to use good form, which will negate the benefits of heavier weights.

Mistake #7: You Aren’t Training Hard Enough

Anyone who wants to see massive gains needs to train really hard.

However, most people don’t train that hard. They think they do, but the fact is that very few people put in the amount of work required to change their bodies. What’s worse is that the more advanced you become, the more work you will need to put in.

However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that training hard means doing more reps or more sets. Doing more of the same thing poorly isn’t going to get you the results you want. Training hard means training with as much intensity as you can. It means working out with complete focus and increasing the weight you lift regularly. It means training to failure on every set, and giving it everything you’ve got in each session.

If you’re training for an hour or more and are barely winded after each session, then you aren’t training hard enough. So, remember, if you want to see massive gains, you’re going to have to increase the intensity. It’s really a matter of quality over quantity. If your workout is intense enough, you don’t need to spend more than an hour in the gym, but you will see incredible results.

The Groom+Style team has put together a terrific article on how to increase your lifts by 30% – might be worth a read!

Evidence shows that compared to people just 20 years ago, we are getting less sleep and this is a huge problem. Not getting enough sleep affects your concentration, your ability to train or recover as well as you should, and even your waistline. Contributing factors can include how busy we all are at work, our nutritional habits, and that phone you’re glued to all day and night. Sometimes ever with a nice room and fresh air, we just can’t get to sleep. Rest assured, these sleeping tools and tips will have you drifting off in no time.

Regardless of the cause of our social insomnia, it needs a solution. Sleep is vital for a long, happy and healthy life.

5 Tips for Improved Sleep

If you want to make your transition into dreamland an easy and pleasant one, you’ll want to consider the following tips:

1) Put the Phone Away Earlier

You might be putting the phone down once you’re in bed, but it needs to start even earlier. Your phone emits a ton of bright “blue” light which tricks your brain into thinking that it’s still daytime. And if it’s still daytime, there’s no need for sleep. It’s a hormonal thing, not your imagination, so don’t ignore this one.

If you absolutely must have your phone on in the hour or so before bed, turn the screen’s brightness down or use an app to eliminate the blue light that keeps you awake.

2) Avoid Sugar, Eat More Protein

We don’t need to tell you why eating sugar before bed is a bad idea. Eating more protein, however, is smart if you want a restful night’s sleep. Your body does most of its repairing when you sleep, and you need protein to heal up. Eat more protein and you’ll grow lean muscle while you sleep and prevent midnight snacking.

3) Find the Right Supplements

Luckily, scientists have combined the most useful sleep supplements into one handy product. Our favorite supplement for sleep, which is especially helpful for those of you who do intense exercise on a daily basis, is ZMA. ZMA is a combination of zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6, which work together to aid sleep and recovery while reducing muscle soreness.

Note: If you need further relief from sore muscles the Groom+Style review team has compiled a list of the best handheld massagers.

4) Eliminate the Light

Just like it’s a good idea to turn the phone down or off before bed, it’s also a good idea to block out any light coming from the windows. Street lights and ambient light from other rooms all play havoc with your brain’s efforts to get you to sleep (and to helping you stay asleep).

Try installing thicker curtains in your home. If you’re really extreme, go for full blackout curtains and a towel under the door. You can always switch back if it’s not to your liking.

5) No Caffeine After 5:00 p.m.

You don’t want caffeine after 5:00 p.m. Caffeine’s has a half-life of around five hours, which means if you have a coffee at 5:00 PM, half of that caffeine is still in your body at 10:00 PM. If you want a more restful night’s sleep, you really need to cut back on the afternoon coffee. Instead, replace caffeinated drinks with herbal teas and infusions. You’ll just want to avoid green tea, as it does contain caffeine.

7 Sleeping Tools for More Rest at Night

1) ZMA Supplements

We’ve already mentioned these, but ZMA supplements are right at the top of our list for a good reason. ZMA not only helps you to fall asleep in the first place, it also helps make your sleep more restful and reduce muscle soreness from exercise.

2) Alaska Bear Sleep Mask

Made from premium silk, the Alaska Bear Sleep Mask is one of the most comfortable around, and its simplicity is wonderful. Block out excess light and signal to your brain that it’s time for sleep.

3) CozyPhones Sleep Headphones

Comfortable sleep headphones can be extremely difficult to find, being either too big or not providing enough sound-filtering. CozyPhones are one of the few brands we’ve come across which are lightweight and soundproof enough to work on planes, at home and on long road trips. They make a variety of styles for kids and super-lightweight lycra material is a joy to wear.

4) White Noise Machines

Noise machines are, as any new parent will tell you, a lifesaver. They produce gentle rolling soundscapes of static frequencies, ocean waves, wind and rain, and even steam engines. The choices are endless, and they’re great for both adults and kids. We’ve done a whole piece on the best noise machines on the market.

5) Sleep-Friendly LED Light Bulbs

Blue light suppresses your melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep. Phone screens, laptops and other electronics do the same. In addition to putting your phone away long before you plan to go to bed, we also recommend switching out your bedroom light bulbs. The difference in sleep quality can be dramatic.

6) Breathe Right Extra Clear Nasal Strips

If blocked airways are the reason you can’t get to sleep or stay asleep, then fortunately there’s an easy fix. Breathe Right strips fit snugly across the bridge of your nose and can help to open up your nasal passages, making it easier for you to breathe.

7) Herbal Teas and Infusions

Plenty of people need a cup of something hot to help them drift off, but the amount of caffeine in tea and coffee (even green tea) could be sabotaging your slumber. Fruit infusions and those with sleep-friendly herbal extracts such as chamomile are a better choice for evening and night-time drinking.

Sleep affects your entire life, from your mood and concentration to how well and how quickly your muscles recover after exercise. Not getting enough sleep is counterproductive and detrimental to your health, so relax (cut back on the electronics) and get an early night tonight. No amount of good living and self-care can compare with getting a good eight hours every night.

Piercings 101: Your Style and Safety Guide To The Ins and Outs of Piercing

A new piercing 101 is not just a body modification.

It’s also a strong stylistic expression that allows you to adorn your body with jewelry that perfectly fits your look and attitude. On top of that, piercings can demonstrate your position in a culture or subculture, while you take part in a practice with a history as old as civilization itself.

Piercing is an art that has a long history ranging from tribal piercings to beauty iconography.

While piercing 101 comes with its own host of cultural connotations and understandings, there are many benefits to choosing piercing as a way to self-express and modify the body vision.

For one, piercing 101 is considered to be less permanent than tattooing.

This is because most piercings can heal over completely, even when it has been a long time since the original recuperation process. Additionally, someone with a healed piercing can change out their jewelry to take on new styles and statements.

The actual piercing process is a quick, needle-driven technique, with a long yet crucial period of piercing aftercare.

Nonetheless, different piercing professionals have different styles, and it’s still a good idea to look at a studio or professional’s portfolio to gain inspiration and also make sure that you’re in the best place to get what you want. When checking out a portfolio, it’s important to note how the placement of the piercings look.

How to Choose a Location for Your Piercing

Piercings are all about the location on the body.

Many people choose them to accent already positive features that they like about their appearance, such as a dimple. Others choose them to add interest to an area of the body which they think could use some ornamentation.

It’s also important to consider what kind of jewelry you will prefer to wear.

The jewelry that you pick must be compatible with the piercing in both size and shape. Nonetheless, many jewelry types use customizable attachments for their traditional titanium bases.

Jewelry usually has two sizes: gauge and diameter. Gauge refers to the circumference of the part that is inserted through the piercing. The Diameter refers to the distance of two points directly across that circumference. When perusing potential jewelry for your piercing it’s important to keep in mind the shapes and gauge that your piercing will traditionally take.

It’s very important to be realistic about your anatomy when picking a piercing location.

Not every piercing is suitable for every set of features, and some people will not have the available skin to pierce some areas that others have. Piercing an area when there’s not enough space could result in rejection or in some cases nerve damage. It’s important to keep an open mind and listen to the advice of your piercing professional when it comes to placement and location. They will be able to help you choose locations that both suit your anatomy and allow you to enjoy your piercing.

Different Types of Piercings (Health Considerations, Healing Time and Aftercare)

Ear Piercings

When it comes to ears, there are many options and a long tradition of piercing to take inspiration from.

While you should certainly do your research ahead of time and think about what ear designs you might want, keep in mind that everyone has different ears. This means that the spacing of certain parts of your ears may not be suitable to the kind of piercings that you would want. A good piercing artist will help you identify the best parts of your ears to pierce while keeping you open to new or different options.

These designs are sometimes referred to as the curated ear, or a plan of multiple ear piercings that work together with jewelry that is carefully selected for artistic beauty or as an artistic statement.

Although these piercings are designed to work together, they are normally undergone over a long period of time, since it’s generally not recommended to do more than three or four new piercings over the whole body at once.

Ear Cartilage Piercings

• Helix Piercing – This goes through the top cartilage between the rim of your ear and the folded helix.
• Forward Helix Piercing – This is opposite the helix piercing on the upper, inner part of the cartilage. These face forward with the face.
• Conch Piercing – These are inner ear piercings, sometimes worn as rings or bars. The conch can make a beautiful effect but has a high chance of irritation.
• Tragus Piercing – This refers to that little, curved part of the ear closest to the face.
• Daith Piercing – A daith piercing goes through the inner fold of cartilage. These can stand alone if desired and can be accented with a decorative ring.
• Rook Piercing – The rook goes through the little flap of cartilage that’s at the top of the inner ear, just below the helix.
• Industrial Piercings – This refers to two piercings that are connected by one piece of jewelry, most often a bar of steel. This style tends to have a punk connotation, but it can be dressed up with a bar of thin gold or similarly lighter decorative element.

Health Considerations

Cartilage piercings are more prone to infection that lobe piercings. This is because the reduced blood flow means less white blood cells that fight off germs.

All cartilage piercings should begin with surgical-grade titanium to prevent infection.

Those who are considering piercings in spots that are likely to get irritated should avoid piercing with rings until healed. Instead, opt for a nice stud, then you should be able to swap to a ring after about half a year.

Holes in the cartilage, particularly in places that have had to be carved out to accept wider gauges may have lasting consequences, where the hole will not heal back over time. Additionally, improper aftercare may cause permanent deformities from infection, such as cauliflower ear.

Healing Time

The higher the piercing is on the cartilage, the longer the healing time. This is because the further you go up on the ear, the less blood flow there is.

– Daith: About 4 to 8 months.

– Rook: About 6 to 18 months.

– Full Cartilage (such as the upper helix or conch): Anywhere from 6 to 12 months.

Additional Piercing Aftercare

Consistent aftercare is crucial for a cartilage piercing, since there is little blood flow.

Since the ears come into contact with our pillows when we sleep, it is important to avoid sleeping in a way that puts weight on them while they’re healing. It’s also important to wash your pillows and sheets regularly during the healing process and in the long term to prevent infection.

Ear Lobe Piercings

Ear lobe piercings are known for being an entry level staple.

Nonetheless, lobe piercings don’t need to be basic. You can experiment in this case with placement and pierce in a series to make this look more unconventional, such as a high lobe piercing. Additionally, there’s a wide range of jewelry to choose from to vary this look.

• Gauges – Gauging the ear lobes refers to stretching the pierced hole to accept wider gauge jewelry. This can only be done once the earlobe piercing has healed completely. This can create a hole in the lower part of the ear.
• Orbital Lobe Piercing –  This is a variation on the traditional lobe piercing that goes straight back through the ear. Orbital lobe piercings go through the lobe from side to side.

– Healing Time: Between 1 and 2 months.

Nose Piercings

• Nostril Piercings – A nostril piercing is anything that goes through the softer cartilage of one side of the nose. This can be a simple stud or a ring.
• Septum Piercing – The septum itself is a thin wall of cartilage that separates the left and right nostrils. Septum piercings do not go through the cartilage but instead go through the soft space of tissue below the septum.

Health Considerations

Since the nose is responsible for filtering the air we breathe, it also collects dirt and bacteria that we don’t breathe in. The bacteria in our noses can make healing a nose piercing difficult and increase the likelihood of infection.

Additionally, some people find it uncomfortable to clean out their noses with water.

Seasonal allergies or individuals who are prone to colds should schedule their new piercing around those times. Those who have severe allergies or frequent sinus infections should think twice before getting a septum piercing altogether. Even after the initial recuperation process, individuals with nose piercings will need to know and learn how to safely blow their nose.

– Nostril Piercing Healing Time: Anywhere from 3-6 months.

– Septum Piercing Healing Time: Around 2 months.

Popular Jewelry

Most nostril piercings begin with tiny jewels. Additionally, both nostril and septum piercings are available in captive bead rings. After the recuperation process, the potential for nasal piercing jewelry opens up to nostril screws and fishtails.

Circular barbells tend to be the most common jewelry for a septum piercing. One thing people love about this jewelry choice is the ability to hide the septum piercing by turning the ends upward into the nose.

Mouth Piercings

Mouth Piercings will usually include one external hole in the skin surface and one oral hole inside the mouth. While the external piercing can be maintained normally, the oral side requires additional care.

• Lip Ring – Lip rings can go anywhere along the top of the upper lip or bottom of the lower lip. This piercing goes through the lip into the mouth.
• Snake Bites – Snake bites refer to two symmetrical lower lip piercings. Both are generally get pierced in the same session to ensure symmetry.
• Medusa or Philtrum Piercing – The philtrum is the area between the upper lip and the nose. Philtrum piercings are generally studs and are high above the lip than a lip ring in the center of the mouth would be.
• Dimple or Cheek Piercings – These go through the inside of the mouth to the cheek. One popular style is the Monroe, or a beauty mark piercing that goes through the upper lip into the mouth.

Health Considerations

Many cheek and face piercings go through the cheeks or lips. These are most commonly done with labret studs. Labrets include a post jewel that is threaded into a flat disc-shaped base.

If not installed snugly enough, the disc anchor could run against the teeth or gums and could erode the enamel or cause gum recession.

One major concern with disc-back jewelry is the possibility that the skin will grow around the back of the disc. In this case, the only way to remove the disc from the cheek or lip is to cut it out. Additionally, it can trap bacteria inside the cheek could lead to infection even after the piercing has healed.

Healing Time

Healing time will typically depend on the thickness of the skin being pierced. Those with thick cheeks or lips will find that the piercing goes through more skin and therefore need more healing time.

– Lips and Mouth Area: Around 2-3 months.

Popular Jewelry

A lot of jewelry is available for the mouth area, including labret studs, fishtail labrets, or ring jewelry such as captive ball rings.

Aftercare

For the oral part of the mouth piercing, follow the oral piercings aftercare below.

Oral Piercings

• Tongue Piercings – These can go through the tongue either vertically or horizontally. Since the tongue is full of nerve endings, these piercings are considered to be very painful.
• Frenulum Piercings – The frenulum is the connective webbing around the mouth and tongue. A traditional frenulum piercing goes through the thin strip of connective tissue under the tongue.
• Frowny Piercings – Like frenulum piercings, these go through the thin connective tissue underneath the bottom lip.
• Smiley or Scrumper Piercings – The opposite of a frowny piercing, this goe through the thin connective tissue above the upper lip.

Health Considerations

Oral piercings and tongue piercings in particular have very high pain levels and required education for proper and quick healing.

Since they are inside of the mouth, oral piercings are more easily infected than other piercings. This is because the mouth is always in contact with fluids and bacteria, and you can’t avoid using it. Additionally, the mouth carries its own, often necessary bacteria, used to break down food yet can cause infections or dangerous levels of swelling.

Healing Time

Due to the amount of blood flow in the mouth, oral piercings have a relatively quick healing time.

– Oral Piercing: About three to four weeks for a healthy non-smoker. For a smoker, add a week of healing time, due to the constricted bloodflow.

Popular Jewelry

A tongue piercing will initially use an extra long barbell. The length of the barbell is important because it will need to leave room for the tongue to inevitably swell throughout the recuperation process.

Once the tongue is healed, the extra-long barbell will need to be changed out for a shorter one. This is important because a longer piece of jewelry makes it more likely that the wearer will bite down on it while talking or eating. This could break teeth or damage the tongue.

Additional Piercing Aftercare

• Use an unflavored, alcohol-free mouthwash for an oral rinse. Or, you can mix your own saline solution oral rinse, using 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodized sea salt in 8 oz distilled or pre-boiled warm water. Dispose of unused saline solution each cleaning. If you suffer from a heart condition, opt for the alcohol-free mouthwash over the saline solution.
• Rinse the inside of the mouth for 30 seconds after every meal and once before bed. This will mean rinsing about 4-6 times a day.
• Clean any external parts of an oral piercing as you would for a normal surface piercing.
• Do not play with the jewelry using teeth or your tongue. This can damage the teeth, gums, and the piercing.
• Tighten the barbell ends every day to make sure that they don’t come loose. If they do come apart, you could accidentally swallow the jewelry.

To prevent infection, avoid consuming:

• Beer, wine, alcohol consumption, or sugary drinks
• Spicy foods
• Chewing gum
• Chewing on foreign objects, such as fingernails

You should also avoid smoking, particularly during the first two weeks, while healing an oral piercing.

Dermal and Microdermal Piercings

Dermal and Microdermal Piercings – These can be placed in most of the body’s flat surfaces of the body. One end of the jewelry is outside the body, and the other is anchored in the dermal layer of the skin. This allows the piercing to be a small bead on the skin’s surface. The flexibility of microdermal piercings allows them to be subtle ornamentation.

Health Considerations

While microdermal piercings are relatively low risk, since they are embedded in areas with high blood flow, there is the small risk of getting them in areas where the body will reject the piercing. The sternum, for example, is a common area where the body often rejects surface and dermal piercings.

– Microdermal Piercing Healing Time: About 2-3 months.

Nonetheless, the healing time is dependent on the location of the dermal piercing.

Popular Jewelry

Dermal piercings have a base that is permanently embedded in the body to anchor the jewelry. The top is then interchangeable with other internally threaded jewelry. These are extremely flexible, since, once healed, the anchor can be threaded into any metal you desire without that ornamental metal residing within the skin to cause irritation.

Additional After Care

Throughout the healing or recuperation process, it is important to be aware of anything that will pull or catch on the piercing, such as clothing or any other objects. Pulling can unsettle the piercing, causing the body to reject it. It may even cause tearing.

Since dermal piercings are threaded jewelry, it’s important to check the beads daily to make sure they remain tight and stable to the anchor.

Eyebrow Piercings

Eyebrow piercings generally describe a piercing along or near the brow. The most common eyebrow piercings include:

• Vertical Piercings – Vertical Piercings tend to be the standard style for eyebrows. These can go anywhere along the brow ridge, though they are most commonly placed at a 35-degree angle from the outside corner of the eye. Most will have two holes, one in and the other out, with a single piece of jewelry looping through. These can also be done in a series to loop a single spiral through four or six holes (2-3 piercings).
• Horizontal Piercings – Horizontal piercings are similar to vertical ones in terms of number and placement. However, in this case, the two holes are side by side.
• Multiple Piercings – Multiple piercings refer to a combination of vertical or horizontal eyebrow piercings. One common style is to overlap a vertical with a horizontal piercing in the shape of a T.
• Bridge (Erl) Piercings – Sometimes described as a nose piercing, these piercings are located between the bridge of the nose and the inner edge of the eyebrow. It’s a horizontal piercing on either side of the nose, right between the eyes.
• Anti-eyebrow – This refers to a piercing opposite the eyebrow, below the eye. These piercings are usually along or just below the ridge of the orbital bone.

Health Considerations

When it comes to eyebrow piercings, there is a possible risk of nerve damage around the eye which can cause migraines. This may happen is the area is get pierced too low in the space between the eye and the brow or too close to the nose. This can be avoided with a placement that gives a wide margin for the eyes and nose and by making sure to find a professional piercer.

– Eyebrow Piercing Healing Time: Anywhere from 2-4 months.

Popular Jewelry

Eyebrow jewelry is generally in the form of fixed ball or captive bead rings or curved barbells. They can also take surface bars, spirals, or circular barbells.

Do not use a straight barbell in an eyebrow piercing.

Additional After Care

Avoid using eyebrow waxes, tinted moisturizers or any scented moisturizers or makeup around the pierced area while the eyebrow is healing.

Nipple Piercings

Contrary to what you might expect, nipple piercings are the same process for both male and female anatomy, with the exception of size. In some cases, nipple piercings increase physical stimulation and arousal. However, for other people, it could decrease the feeling in the nipple, based on personal piercing experience.

Health Considerations

For men with very small nipples, there may not be space to pierce the nipple. If the piercing punctures the breast tissue, it could least to a dangerous infection called mastitis.

Women who have had a pierced nipple can still breastfeed later in life. The piercing should be removed when doing so, but the functionality is not compromised.

– Female Nipple Piercings Healing Time: Around 3 to 6 months.

– Male Nipple Piercings Healing Time: Around 2 to 4 months.

Popular Jewelry

Starter jewelry is normally a straight barbell, curved or circular barbell.

Navel (Belly-Button) Piercings

Navel piercings were very popular in the ‘90s. However, despite their attractive appeal, they can be a difficult piercing to maintain, and they require a long healing window.

Health Considerations

Those who have a physically active lifestyle, such as people who regularly engage in sports, are more likely to build up sweat and bacteria in their navel. This means the navel needs to cleaned out immediately after exercise to prevent infection. Additionally, lifestyles that include a lot of bending, twisting, and movement throughout the navel area, such as dance, gymnastics, or yoga, could make the healing process longer and more difficult.

Those who are overweight or whose skin overlaps their navel when sitting will find it difficult to heal this piercing.

Even navel piercings with proper maintenance can be tricky to heal, since they are prone to migration and rejection.

– Navel Piercing Healing Time: Up to 12 months.

Popular jewelry

Starter jewelry for a navel piercing is usually a curved barbell, also known as a banana bell.

After the piercing is healed there are many possibilities that match the navel’s 14 gauge, including rings and more ornamental jewelry.

Aftercare

Navel piercings generally require a lot of aftercare, since this area inevitably holds a lot of germs.

The recommended piercing aftercare is to spend fifteen minutes twice a day cleaning out the navel and then another ten minutes daily to soak the piercing in saline solution. This is important since the navel is particularly prone to infection.

Genital Piercings

Genital piercings are often chosen for a combination of adornment and enhancing sexual stimulation. Intimate piercings are not always especially painful, particularly when performed by an expert.

Piercings for Female Genitalia:

• Vertical Clitoral Hood Piercing – This is the easiest, lowest pain tolerance, and most stimulating genital piercing for women. It is placed in the same direction of the female genitalia and rests between the legs without strain. This goes through the thin membrane of skin above the clitoris and therefore does not risk damaging nerves. Jewelry then sits under the hood.
• Horizontal Clitoral Hood Piercing – This is also popular as aesthetic ornamentation. However, in most placements, it is not well-suited to offering sexual stimulation.

Piercings for Male Genitalia:

Since the male anatomy has more external genitalia than the female, there are more areas available for piercing. The most popular male genital piercings include,

• Prince Albert – A ring-style piercing that pierces through the glans (head) and urethral opening of the penis.
• Foreskin Piercing – A piercing through the foreskin, most often for aesthetic effects.
• Frenum Piercing – A piercing through the skin at the underside of the shaft behind the glans. Both foreskin and frenum piercings have few complications.

Health Considerations

Due to the sensitivity of parts of the genitalia, piercing certain parts of this anatomy could result in long term nerve damage, and for those with jewelry sensitivity, it can cause additional discomfort. It should only be done by a very experienced and specialized professional piercer.

Healing Time

Depending on the area and the anatomy, genital piercings can vary in terms of intensity and healing time. Male piercings which pass through the glans will take the longest to heal.

– Most Genital Piercings: Around 2 to 4 months.

– Frenum Piercing: 4 to 6 months.

Popular Jewelry

In this case, different jewelry may have different effects on sexual stimulation. Many piercing artists start with jewelry that is simple and easy to heal, but once healed endorse personal experimentation to find one’s personal preference for jewelry.

Additional Aftercare

• Genital piercings require abstinence for one to two weeks. After that point, sex must be hygienic and gentle. If anything makes the piercing sore, it should be stopped. Additionally, it’s necessary to use barrier protection to avoid sharing bodily fluids that may cause the piercing to become infected.
• Never touch the piercing without first cleaning your hands.
• The best place to clean this piercing is in the shower, so that you can allow gentle water to wash over it before cleaning.
• Take only showers, not baths, for the first two weeks.
• Saline solution for washing is preferred to soap which may kill useful and healthy bacteria in the area. Wash twice daily and after intercourse.
• Some discomfort may come from laundry detergents that contain stain-removing or bleaching agents. If you experience discomfort, it can be helpful to switch to a more gentle soap alternative for undergarments.

General Aftercare

Most piercing aftercare uses sterile or prepackaged saline solutions or sprays. You can also look for products at the pharmacy labeled “Saline Wound Wash.” It should only have two contents: sodium chloride (sea salt) and purified water.

You can mix your own saline solution, but you must do it before every use and discard the remains after every use, since this home version can be easily contaminated. To mix your saline solution, dissolve 1/4 tsp of non-iodized sea salt into 8 oz distilled or pre-boiled warm water. Be careful not to add too much salt, as this can irritate the piercing.

Most tattoo shops will also recommend the use of medical-grade antimicrobial soaps that are designed to treat piercings and keep them clean. As an alternative, it’s possible to use a clean, unscented bar of glycerin soap. Just be sure to avoid soaps that contain triclosan.

You should always make your piercing professional’s advice about how to care for your piercing your priority.

How to Clean a Piercing

Throughout the cleaning process, do not push or move the jewelry.

1. First, wash your hands.
2. Apply a small amount of antimicrobial soap to the skin around both sides of the jewelry, and cleanse for thirty seconds.
3. Rinse the area thoroughly, removing all soap bubbles and residue.
4. Allow to air dry or pat the area dry with a clean paper towel. Avoid face cloths, hand or cloth towels that may hold bacteria.

How to Do a Saline Soak

• Once per day, soak a clean paper towel or gauze pad in the saline solution. Gently apply this to both sides of the piercing for five to ten minutes.
• Use warm water afterward to rinse away the residue.

Which Piercings Require More Care?

Piercings in parts of the body that naturally hold or cultivate a lot of bacteria or limited blood flow will require the most care.

• This means extra care is needed in warm spots of our body, such as the navel, mouth, and genitals.
• Nasal piercings also require a lot of care due to the amount of bacteria the nose filters every day.
• Cartilage piercings on the ear require care and attention since there is little blood flow to this area to fight off bacterial infections.
• It should be noted that healing times may vary from individual to individual.

What Not to Do With a New Piercing

• Do not rotate, twist, move, or touch jewelry more than you need to. This means avoiding playing with or picking at the area.
• Do not sleep on or apply pressure to jewelry.
• Do not remove jewelry during the healing period.
• Do not clean more often than is recommended, since too much cleaning can cause the skin to become dry and irritated.
• Do not apply makeup, astringent, scented skin care, or scented moisturizer directly onto or near the pierced area throughout the recuperation process.
• Avoid wearing constrictive clothing or put on anything that will snag the piercing.
• Do not let other people’s bodily fluids contact the piercing. This includes kissing, oral sex, and sharing foods or drink.
• Avoid submerging the piercing, since baths, swimming pools, or natural bodies of water can carry a lot of infection-causing bacteria.
• Do not use rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or other cleansers or ointments not recommended by your piercing professional.

Risks and Prevention

The main risks of body piercings include infection or the body rejecting the piercing. Sanitary piercing conditions and proper aftercare go a long way toward mitigating risks.

Piercings that are years old can still heal over or close up quickly after removing the jewelry. To protect the longevity of your piercing, it’s important to keep jewelry or a placeholder in it as much as you can. If the jewelry comes out of a new piercing that has not healed, it’s likely that you will have lost the piercing. To try to salvage the piercing you should see a professional piercer as soon as you can.

Even after the recuperation process, it’s important to sterilize new pieces of jewelry before you use them. Whether you’re buying from a store or online, it pays to be careful and this can help save you from contracting infections.

The Best Jewelry Materials

Hypoallergenic jewelry helps the body better accept the piercing. Surgical-grade titanium or gold tend to be hypoallergenic and run the lowest risk of infection when in contact with your body. Additionally, titanium is preferable throughout the healing process, due to its purity, quality, and resilience.

Common metal allergies include silver, nickel, and cobalt. In some cases, silver can cause argyria, which discolors the skin. You should never wear silver in areas where there are mucous membranes, such as the nose, mouth, nipples, and genitals.

The grade of the metal isn’t the only important factor. You should also consider the manufacturing and finish. Many piercing studios have preferred makers of body jewelry. All body jewelry should meet the standards set by the Association of Professional Piercers (check the link for technical information on the best metals for piercing).

Normal Healing Experiences

During the recuperation process, it’s normal to experience a manageable amount of discomfort, or even pain tolerance. You might also see some swelling and redness.

The first week of healing might see some bleeding or scabbing. Additionally, some areas may experience a white or yellow fluid that dries into a crust around the piercing area and onto the jewelry. If, however, you are experiencing thicker or foul-smelling pus or ooze, this could be a sign of an infection.

Metal jewelry cannot get stuck to the skin, so there is no reason to twist it or move it around. Twisting during the healing process only results in reopening and irritating the piercing.

Be aware of mild itching, burning, or throbbing throughout the healing period. At all costs avoid scratching, friction, or making too much contact. Bumping or snagging the piercing may result in swelling or bleeding. This is normal and should be temporary. Follow you normal cleaning procedures until the swelling subsides.

Hypertrophic Scarring or Bumps on Your Piercing

Bumps can form on both sides of a piercing, particularly when the piercing is more difficult to heal, such as cartilage, or areas that experience a lot of motion and contact. These bumps are from hypertrophic scarring. They appear because your body vision is trying to heal but continues to experience disruptions, such as pressure, movement from the jewelry, or picking at scabbing.

Hypertrophic scarring can be treated by regular cleaning and a chamomile compress. To do this, soak a small clean cloth towels in steeped tea of warm, pure chamomile. Apply this directly to the bump and gently press for a few minutes until the cloth towels cools. Repeat until the chamomile is no longer warm. Do this twice a day and the bump should begin to recede after a week.

Symptoms You Should Look Out For

• The area around the piercing is abnormally red, extremely swollen, overwhelmingly painful, or the skin around it feels hot to the touch.
• The piercing is secreting a greenish or bad-smelling pus. This will be noticeably different from the normal white or yellow puss that crusts around the jewelry.
• There is tenderness in the surrounding area.
• You experience a fever or run a temperature within a few days of getting the piercing.

If you think that your piercing is infected, don’t remove the jewelry. This could trap the infection under the skin and cause an abscess. Instead, visit a doctor or clinic as soon as possible. You will likely require antibiotics to treat the infection.

Safety

For your safety, it’s best to avoid piercing guns. This includes a squeeze piercer. Instead, opt for piercing professionals who pierce by hand using a clean, sterile body-piercing single use needle. This is because it’s difficult to clean and fully sterilize a piercing gun, increasing the risk of contamination and infection. Additionally, piercing guns increase the risk of trauma to the skin from the lack of accuracy, scarring, and displaced scar tissue. While hand piercing minimizes scarring by using sharp, hollow single use needles, the piercing gun will use a blunt stud to push the displaced skin to the back of the hole and allow it to heal and scar there.

Always find a reputable piercer who uses hygienic tools and will make you feel comfortable. Word of mouth and candid reviews will tell you a lot about a piercing studio. Additionally, if you see a piercing that you really admire, it generally doesn’t hurt to ask the wearer where they got it done. Those who wear their piercings proudly are often happy to give a referral for skilled professionals.

Only go to a studio that has an autoclave. Autoclaves sterilize the reusable equipment. All of your hygienic tools need to be sterilized and opened from plastic packages right in front of you by gloved hands.

Additionally, your piercer should wear gloves at all times. When they take their gloves off, they should replace these with new gloves before touching skin.

If the piercer uses a pen to mark the placement of the piercing on your skin, make sure that it is brand new, and they should throw the pen away after using it.

It’s a good idea to visit the studio prior to getting your piercing. This might mean making an appointment in person and meeting your piercer so you need to know the place is clean and that you feel comfortable there. You might also want to visit multiple studios to get a feel for what you like versus what you don’t.

Conclusion

Piercing is a body modification that allows an individual to customize their appearance with beautiful and distinctive jewelry. There are a variety of locations for a piercing that suits your individual taste and lifestyle. However, piercings require diligent maintenance, particularly during the initial healing period. This will make it so that the piercing heals without long term consequences and scarring from infection or rejection.

How To Grow Out Your Hair As A Man And Still Look Good

A popular and attractive look is long hairstyles for men, from chin to beyond shoulder length.

But the process can’t happen overnight. While there are many products and supplements that promise to make your hair grow thicker and faster, they don’t all work.

However, a healthier lifestyle and diet can contribute to better hair, but it will grow at a steady rate rather than a rapid one.

Some guys have hair that grows faster than others, and that’s not something that you can change.

So the best thing that you can do is be patient, get help from your barber or hairstylist, and try out some cool new looks along the way.

So here’s a guide to looking good while growing your hair out as a man and some tips on how to look great while doing so.

The Popularity Of Long Hair Styles With Men

Men growing long hair seems to be an increasingly popular choice for lots of men. It stands to reason that different men have different reasons for growing their hair.

So let’s take a closer look at some of those reasons.

The desire to grow long hair is not so much a choice as it is a fashion statement.

Some men simply decide to make an overnight change simply because the style is popular while others have known that they always wanted to grow long hair since they were six. So it is either in them or a part of them.

The fact that men choose to grow long hair or the ones that do may sometimes be treated with prejudice. But in recent years, attitudes have changed. Men with long hair now wear it with ore confidence.

Long hairs don’t hate short hairs. Some men simply like their hair short while others prefer it long. Ultimately it is all a matter of personal preference.

For some men, they have more or less “made it” when they can tie their hair back.

A lot of men are discouraged during the growing stage, but growing long hair takes approximately 18 months, and once you’ve achieved your long Maine, you should show it off.

There are a few men with knee-length hair, believe it or not. Lots of men and women can’t do that, but the ones that can should take advantage of the fact.

Those who have amazing thickness and length are considered superstars in the world of hair-archy.

The reality is that more men would have long hair if they could, but the sad reality is that society makes then afraid to let their hair down.

How To Grow Out Your Hair Without Looking Weird?

Shape It Up

As with everything in life, you always have choices. So you could let your hair grow out without doing any styling at all.

However, that’s probably not going to look as nice as it would if you decided to do some styling beforehand.

One of the advantages of not styling your hair in advance is that it requires less time and effort; in fact, it takes no time and effort.

However, one of the disadvantages of not styling your hair prior to leaving it to grow out is that the back and sides of your hair could start growing longer than the top.

So you may end up with the mullet look, and if that’s what you are into, then, by all means, party on.

However, if you’d like the hair all around your head to grow evenly, then you should keep the back and sides short until the top starts growing out and is more or less the same length as the back and the sides.

This way, when all your hair starts growing out, it will grow out evenly.

Get Used To The Banter

If you’re thinking about growing out your hair, then you might as well accept the idea that you are going to be teased about it every once in a while by family members and loved ones.

You should never take this personally, especially when it’s from your family that’s at least a decade older than you are because, in their time, it simply wasn’t acceptable for men to grow out their hair.

Be Gentle

Although you may be tempted to brush and rub your hair or dry it roughly with a towel, all of this is bad for your hair, and, over time, your strands will break away. So you should simply leave your hair be.

If you’re considering growing out our hair for some extreme hairstyles such as deadlocks, braids, or a man bun, you may want to think twice.

High tension styles such as these that pull on the hair leads to hair breakage, not to mention irreversible damage to the hair follicles.

Don’t Forget The Conditioner

The number of times you need to shampoo will depend on the type of hair you have and the sebum production you experience.

Everybody is different, so as a general rule of thumb if you have oily hair, wash daily or every second day.

If you have dry hair, then a couple of times a week is sufficient. Furthermore, a tip is that you should only wash your hair when you feel the need to.

When you shampoo, never forget to condition. It will leave your hair soft, nourished, and silky smooth.

Keep A Hair Tie Handy

Once your hair is long enough, it will take some effort to keep it away from your face. So keep a hair tie handy to pull it back for those times when you need it free from your face.

Alternatively, if you enjoy brushing your hair away from your eyes, then, by all means, keep doing so.

Also, bear in mind that a rubber hair tie is a no-no and sure cause of hair breakage.  Also, remember to never pull your hair back too tight.

Should You Start Using A Hair Conditioner Or Other Products?

Irrespective of whether you are growing your hair out or keeping it short, it is recommended that you keep using conditioner as part of your daily hair care regime.

Conditioner has various benefits aside from making your hair feel soft and giving it a fresh scent. Let’s take a look at some of these benefits.

Conditioner Makes Hair Softer

Just as fabric softener softens clothing, so too does conditioner leave your hair noticeably softer.  You’ll notice the softness immediately after applying the conditioner.

Hair Will Be Less Tangled

While you may still need to use a comb or your fingers, you’ll never experience daily wincing pain as you brush your hair out.

Conditioner Protects Your Hair

Using a conditioner gives your hair protection from dryness and the outside elements.

Leave-in Conditioner

Just as most conditioners are designed to be rinsed out after use, some conditioners are designed to be left in.

One of the benefits of a leave-in conditioner is that you don’t require additional products to style your hair. The leave-in conditioner itself works as a styling product. It also offers full protection against the elements.

Conditioner is probably your best friend when growing your hair out.

However, if you do want to use other products on your hair, provided it is suitable for your hair type and is going to positively impact the condition of your hair, there is no reason why you should not use other hair products.

Can Thin Haired Men Grow Out Hair?

It is absolutely possible for men with thin hair to grow it out.

While having thin hair has its advantages and disadvantages, it is possible to do most things with your hair that people with thick hair do.

One of the advantages of having thin hair is that you will experience shorter drying times after washing, and the texture is naturally silky.

However, you may struggle with volume, and you may not be able to hold a curl; however, the good news is that even if you’re born with naturally thin hair, you can try and improve the quality of your hair by implementing some lifestyle changes that include adding collagen into your diet which can possibly grow your hair and add to your follicle count.

Improve the look and feel of your skin by adding cinnamon to your latte as it has been linked to hair growth, improved blood circulation, and delivering nutrients to hair follicles.

One thing to avoid, or shall we say two things is sugars and carbs. They have been linked to hair loss, so avoid anything that has too much refined sugar and try adding whole foods and natural sugars in your diet.

Conclusion

If you plan on growing your hair, you should know that stress, heat, and other factors can contribute to hair loss. However, there are steps you can take to promote hair health. Consider using a hair loss shampoo specifically designed to combat hair loss and promote regrowth. Additionally, massaging your scalp periodically, maintaining a nutritious diet, and using conditioner can all help improve the quality of your hair.

Whether you are male or female, shaving is probably part of your daily ritual – at least for certain areas. But what about that “more discreet” hair growth? Let’s take a look at how to shave your pubic hair properly, for both women and men.

Alternative hair removal resources for you to consider:

• How To Do Your Own Brazilian Wax At Home
• Home Laser Hair Removal Devices Reviewed
• Top 4 Best Home Electrolysis Machine Reviews

Pubic Hair – Love it or Hate it!

Humans are self-conscious, and some topics can make us a bit more squeamish than others. Pubic hair is one of them. Left to its own devices, pubic hair often grows in size and directions which can be appalling. For women, a naturally growing strip running from the pelvis area up to the belly button isn’t exactly going to look enticing during bikini season. For men, a wild “hedge” can be unattractive to lovers, while also occasionally getting caught up in a pants zipper.

There was a time when societal standards for pubic hair were simple: let it do what comes naturally. However, the modern trend is to tidy things up a bit. Let’s look at the best way to shave your pubes without getting razor bumps, beginning with the fairer sex.

Pubic Area Shaving For Women

A 2013 study of over 3,000 American women revealed that 83% chose to groom their pubic hair. Factors including opinions on hygiene and sexual preferences influenced decisions to trim, or remove pubic hair altogether. And while some older women still groom regularly, the practice was found to be most common among women under 45.

If you decide that you want to proceed, then let’s walk you through how to shave your pubic area (vulva which includes the mons pubis) in the safest and most effective way possible, without getting bumps.

Choose a Style That Is Right for You

For any woman (or man) considering shaving her pubic area, the first step is to stop and think about the desired final result. There are three general classifications:

1. Hollywood: All hair removed – smooth as a baby’s butt.
2. Stencil: The remaining hair forms a design of some sort.
3. Strip: A strip of hair runs from the top of the vulva to the bikini line.

Of these styles, the Hollywood is the easiest to achieve, followed by the strip and then the stencil. With the stencil approach, it is best to simply cut out a cardboard outline of the design you have in mind and then trim and shave around it. In any case, you can only get to where you’re going – if you know where you want to go.

Never start a shave without knowing your final destination.

Trim First to Pave the Way for the Blade

Once you’ve selected a style, it is time to get to work. The first tool you will need is not a razor – it’s a set of scissors. A razor is only effective at removing hairs less than a quarter of an inch long. Pubic hair is typically going to be much longer than that, so trimming your pubes first will speed things up considerably, and efficiency is important because the skin around the vaginal area is tender.

Repeatedly dragging a cutting blade across this skin will aggravate it, so it’s important to take time to trim the hair as much as possible. Trim and then trim some more.  You could also utilise a bikini trimmer for a more consistent effect.

Shower/Bath To Soften Pubic Hair

Now that the pubic hair is cut down to size, it is time to hop in a hot bath or take a hot shower for 15 minutes. Pubic hair is surprisingly coarse. Heating it up with steam or hot water and humidity will soften the hair, making it easier to remove. Your skin will thank you.

Exfoliate – Maybe Not the First Few Times Your Decide to Shave

Should you exfoliate at this point? In theory, the act of exfoliating will remove any dead skin cells in the pubic area and allow for a closer shave. While this notion is true, it is important to remember that we are talking about very tender skin and exfoliating is going to expose even more tender skin cells.

For this reason, you probably want to avoid exfoliating, for at least the first few shaving sessions, until your skin gets used to the process.  When you are ready to start exfoliating you would want to use something that is natural and gentle like the Konjac Sponge.

Getting Down to Business – The Shave

You are finally ready to actually shave. Once the skin around the vagina is clean and the hair is trimmed to less than a quarter of an inch, the next step is to apply shaving cream to the area. There are many different types of shaving cream, but only one will suffice when it comes to your pubic area.

You need a gel with lubricant. This is critical because if you’re reading this article, this is probably the first time a razor has touched the skin around your genitals.

A lubricating gel is going to allow the razor blades to effectively remove hair while minimizing irritation to “virgin” hair and skin. If you are going to spend a few extra dollars at any point of this process, spend it on a quality lubricating gel designed specifically for the task.  A product similar to the one linked below would be a worthwhile investment.

Now it’s time for the second key tool: the razor. New blades are the order of the day. They will be sharp so you’ll need to make fewer runs across the target area. And using fewer strokes means there will be less trauma to the skin, and less chance of your vag getting bumps.

Note: Another valid approach is to use an electric razor (sometimes called a vagina shaver or bikini shaver) to shave your pubes – they do not shave as close as a blade, but there will be less chance of getting razor bumps. Please follow this link for details of the best razor for women’s pubic area.

Let’s get to it:

1. Apply warm water to the area.
2. Firmly apply the lubricating gel until the target area is completely covered.
3. Run the razor under warm, but not hot, water.
4. Pull the razor over the target area in long, slow strokes.
5. Rinse the razor off after every stroke to remove hair, skin cell and gel buildup from the blades.

Importantly, do not push down on your skin with the blade.

You are not shoveling or digging. The blade surface should simply be placed flat against the skin. As you pull the razor horizontally across the surface, the angled cutting blades will pick up and remove the hair. Let the blade do all the work. What about more difficult-to-reach areas such as way between your legs? The best approach to removing hair from this part of the pubic region is to use the “one leg up” approach. Position a stool or some other relatively tall object next to the sink, so you can rest one leg on it. When you do, your thigh will be horizontal to the floor.

Now bend your leg out to the side of your body as far as needed, and lean over to gain access to the area. Some women place a mirror on top of the stool to provide a better view. Is it a dignified position? Not at all, but it is effective.

Once you are positioned, the same rules we’ve already discussed apply to shaving this area. Make sure the lubricating gel fully covers the hair you’re going to shave. Then just run the blade along the surface. You do not need to push the blade into the skin. Just keep it flat on the surface of the skin and the cutting angles of the individual blades will take care of everything.

After shaving your pubes, clean the area and grab a hand-held mirror because it is time for another inspection. Unless you are very lucky, you will have missed a few hairs here and there. Instead of going through the whole shaving process again, grab your tweezers (the third tool) and remove those individual hairs.

Apply a High-Quality Moisturizer

What do you do when finished with any skin treatment? Right – you moisturize. This is still the rule when shaving the pubic region. Apply a quality moisturizer to the area, to help the skin recover from the shock of shaving.  An example of a high-quality moisturizer that can be used on the more intimate areas can be found on Amazon.

How Frequently Can I Shave?

A big problem with hair is that it grows back. That may lead you to try shaving every day. Don’t. Your skin will become irritated and the process intended to make you more beautiful will leave you with distinctly unattractive red skin. At most, you should only shave pubic hair every five days. A full seven-day waiting period is best.

If you are looking for alternatives to “the big shave” then continue reading below.

Hair Growth Inhibitor

Another product you might want to investigate is a hair growth inhibitor.  Apparently, they work by reducing the concentration of nutrients inside the hair follicle.

Note – Men and Woman can use this Product!

Pubic Area Shaving For Men

Why would men want to shave their pubic hair? There are several reasons.

For some men, pubic hair growth can be so prolific that National Geographic might call to ask about a photo shoot.

For others, a trim is necessary to appease a lover or as a requirement for activities like modeling, cycling or swimming. Whatever the reason, shaving pubic hair is not particularly difficult for most men.

“Manscaping” is the act of keeping one’s genital area nicely trimmed. Of course, you need to first decide what “trimmed” actually means to you. For some men, the process simply involves shaving the pubic region in areas where hair might make an unwanted appearance. Hairs poking out above the belt line or peeking from the sides of a bathing suit are not what most guys have in mind when they take off their shirt or go swimming.

Other men want to go all the way, removing all hair including the ones which grow on the scrotum. Either way, the process is not all that different than the one you use to shave your face.

Quick Tip – Taut Skin Is the Order of the Day

The key to a quality shave in the pubic area is taut skin. If you are like most men, your skin in this area is loose. That’s a good thing when you are sweating a lot during a workout or playing sports, but it creates a poor shaving surface. To effectively remove hair, you need a surface that’s as taut as a drum skin. In this regard, the penis is your friend. By lightly pulling it away from the area to be shaved, you should be able to create a firm shaving surface for hair removal.

Above the Penis

Shaving the area above the penis is simple. First, use scissors, an electric shaver, body groomer like Manscaped Lawn 4.0 or trimmer to reduce the hair down to less than a quarter of an inch in length. Then jump in the shower to clean the area and warm up the skin. Stay in the shower and apply a lubricating gel to the skin (make sure it is designed for sensitive skin like the GiGi shave gel), to prepare it for the shave.

Using a razor with new blades, remove the hair by making downward strokes in the direction of the hair growth, until you feel that you’re “done.” Do not apply aftershave following the procedure because the skin is too sensitive for that. Instead, use a simple moisturizer (once again use one designed for intimate areas like the Bare Intimate Shave Lotion above).

Around and Below

Access is the key to shaving around and below the penis area. To gain access, try placing one leg up on the bathroom sink. If you are not flexible enough to do that, use a chair. Once you have one leg up, you should be able to bend over and gain access to the target areas by bending your leg out from your body.

You will have to get creative by pulling the skin this way and that, in order to create a surface the blade can work on, but stick with it and you’ll get the hang of it.

The Scrotum – for the Adventurous and the Brave

Prefer a smooth scrotum? It should go without saying that introducing a sharp blade to the surface of your scrotum is something that should be undertaken with great care. The process for shaving your scrotum is much different than the rest of your pubic area. The first step is to trim the hairs growing on the testicles with scissors. Do not use an electric device; these hairs are so thin that they can get caught in the device and yanked out of the scrotum. To call that experience “painful” would be a major understatement.

Once the area is trimmed, stack a few pillows on a bed and lie on them, using the pillows to support your head and upper back. Bend your legs out to the side like a woman giving birth. Pull the penis up towards your stomach to tighten the skin. Then slowly and carefully run the razor across any random hairs. Do not push down on the razor – just let the blades do the work. Go slowly…and carefully. A “nick” on the scrotum is unpleasant, to say the least. Once done, consider using a moisturizer to firm things up.

Why no mention of shaving gel for this area? The hairs on the scrotum tend to be placed far apart. Shaving gel makes it difficult to see the hairs and you don’t want to shave an area of the scrotum where there it’s not necessary. It is far simpler to just go after the hairs one by one, and then use moisturizer afterward to treat the skin.

Gents, if you are looking for other ways to impress, read Groom+Style’s fun article 25 Grooming Tips For Men by Women.

Slightly Painful Alternative To Shaving Pubic Hair – Waxing

Is there an alternative to shaving your pubic region? Yes, but you might think twice before giving it a try. The most popular and effective technique is to undergo a wax removal. The process starts with a person spreading hot wax on your pubic hair. A strip of sturdy paper is patted down on top of the wax causing it to adhere to the wax. The wax is then allowed to cool until it hardens completely.

Now comes the fun part.

The technician grabs one end of the paper and then rips it into the air from one end to the other. Up comes the paper and the wax attached to it. As the wax is pulled away from your skin, it yanks out the pubic hair as well. The bad news? This process has to be repeated multiple times – during each session – to remove all the desired hair. There are two primary problems associated with waxing.

First, you are fully exposed to the person doing the waxing. If you are a modest person, this is definitely not for you.

The second problem is, as you might guess, the pain. It is not uncommon for people to cry during waxing. Not only is pubic hair being yanked out of the skin, but waxing causes major trauma to the very sensitive skin in the pubic area. Combine these two factors and it is easy to see how anyone could end up whimpering.

For most people, shaving their own pubic area is a better solution. Not only is there no pain, but it can be done in private.  However, if you are keen to try waxing, which can produce an arguably smoother look, Groom+Style has written a detailed article How To Do Your Own Brazilian Wax At Home.

Less Painful Alternatives to Shaving Pubic Hair

There are three additional options you might want to consider if you decide shaving and waxing/epilation are not for you: electrolysis, laser hair removal and depilatory creams.

Ingrown Hairs – Something to Watch out For

Anytime you shave with a razor there is the chance of getting ingrown hairs.  They are annoying and frustrating, so Groom+Style has written another article which is recommended reading, to further understand how to remove and prevent ingrown hairs.

In Closing

It’s not hard to learn how to shave your pubic area, and the task is relatively easy once you get the hang of it. Follow the guidelines in this article and you should be able to do it without thinking, after a few weeks of practice.