How does your personal care regimen conform to or deviate from what is considered normal for your age and gender?

[ertyu]

How have you personally optimized personal care and grooming and why? There was a separate thread discussing people cutting their own hair, which I think many of us here do (I do as well). But also, the trend in advertising and retail is to always try to persuade people to use more products and procedures rather than less, and to extend the use of existing products to populations who might not have used them before (a most notable successful case, for example, being male make-up adoption in South Korea).

Now, ideologically, I believe boys deserve nice-smelling things, too, and that people should use whatever products they want to -- so this thread is certainly not an instance of, "whoa look at those stupid men, how lame of them to get themselves persuaded to do female things." Nor an instance of, "wow look at them superficial thots how much money and time they spend on bullshit." It is in the ERE spirit, imo, to move beyond thinking informed by common stereotype and prejudice and towards conscious strategy homotelic with other goals in web, etc. "It makes me happy," "it makes it more likely that I benefit from serendipity if I am closer to conventionally attractive" and so on are all legitimate ideas. The most important thing imo is for our strategy to be consciously chosen.

To what extent is your own personal strategy consciously chosen? To what extent have you chosen to conform with norms that are applicable to you in your society/location and why? What ERE-congruent ways have you found to implement your strategy?

[J_]

Difficult to answer without be vainglorious.

Age: seventies, male

adage: Growing older, staying fit

How? by avoiding life traps

a Permanent study of healthy nutrition, how my body reacts best on food. Only meals self made from scratch. Hardly eating out. No alcohol.

b Avoiding sports with heavy impact on joints. I have abandoned horse riding, jogging and downhill skiing

c Doing daily one or more of these sports: rowing, kettle bell, cross country skiing, walking, cycling, swimming, kayaking.

d Avoiding any medication other than food. Avoiding GP's and Hospitals and other health carers as long as possible, longest period: last 20 years, except a broken leg 16 years ago.

e No television or netflix, hardly any telefon calls answering, only sms and whatsapp to friends or business. Keep my mind as
onbothered (for things I cannot change) as possible.

f Enough sleep (for me at least 8 hours) is as important as the things I mention above.

g Enjoying life and be curious (like this forum), easthetics in art and buildings, ships, cars, aeroplanes, bicycles, furniture, interiors, gardens, music.
Interacting with people. (difficult for me: how to accept the changes in climate, and bad human behavior in general)

e Making my environment as good and develop my skills to reach g in my daily life. Keep my impact on "the" environment at least below average impact.

@Ertyu: its up to you to consider how this is conform with norms.
I have noticed that most people think they are eating healthy but when I see what they eat it is not. Further I do not know people without television (or netflix).

[Jean]

male 34
Don't wash my teeth, no cavities anyway. I do flush and scrape them regularly with water, but it's more a way of drinking water and keeping my hand and tongue busy rather than a routine.
Wash my ass and all the surounding area with water after pooping. It makes full body shower much less nescessary, because it is the area that tend to command a shower the soonest.
I only cut facial hairs every few months, skull hairs every few years, other hairs never get cut. I wash with only water, except my hand that get soap.
I think most care product are an equal waste of time and ressource wathever one's gender.

[Dream of Freedom]

I guess my routine is fairly normal. The strangest thing I do is that I blow my nose before bed whether I need to or not. Just clearing the airway to ensure I'm not breathing through the mouth all night which can contribute to all sorts of problems. It's not that extreme some people in the biohacking community actually tape the mouth shut.

[basuragomi]

I haven't used shampoo or soap on my hair in something like 15 years. As far as I remember, it takes about 3 weeks after a shampoo to feel normal again. Oddly, people seem to regard this as being interesting or admirable rather than just being fast and free with a better result than shampoo. I guess it's because many men here don't think much about hair care and women have been previously exposed to the concept in a positive context. I don't style my hair for other reasons which works well with the no shampoo method.

I shave with a double-edged safety razor. This went from "weird and suspicious" to "cool and retro" over the time that I've been doing it. I use generic unscented moisturizer as a shaving cream and aftershave. Soap-based lathers, foams and alcohol aftershaves are inferior in effect, more expensive and way less convenient. Moisturizer can also be used on hands etc. in winter.

I wash my hands thoroughly with soap and water any time I use the washroom. Sadly, this is pretty rare, especially for men.

[fiby41]

Only product I don't use generic is Himalaya Herbal's anti-acne cream (if that's what you're asking) but due to the present situation I'm still on the same tube which was bought 15 days into the lockdown. Never used to wash hair in school.

[ertyu]

hahaha and here i thought i was being radical by keeping a single bar of soap and forgoing body wash. interested about the no washing hair - doesn't it get very oily and smelly? mine always does.

in the past, i have experimented with brushing teeth with baking soda instead of toothpaste, but it didn't stick as a habit. i do use toothpaste but use it sparingly. one tube seems to last me forever. researched diy options on youtube such as mixing baking soda with coconut oil and brushing with that, but was not convinced in cost savings. seems like this diy toothpaste would not last as long.

[Alphaville]

as a heterosexual cis-male my inertial tendency is to not give a shit and quickly grow disheveled. but this is bad for sex and social life. so i regularly shave my patchy beard and follow up with proraso. i’m currently using an electric machine because i failed to bring my merkur safety razor to this apartment while attempting minimalism. thanks, fumio!

my wife likes the smell of proraso: it’s not a fancy cologne, just a nice conifer scent.

otherwise i just rub my face post-shave with witchhazel solution, which heals whatever damage, but doesn’t smell great.

for shaving i tried a straight razor shavette with shark brand inserts, but it leaves my face bloody and irritated. not sure i’ll ever be ready for a true straight razor. i need new shaving soap and brush first. we’ll see...

as for eccentricities, i’m sporting a massive jewfro more suitable for a 20-something hipster than for a man in advancing middle age, but (again) my wife likes it, and especially at my age, if you’ve got it, flaunt it (sorry bald guys, i have to compete, don’t hate me for it).

i got skin prone to dryness and irritation so i use hippy body washes: alaffia, giant bottle. the jewfro requires non-violent shampoos and conditioners, so biolage something something does the trick: hydra-whatever.

we tried no-soap washing during the pandemic, to deal with scarcities, and it’s fairly manageable, but my armpits will smell like concentrated nacho-flavored doritos under such conditions: intense alcoholic-garbage umami (bacteria+yeast+degraded protein/dna i guess).

so i normally just follow the george carlin recommendations for washing: https://youtu.be/X29lF43mUlo?t=345

i need to shampoo about once a week, maybe less. i know when it starts to get greasy/matted.

what else, i forget. oh yes i floss daily, or more. flossing is more important than brushing teeth.

[mooretrees]

@Alphaville, your post made me smile!

For a woman I'm a tiny bit odd in that I don't dye my hair and am more on the silver hair side than black hair. I started going gray in my early 30's (I'm 43 now). I rarely wear makeup, never wear nail polish (I literally feel like I can't use my hands when I have nail polish on), and lately have only been wearing my wedding ring for jewelry. Also, due to the gray hair, I never play the 'guess my age' game, it doesn't work out well.

We've switched to apple cider vinegar for hair rinsing, and I'm lucky in that my hair doesn't get greasy even after a week of not washing. If my hair did get greasy, I'd try going the no shampoo route.

Most of these actions are really due to a basic laziness and a small amount of f-you to normal standards of female beauty. Even as a child I hated bathing, and I often can't remember when I last showered. I wish I had not started shaving my legs when I was a teenage as I can't seem to let my leg hair grow without getting irritated with how it looks. If I didn't shave my legs, I wouldn't need a razor. I am less self-conscious about hairy armpits, but will wear homemade deodorant to control any body odor. The changes we've made since starting our ERE journey include making deodorant, vinegar for hair, and DH switching to a safety razor (I'll switch when I run out of my crappy disposables).

[7Wannabe5]

I recently chopped off my hair, releasing vast multitude of cowlicks, and attempted to return to my natural color speckled with gray. I couldn’t do it. I woke up one morning, Looked in the mirror, and the thought I had was that my hair looked like a pile of bear poop.

However, it really wasn’t vanity that drove me to once again immerse my head in peroxide solution; more like a desire to not give up on the part of my personality that wanted to “have more fun” when I first went blonde at age 14 in the midst of mad Rod Stewart fan crush. I don’t want to be so serious about everything. I like for my hair to be more like the color of sunshine and less like the color of dirt. It makes me happy.

[ThriftyRob]

I don't use hair shampoo. I wash my hair under the shower. I'm experimenting with an 'up and down' body wash using the basin and a wash cloth as an alternative to showering every day.

I shave with a double-edge blade, using a Rockwell 6S razor. Gillette 7 o' clock blades work as well as any I have tried. I use Elemis shave gel (an indulgence but I was given a free sample and it worked so well I couldn't go back to plain shaving soap). I have a collection of deodorants and anti-perspirants which I bought while seeking the 'holy grail' (spoiler - there isn't one!) which I use in rotation. I occasionally dab on some Floris' Jermyn Street eau de parfum (gift from DD) when I'm going to be amongst a herd of men wearing after shave.

I have a fancy Korean tooth brush with silver bristles, which is supposed to kill bacteria in the mouth and I buy the cheapest toothpaste at the supermarket.

[Stahlmann]

semi enlighted comment from other tab in my browser from somebody closer to left behind class of current times.
btw, poster claims to be German.

Haven't cut my hair since Coroner locks; it looks like picrel now. [photo of not so famous UC math PhD]

I wear it as a status symbol.
Why would a status symbol always have to be expensive shit? I announce my NEET status with my appearance so that wagies don't get any funny ideas - like talking about their lowly consumerism with me. lmao
FUCK society

[chenda]

This is an area where I definitely prefer to follow social norms. I won't leave the house without showering and I'm a bit obsessive about dental hygiene and hair dyeing and hair removal. Though I only do a very simple make up routine, wear minimal jewellery and wear the same outfit most days (just jeans and a black top) so its not like it takes a lot of time or money really. I think Jacob once said that soap manufacturing is one of the wonders of industrial civilisation which is why its so cheap...

[Freedom_2018]

I am very meticulous about all aspects of my hygiene (daily shower 1-2 times, brushing with soft brush 2x including back of tongue etc, flossing 1-2x, use deodorant, cologne etc. ) and and having a sensitive nose I really can't much stand people who smell bad.

Used to work with a guy who smelt so bad that I literally had to hold my breath near him. His 'everything is better in Canada' attitude further added to the stink. Surprisingly he had a Japanese wife who seemed meticulous about her hygiene. I still can't fathom how she could have shared a bed with him.

Only grooming quirk I think is that I discovered it was cheaper to use the two blade disposable razors from Dollar Tree than the increasingly blunt (I think they are doing it deliberately to increase sales) Gillette razors.

[Toska2]

I soak a shirt with sweat 5-7 days a week from May to October. I shower daily or more because of this. I keep my hair buzzed short, shave the pits and rarely use deodorant. I use a safety razor, which I go without soap/cream sometimes.

[Hristo Botev]

Fun topic.

I use a Merkur safety razor to shave my face and head; I finally ditched the Gillette razors early last year when they did that stupid "toxic masculinity" thing (I know, I'm "that guy"). I shave my face every other day, and my head about twice a week. I normally use Barbasol or its store brand equivalent, because it's cheap and I can use it in the shower. I own a shaving brush and I've used Proraso shaving cream in the past, which I really like (feels great to use and smells nicely), but the whole process of mixing up the cream into a froth and applying it with the brush takes longer than I'm normally willing to dedicate to something I can do in about 1/3 of the time in the shower. When I started with the safety razor I definitely needed the brush and the shaving cream to prevent cuts, etc., but now I've got the hang of the razor and so am fine using it on my face and head with just Barbasol or even with just soap when I'm traveling.

A bar of soap for my body and head; no hair to wash. I use whatever deodorant is the cheapest (usually Speed Stick), and lately I've stopped using anti-perspirants with aluminum. I don't know if aluminum is really bad for me or if that's just some stupid thing get anxious about, but antiperspirants don't seem to work for me anyway, and it seems like they leave my shirts stained more than when I just deodorant; not sure if that's actually true.

Floss daily. I've had one of those Sonicare brushes for about 15 years at this point, which I like, but of course the replacement brushes are really expensive.

When I travel my dopp kit is pretty light: bar of soap, safety razor, floss, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant.

My one really frou frou personal care indulgence, which I admit here only under the cloak of anonymity, is that I get my back waxed twice a year before beach trips. We did the DIY thing at home one time, and although DW got some sort of sexual pleasure out of torturing me, I'm not that kind of guy.

[jacob]

Floss daily. I've had one of those Sonicare brushes for about 15 years at this point, which I like, but of course the replacement brushes are really expensive.

If you're just looking for a generic replacement brush w/o the bells and whistles of the fancier ones, Walmart sells cheaper ones under the store brand (Equate).

E.g. https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=equate%20sonicare

[Hristo Botev]

Thanks @Jacob. I should say that the only times I buy the Sonicare brand replacement brushes are when I'm at Costco with someone with a membership; otherwise the Equate replacements work just fine, but they are still expensive. I've just gotten used to using an electric brush, and my dentist always seems to tell me that I should. Probably all BS.

[AxelHeyst]

I noticed if I shower and soap whole body, I smell ripe once I sweat, for about two days, and then my odor becomes neutral days 3/4–>. For 4-5 days after showering, I’ll feel “sticky”, but this sensation too fades. So ideally, I just wash my balls as needed and jump in a lake whenever I like for a rinse. I haven’t had a real shower since mid June. I also only wear natural fibers, and often ventilate and “uv sterilize” garments a couple times for reuse instead of washing. My Wool and Prince wool (duh) underwear are a key component of my hygiene system.

I have long hair, past my shoulders, after ~a month of no shampoo it became less greasy and acceptable to me.

I started doing this mostly because of living on the road / not being motivated to find a shower every other day. It’s now my ‘normal’ whether I have access to a shower or not.

Straight razor with coconut oil+Shea butter cream for around the beard and neck, scissors for length and shape. I only straight razor when I have access to hot running water, which isn’t often: I can trim the cheeks and under beard adequately with the beard scissors in the lean times.

This isn’t normal for a NA 30’s male probably, but it’s unremarkable for the people I actually spend time with.

[ertyu]

I noticed if I shower and soap whole body, I smell ripe once I sweat, for about two days, and then my odor becomes neutral days 3/4–>.

this way lie dragons. your odor "becoming neutral" might just be you getting accustomed to it while you appear just as stinky to anyone new you meet.