Posts Tagged ‘men’s grooming tips’
Even my most macho guy friends are fans of tooth whitening – and it can make a HUGE improvement in your looks. Sadly, up to now, drugstore whiteners haven’t been known for their rapid turnaround: Lightening only happened in tiny increments, and you had to stick to the program for weeks to see results. Brighter whites and instant gratification required a pricy trip to the dentist. Surprisingly, however, Crest’s new 3D Whitestrips Professional Effects (now available at Walmart) have enhanced the at-home whitening process dramatically.
The highlights:
1) It’s easier: The strips stay put and don’t leave a messy residue, and you only have to wear them 30 minutes a day.
2) It’s much faster: You’ll see a much brighter smile after just 3 days, and achieve impressive, lasting, professional-level whitening in 20.
Simplicity at its best, no?
Love,
Loren
(image via butter.la)A Hollywood hair-repair guru and champion of botanical treatments, Philip B. is accustomed to midnight calls from panicked stars with fried, damaged strands and frizz. Now, to celebrate the re-launch of his award-winning, eco-friendly hair care line, he’s fielding questions from the rest of us. Write to him with your most pressing hair issues at PhilipB.com; he’ll personally answer as many letters as he can, free of charge. How great is that?
Love,
Loren
Stubble can have such a sexy, laid-back vibe – for about two days. After that, you’ll probably start hearing complaints about your facial foliage, and not just from your mother. (According to BBC Radio 1, a group of scientists did a study that found that only 9 percent of women think beards are sexy. Go figure.) What’s the secret to containing your mighty growth and faking three-day stubble all year round? We like an electric beard-trimmer, used on the lowest setting, but it’s all about personal preference. How do you keep your stubble in check?
Stylists say go short — the comb-over might work for The Donald, Prince Charles and Gary Oldman in DarkHawk, but on everyone else it’s strictly a no-go. Plus, the super-short style says practical, job-interview-friendly, and cool in every sense of the word.
Which look do you prefer? (a) the buzz –short and textured. Examples include Bruce Willis, Jason Statham and Kobe Bryant…
Bruce Willis
Kobe Bryant
Love,
Loren
And now, a few indispensible tricks from The Gentleman’s Guide to Life – a highly useful and totally hilarious book by Steve Friedman, a former GQ senior editor, award-winning sportswriter and one of the most brilliant, charming and well-shaved guys we know.
- “If you’re a blade man (about 70 percent of you are), shave after you shower. The hot water and steam soften your beard. (A new generation of fog-proof mirrors makes shaving while you shower a viable alternative.)
- When you’re lathered and ready, start at the sideburns and make short strokes in the direction of your beard’s growth. The neck follows the cheeks, and the upper lip and chin come last. That’s because whiskers there are the thickest and you want to give them the most time to soften up under all the foam.
- Once you’re done, don’t forget to wash… You’ve just removed an entire layer of dead skin… and spread a bunch of bacteria around your kisser. So wash up. And slap on some aftershave. No, no, not the stuff that feels like battery acid and smells like eau de Adman. That’s the old-fashioned, alcohol-based stuff that tightens your pores and dries out your skin. These days, aftershave is all about moisturizing and healing, rather than “stings like hell.” Even the products that contain alcohol also usually have moisturizer.
- If you’re one of the 10 percent of American men who suffer from razor burn, and you can’t face the prospect of a beard, be gentle. Easy does it. If the shave isn’t close enough for your taste, try shaving twice, but gently. On days when burn is really bad, buy an over-the-counter ointment with 1 percent hydrogen peroxide.”
Steve adds that if you have money to burn, you should go to The Art of the Shave barber shop in New York. “There’s no closer shave,” he says. “Also, use one of the new, quadruple-head, vibrating razors from Gillette [available at Wal-Mart, Kmart and Drugstore.com]. You’ll never want to use a regular blade again.”
Maca Root Shave Cream – a light, skin-softening cream with soothing aloe, Peruvian maca root and Community Trade sesame seed oil to protect and condition the skin, $16 at The Body Shop
Love,
Loren
It is never too early to start protecting your skin. You should always wear sunscreen even if you are not sunbathing. But if you are in your late 20’s or early 30’s and you have been in the sun, you probably are starting to see the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Help is here and without that hefty price tag of department store creams that promise to reverse the signs of aging. These creams can sometimes cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Check out Cellular Laboratories De-Aging Day Creme SPF 20 and the Cellular Laboratories De-Aging Eye Creme, both of these products provide quick results. They lessen the appearance of wrinkles and provide a lift effect making you look younger and refreshed.
Love,
Loren
Lots of men know how to make a cocktail, but when it comes to cocktailing hair products, they’re generally pretty clueless. Recommended by hairstylists, it’s one of my favorite frizz-fighting tricks — and one that’s especially useful when the barometer soars:
- Put a dab of hair gel in your palm.
- Mix in an equal size dab of pomade or styling lotion, like Kiehl’s Crème With Silk Groom or Sebastian’s Potion 9. (If your hair is super-unruly, use more gel than pomade.)
- Run the mixture through your hair and slick it back. The gel factor offers hold and control; the styling lotion element adds moisture to ward off frizz and keep things real (i.e, sexy and touchable vs. the severely gelled, Gordon Gekko, “my hair won’t budge even in a wind-tunnel” effect.)
Love,
Loren
