Craig of That Dapper Chap shares five of his top tips for looking and feeling your best in 2016 in the first part of this series
It's proven that if you look good, you feel good and who doesn't want to feel good right? It's also important that we make the best of ourselves for our partners. Making an effort with your own appearance shows that you want to look your best for them. If you're with them, they're worth making the effort for.
 |
| Time for a trim from Hairdresser of the Year Jamie Stevens |
In the first part of this three part series we're going to look at hair, Face, Eyebrows, beard and moustaches and ears.
#1 HAIR
Whatever your style the first thing to do is to get it trimmed regularly. That's every 3 to 5 weeks, depending upon how quickly your hair grows and how long it is. If you maintain a short style I'd recommend getting a trim every three weeks. Make an appointment for three weeks time when you leave. That way you won't miss the three week slot. Nobody wants to see straggly unkempt hair with split ends.
Secondly, know your shampoo. Your barber should be able to advise you on the type of shampoo to use, as you need to make sure you have one that suits your hair type. You wouldn't want to use a moisturising shampoo on hair that tends to get greasy quickly for example.
Use Conditioner
I avoid 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioners as you're unable to control the amount of each that you use. Again choose a conditioner for your hair type and use it regularly. Shampoo your hair, rinse it, apply the conditioner and then leave it on while you wash the rest of your body to give it time to do its thing. Rinse it out thoroughly and you'll instantly feel the difference.Use Product
To keep your hair from looking like you've just got out of bed and offering a more styled and groomed look (like you've made an effort) use a product. There are millions out there and it'd take me a year to talk about them all.
I recommend products by American Crew and have recently completed a style challenge using their products HERE. I promise I am not being paid to say this, I genuinely like the products. I love the fact that they are all water based and will easily wash out.
If your hair is thin or you want to get some real thickness and height, use the boost powder, if you want a very sleek look, go for the pomade. For an every day look, use the forming cream.
Hairdresser of the year and celebrity stylist Jamie Stevens has a great range of products for thinning hair called MR. Jamie Stevens, they're available online and in store at Boots. He also has a great range of videos on his YouTube Channel showing us how to use them.
#2 FACE
It's the first thing that people look at, if your face is greasy or dry and flaky its not a good look. Don't be afraid to moisturise! it's 2016 not 1950, get with the program. Maybe you think that just woken up, haggard look is sexy, maybe it is but wear it knowing that you've specifically engineered the look. That means treating those black circles under your eyes and removing the yellow crusts from the corners. Urghhhh.
Get Moist
If you wash your face in the morning and it's greasy by mid morning, don't get a very oily moisturiser, buy one specifically for oily skin. Murad do a great oil control solution that helps maintain a matte look to your skin.
If on the flip side your skin is dry, use one for dry skin. Makes sense right? Just make sure that you do not have a skin condition such as Psoriasis or Eczema or Dermatitis before you use any new products and get this treated by your GP.
If your skin is just dry you may simply need to drink more water! An easy solution and one that will make you less tired, stop you over eating and brighten your skin.
 |
| The Aésop Mandarin Facial Hydrating Cream £33.00 |
I'm currently using the Gentlemen's Tonic Daily Moisturiser. Founded in London's mayfair they have a solid range of men's products. This moisturiser is made from essential oils and is very easily absorbed plus it smells great.
 |
| The Gentleman's Tonic Daily Moisturiser £26.00 |
Masks aren't just for Halloween
It removes impurities, and controls excess oils and shine. Its unique formula contains powerful ingredients, including kaolin clay, witch hazel and zinc oxide to exfoliate and unblock clogged pores, revealing healthy looking skin.
#3 EYEBROWS
When you're tending your beard, please take two minutes to check that your eyebrows aren't trying to take over the world. My eyebrows were fine until I hit 30 then hair started sprouting furiously from all sorts of odd places and my eyebrows decided to shoot out three or four long thick hairs that could catch on fencing or easily strangle a passerby.
Don't pluck them! you don't want to look like a drag queen or an extra from The Only Way Is Essex. Over groomed brows on a guy look ridiculous. Just wet a finger, brush them upwards and use the trim function on your shaver to trim the long hairs back to a reasonable length.
 |
| An example of over groomed brows. Don't let this be you! Image courtesy of Esquire Magazine |
If you can't be bothered to do them yourself or are scared that you'll remove too much and leave yourself looking like an alien, your barber will tackle them bravely from an extra couple of quid.
If they're a little unruly, use a tiny tab of hair product to calm them into place but don't colour them. Ever. For any reason. Ever!
#4 EARS
As I elluded to above, hairs decides to introduce itself to new and unexpected parts of your anatomy once a certain age is reached. Call it maturity, the new grown ups puberty, call it what you will, I call it annoying and unsightly! Particularly when your ear hair is grey like mine is. What's that about!?
One rule here. Get rid of it. Nobody wants to nibble on your hairy earlobes! You might need a couple of carefully placed mirrors to see exactly what you're doing but please do it. Use a little tool like the Whal wet and dry trimmer. The £6.00 is well worth it.
 |
| The Wahl wet and dry trimmer. £5.99 |
#5 BEARDS & MOUSTACHES
Beards are big. Big news and big in stature. If you're one of the converted please spend some time on it to keep it looking good.
Keep Trim
Every beard looks better when it's had some love and affection. Your barber will quickly and deftly get it in shape but if you're confident you can achieve the same results at home with a multi functional trimmer like the Trevor Sorbie Stay Sharp Grooming set
 |
| The multifunctional beard trimmer from Trevor Sorbie, now £29.99 |
Give it a Treat
When I say give it a treat, I don't mean with crumbs of food. Be vigilent here and comb your beard through. No prospective love interest wants to be showered with pork pie crumbs or cornflakes when they come in for a snog.
 |
| The Carter & Bond comb £12.00 |
Use a beard wash regularly and also comb it through. Treating it with a good beard oil will keep it smooth and supple, nobody wants to get a rash from your scratchy beard on their face, neck or any where else for that matter!
 |
| Beardsley Ultra Shampoo £12.71 |
 |
| Recipe for men Beard Elixir £19.00 |
If you're a guy with one of those super impressive moustaches like mr Greg T. Brown that needs shaping, get yourself some moustache wax. Just a dab and a little twist of the finger tips will give you that vintage syle that's so on trend right now.
 |
| Mr Greg T. Brown doing it right |
 |
| Luck Tiger Moustache Wax £8.50 |
So, employ a couple or all of these techniques and you'll soon be looking great and walking with a spring in your step, leaving a fresh and masculine scent in your wake.
Next time we're going to look at nose, lips & teeth, so keep an eye out for that and check back soon.
No comments
Post a Comment