Craig of That Dapper Chap shares more top essential grooming tips for looking good and feeling great.
PUCKER UP
nobody wants to kiss a guy with sore chapped lips, so if you want to be kissed more, look after your lips.The skin on your lips is thinner than on most parts of your body. Add the sun, wind, heating, sweating from the gym and chlorinated swimming pool water and you can easily have dry, flaky and sore lips. On my recent shoot for Base London shoes I was stood on a London rooftop in the sun and wind. At the end of the shoot my lips were really dry. I made the mistake of licking them repeatedly to make them moist. Saliva makes dry lips drier. It's medically proven. The next day my lips were flaky and very sore. So, what did I use to ease the pain and get my pucker back?
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| Dry sore lips. Image courtesy of NHS.uk |
At work the next day a friend offered me some Burts' Bees lip balm (£3.70) and it worked wonders. With the natural healing power of honey it instantly soothed my lips.
Other recommended products are the Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm with black tea (£5.44) and Lab Series Pro Lip Balm (£8). All have free delivery with Mankind.co.uk. And if you're stuck for a quick fix and only have a pound in your pocket grab a lipsalve from Boots.
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| Applying some lip balm. A part of my daily routine |
KNOW YOUR NOSE
There are three things I want to cover here and the first is nasal hair. When us blokes get to a certain age we start to sprout hairs from all sorts of unexpected places. One of these places is the nostrils. Nasal hair is unsightly and needs to be removed!Yes, you can grab them with your fingernails and yank them out while watching TV with eye watering consequences, but whoever you're watching that Swedish crime drama with isn't going to thank you or want to jump in the sack with you once the show finishes! You could also risk snipping your skin by using scissors, but a less painful and more gentlemanly way to get rid of it is to use a trimmer specially designed for the job. The Panasonic ER-GN30 trimmer will do the job for just £11 and is available from Amazon
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| Trim your nose hair once a week for best results |
Just pop in some batteries and after switching it on gently place the blade end into each nostril and slowly move it up and down and around in circles to clip away the hairs. Please promise me that you'll do this in the privacy of your bathroom as no one needs to see you doing this!
This is clearly an issue for us men as there are many of these available, and all leading brands offer one. You can spend as much or as little as you like. In fact I've even seen them in my local pound shop.
A GREASY HOOTER
If your nose gets oily you need to consider your washing routine. I'd recommend a moisturising face wash and a good moisturiser. One of the most common reasons for oily skin is using too many products that dry the skin. The skin then goes into overdrive and over produces oils to compensate.
If like me you get a bit greasy but have meetings to attend, always keep a pack of blotting sheets handy like the Shiseido Pureness Oil Control Blotting Papers Sheets at £18.50 for 100 sheets from Mankind.co.uk it's just 18 pence for a less shiny face. Just pop into the gents and have a quick wipe before that meeting.
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| The oil control blotting sheets available from Mankind |
BUST THE BLACKHEADS
The last nasal nuisance a lot of us suffer from is blackheads. Don't be tempted to dig at them with dirty fingernails. All you'd do is make yourself bleed and infect the area and make yourself look worse than you did to begin with.
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| Blackheads. Image courtesy of SkinStitut.com |
Blackheads are usually caused by an overproduction of oil which blocks the pores. Because they are open to the air the Sebum (oil) becomes oxidised making the top of the plug black. Ewww. Lesson over, lets get shot of them.
You may think that extra scrubbing will get rid of them. Wrong. In fact this will help increase the production of Sebum and may make the mater worse. If you suffer very badly with blackheads and acne I'd recommend you see your GP as they may wish to prescribe an antibiotic treatment.
Professional treatment for significant cases aside, you may wish to try Dr Lowe Deep Down Clearing Mask. The mask uses Niacinamide, Zinc and Time Release Salicylic Acid to remove excess surface oil and encourage cell renewal. It calms damaged skin and has Eucalyptus Leaf Extract which acts as an anti-microbial agent to stop bacterial growth. Get yours from Mankind for £38
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| Yours truly getting ready to mask up |
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| Add a good layer of mask for the best results and relax for a few minutes while it does its thing |
After I'd applied the mask my face tingled a little but once I'd rinsed it off my skin felt very soft and fresh. I then followed that with Hydra Energetic Gel for skin and stubble by L'Oreal Men Expert. This has a great fresh smell and makes your skin feel great. It's fortified with vitamin E leaving you feeling refreshed. I like it and will be using it regularly.
Another great thing to use are Bioré Nose Strips. The Ultra Deep Cleansing Pore Strips claim to remove 2 x more blackheads. Each box costs £7.99 and contains 6 strips, but Boots currently have an offer of £4 off so go grab a bargain.
To use them just open a packet, twist the strip a little to loosen it and to open the little slits (which helps with the fit) Then you wash your face and peel of the plastic liner before wetting your nose thoroughly and slapping one on.
After 15 minutes you will have the most gratifying of experiences as you peel the strip off, pulling with it the contents of your blocked pores. It is so satisfying seeing these horrid little spikes sticking up from the discarded strip.
So now we have your nose looking it's best, next time we're going to cover 'smell', from combatting B.O. to great fragrances.
Feel free to drop me a line to tell me about your experiences, I'd love to hear from you.
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