Male grooming is something that men either do quickly or at great length. It could be as simple as jumping in the shower once a day or it could be as involved as bathing with special shampoos, conditioners, facial washes, body washes and skin tonic items that make a man look and feel his best. It is all individual to the man and what he feels he needs, and is comfortable with doing. Aftershave for men has been around for a long time, and the original aftershave may have been a witch hazel or bay rum tonic water.
There are many reasons why men use aftershave. For one thing the alcohol in aftershave closes the pores which have been opened by the hot water that is used while shaving. Also, the alcohol in the aftershave kills bacteria, thereby disinfecting the skin, which prevents infection from dirty razor blades. Sometimes aftershave contains soothing ingredients that can help soothe skin that got burned by shaving. These products are handy for someone who is using aftershave to prevent skin irritation. In many ways, using aftershave after shaving helps a man’s skin feel better.
Some men don’t like the sting of traditional aftershave and cologne, so they don’t use it. For this problem there are aftershave lotions and aftershave balms available that contain aloe, lanolin and Vitamin E to heal the skin and help it recover quickly from shaving. Botanical aftershave balms are all-natural and usually have little to no scent, while designer aftershave lotions or balms come in the same fragrance as a favorite cologne and can be used to layer scent for longer-lasting fragrance, not to mention the benefit of additional skin care.
Another reason men like to use aftershave is because it has a fragrance to it and it makes men feel like they’re more attractive. This is actually a scientific fact; the fragrance in aftershave mixes with a male’s body chemistry and turns into a scent that is more attractive than the scent straight out of the bottle. The same is true for women. When a woman puts on a particular cologne, it smells uniquely different on her than it does on another woman — even her sister. This is all due to body chemistry. Everybody’s pheromones combine with the perfume oils in cologne and aftershave in a different manner.
Because the scent of an aftershave mixes with your body chemistry, it is important not to use too much aftershave. This is one case where too much of a good thing is very apropos. About the size of a dime is plenty of aftershave. The proper method of applying aftershave it to put it on the palms of the hand, rub the hands briskly together, then pat the face and neck briskly until the aftershave has transferred from the hands to the areas that were shaved.
The difference between aftershave and cologne is that aftershave contains between one and three percent of perfume oil, as opposed to cologne that contains between four and eight percent oil. Additionally, aftershave contains soothing ingredients like aloe vera and moisturizers, whereas cologne does not. For this reason, the fragrance of aftershave does not last as long as that of cologne. For men who want their fragrance to last longer, it is advised that they layer some cologne on top of their aftershave. In this case they would apply aftershave onto the skin that they shaved and then spritz a few little sprays of cologne over their body afterward, they can even add an additional layer of scent by using a deodorant for men from the same fragrance product line. This should make them smell nice all day long.
When considering gifts to give a guy, aftershave is probably one of the first things to think of. But if it’s not known what scent he likes, there’s not need to worry about giving him the wrong scent. A recent trend in aftershave for men indicates that men like to wear different aftershaves for different occasions and different aftershaves based on what they’re going to be doing or what kind of mood they’re in.
This is different from the past when a man stuck with his particular scent for most of his entire life. Many people remember their fathers and grandfathers by the scents they wore. In fact, it may have been Brut or Old Spice that they wore, as those were two of the most popular aftershaves for men in the not-so-distant past.
However, nowadays, the younger generation tends to keep several different aftershave fragrances on hand, and use one for daytime, one for date night, one for going to a ball game with the guys, and so forth. The variety and accessibility of so many different aftershaves on the market make it possible for young men to change up their aftershaves whenever the mood strikes them.
While it won’t do much to stop body odor, wearing aftershave can be a very nice part of the male grooming ritual. For men who are not accustomed to wearing an aftershave, finding one that has a scent that they like would be the first step. It’s okay to be adventurous with aftershave! After all, the fragrance really doesn’t last all that long.
