grooming products

[julian6]

hey guys,
My gf recently left to go to camp for a little over a month and took the good soap so I got left with the crappy soap thats almost all gone...which is fine with me because that means I get to pick what I want to use next!  Any recommendations of what you prefer (or stay away from) to keep you feeling and smelling good in and outside the shower?  face wash, body wash, shampoo, shaving cream, hair products, etc. I don't need deodorant though - happy with my current kind.  I have 0 experience dealing with men's brands so any advice would be appreciated.
thanks

[Nygeel]

I use a neutrogina exfoliant face wash and a different product for a body wash by them which covers my face pimples and helps with my shoulder and chest pimples. I tend to go with a shaving soap and brush. I choose my stuff based more on what it does than what it smells like.

[malinkibear]

I just use whatever Lynx doesn't smell sweet. Think you guys call it Axe across the pond. I also realise it has a douchebag reputation, which it doesn't have here 
But look at getting some cologne, can do wonders for how you feel about yourself. When you go to pick one, spray some on those sample cardboard sticks, sniff, leave for an hour. Sniff it again after an hour to get the real scent. It's a personal thing, so go test a bunch of them.

[asher]

I use suave hair+body wash for men. Smells really nice :] I also like Axe, despite the douchebag rep haha. And I agree about the cologne, I don't really know why, I guess because I've always loved cologne, but it was one of the first things I couldn't wait to get. I use rocawear IX, I really don't like the sweet smelling cologne either, rocawear is a little more...masculine smelling than some of the others I found. Without being overpowering. But ya know, that all depends on what you like :]

[julian6]

thanks everybody!
i have been using the neutrogena exfoliating stuff on and off for a few months now - i need to give my skin a rest sometimes lol but otherwise i really like it
i tend to go for lighter spicier scents.  last time i was at the mall, i smelled this and will probably buy it next paycheck http://usa.loccitane.com/FO/loccitan-eau-de-toilette.htm
i was planning to go to target and sniff all the bottles down the aisle or whatever for the rest of the stuff but was curious if there was anything anyone swore by for me to make sure to look at, or if there was something i should just not even bother with.

[Sam-]

best body wash, imo. it makes your skin feel nice and it smells good 

[tekla]

face wash, body wash, shampoo, shaving cream

Face wash, is, as it turns out, soap.  Body wash is soap.  Is your face not part of your body?  Some huge difference?  Nah.  Shampoo is soap.  So is shaving cream.  Some have different levels of detergent to them, some are whipped more, but they all are basically soap.  So, this is how about 99% of the guy's I've ever known have felt about soap.  It's soap.  So first of all use what's there.  There is some difference between shampoo and a bar of soap, but if your hair is short, not much.  If it's real short, none.  You don't need a different kind of soap for all those things.  Damn, your're lucky I'm even taking a shower, so count your blessings.  Don't make more of it than it is.  Use what's there, but if your out there the next best thing is those little bottles and little bars from hotels.  Really, they rock.  They tend to actually be pretty good, in that they are better products (chemical creations) then what most guys buy for themselves.  And they are free.  Can't beat that.  Free.  I shower a lot at work (where I really need it).  I use this stuff that is some name brand combination body wash and shampoo, and I even use it on my face and I shave with it.  Seems to work.  I chose it because it was on sale.  A lot of the better body washes work very well as a shaving cream.  That stuff works OK as long as its only a day or two growth and I have a sharp razor.  One shower, one product - it's soap, the miracle drug of showers.  Look to try to have as little stuff as possible.  Girls have to have some little basket to go to the shower with, guys can carry it all in one pocket of the robe.  The difference in number of 'personal care' products in an apartment with 3 women vs. one with 3 guys is pretty striking.  Economy-wise, it's fricking huge!

I guess it's OK to have some sort of hair fetish or something, that you might want one real expensive "hoity-toity" never-goes-on-sale type product, but beyond that...^*


* - does not apply to razors, really, cheap razors are their own punishment.  Good ones rock.



Hair products.
A comb or a brush.

[Luc]

I like to make certain I smell good wherever I go, so I use Axe products, mostly. They're inexpensive and get the job done. I use Snake Peel and Kilo for shower gel, though I've noticed girls seem to love the smell of Dark Temptation. Usually, I don't even need to use the body spray, because the body wash smell stays for days. Bod Man sprays are pretty good, too; I work on a very tight budget, and those are the best products I've found for the money.

[julian6]

face wash, body wash, shampoo, shaving cream

Face wash, is, as it turns out, soap.  Body wash is soap.  Is your face not part of your body?  Some huge difference?  Nah.  Shampoo is soap.  So is shaving cream.  Some have different levels of detergent to them, some are whipped more, but they all are basically soap.  So, this is how about 99% of the guy's I've ever known have felt about soap.  It's soap.  So first of all use what's there.  There is some difference between shampoo and a bar of soap, but if your hair is short, not much.  If it's real short, none.  You don't need a different kind of soap for all those things.  Damn, your're lucky I'm even taking a shower, so count your blessings.  Don't make more of it than it is.  Use what's there, but if your out there the next best thing is those little bottles and little bars from hotels.  Really, they rock.  They tend to actually be pretty good, in that they are better products (chemical creations) then what most guys buy for themselves.  And they are free.  Can't beat that.  Free.  I shower a lot at work (where I really need it).  I use this stuff that is some name brand combination body wash and shampoo, and I even use it on my face and I shave with it.  Seems to work.  I chose it because it was on sale.  A lot of the better body washes work very well as a shaving cream.  That stuff works OK as long as its only a day or two growth and I have a sharp razor.  One shower, one product - it's soap, the miracle drug of showers.  Look to try to have as little stuff as possible.  Girls have to have some little basket to go to the shower with, guys can carry it all in one pocket of the robe.  The difference in number of 'personal care' products in an apartment with 3 women vs. one with 3 guys is pretty striking.  Economy-wise, it's fricking huge!

I guess it's OK to have some sort of hair fetish or something, that you might want one real expensive "hoity-toity" never-goes-on-sale type product, but beyond that...^*


* - does not apply to razors, really, cheap razors are their own punishment.  Good ones rock.



Hair products.
A comb or a brush.

tekla, I find it surprising that you're imposing the gender binary/stereotype on a board for the trans* community.  Not all men grunt and point and kill ->-bleeped-<- so just because I care about the way I look and what I put on my body and you disagree with that, you don't have license to emasculate me.  I know girls who don't care about what they use and I know guys (both straight and gay) who are so meticulous in their routine it would compare to the amount of effort a drag queen goes through to get ready.  You could have recommended your free hotel soap to me without your condescending "Guy 101" lesson and I would have thanked you and it would have been a nice exchange.  Or you didn't have to reply at all if you disagreed so much.  Next time, please don't judge.  I'm sorry but I need to stand up for my identity, especially here, where I thought differences were accepted.

[Luc]

On that note, I use far less products than my younger brother, who looks far more "masculine" than I do. To each his (or her) own.

[Sean]

The big issue that many of us have is acne from starting testosterone as hrt.

The "it's all soap and interchangeable" is great for being clean. It is useless advice for managing acne. That's when the percentages of how much detergent and how much alcohol and how much (and what type) of acids actually matters - and what works on each person can be different.

When my body is 30+ years on testosterone, I too hope to be able to use hotel freebies and multi-purposed soaps instead of specialized products to minimize breakouts.

[Cameron James]

I use Axe Phoenix for my shower gel, deodorant, and body spray.

Neutrogena products are great for acne control and skin care. If I have a particularly nasty patch of acne I'll go and buy the Clinique acne spot treatment. They sell it at the makeup counters in malls and in some chain department stores. It's pretty tough stuff, so if you can brave the makeup counter, it really pays off.

[Michael Joseph]

i use this oxy face scrub, it has a very masculine smell and it leaves your face feeling so fresh, idk what exactly its called but its oxy and its all black. right now im using irish spring body wash and shampoo (2 in 1). i like a lot, but usually i just use axe. my gel is an axe pomade. i just use body wash for shaving cream. i know you didnt ask but my cologne is adidas moves, its my favorite and its only like 25$ a bottle.

[Sera]

Anything with a cocounut scent in my opinion is the best!

I do not do anything special for shaving, just the old conditioner on the face trick.

My favorite body wash at the moment is between Dial Nutriskin, a white colored one, and I believe soft soap coconut body scrub. Neither has a lasting scent, but the little beads make you think you are extra clean or something! and the Dial one claims to have all these vitamins in it for healthy smooth skin.

I have been through soooo many shampoos, and so far in my opinion, Pantene shampoo/conditioners are the only ones to provide a lasting scent of any kind.  After shampooing on a rare basis, sometimes I get a whiff of my own hair blowing in the wind, and it smells nice. Everything else smells good in the palm of my hand, then I use it and the scent is gone before I am even out of the shower! I tried a few Paul Mitchell brands, do not really like them, though The Detangler conditioner smells like carrot cake... does not last.  How I would love to have carrot cake scented hair...
I would simply stay away from pricey salon brands.  I have been giving all kinds of them tries and the price does not equal the value. Also, if you are a natural curly but prefer straight hair [depends on your style I guess], there is no such thing as a shampoo/conditioner that makes your hair straighter.  Just go with whatever softens, smells good, and tames frizz well.


Avoid Sulfates! They are bad for your hair! It can be a trial and error thing though.

I also use a neutrogena wash, it has a green container, is new.... dunno the name off my head, but its the best working thing for my acne so far... but not formidable.

[Konnor]

I like to smell good too.  For body wash, I use Gillette sensitive skin/moisturizer. Smells great and keeps my skin looking decent. My dad uses it too! Shampoo, I like my hair to be soft, so I use Herbal Essences. It's blue, dunno the specific name of it. Hydrating something or other. I don't use facial wash, but I'm not on T yet so I don't have real bad acne. When I was in my teens and had to deal with that, I used Neutrogena for sensitive skin. It worked well. Most of the facial washes I tried dried my skin out sooo badly though. Oh, and for cologne I use Calvin Klein in2u. I also wear aftershave lotion in that scent, which keeps my face nicely moisturized. Gah...I sound so gay. 

[Taka]

for my hair i use whatever makes it flatter, something which has taken me to some seriously expensive lee stafford shampoos in small pink bottles with a very pink scent. but that can be easily camouflaged with a conditioner or whichever other scented products i use

for smelling good, i use whatever goes with my clothes. some days it's a sweet perfume, other days it'll be one of my little brother's axe deo sprays

i'll use pretty much any soap, but i prefer those with a coconut scent
and for skin care i use sauna

[FinnCatt]

Out of interest (and not meaning to thread-jack), does anyone have any recommendations for bodywash/face wash/whatever that doesn't contain any soaps? Or, you know, any suggestions at all xD I'm allergic to soaps (and most scented things) so I'm stuck washing with aqueous cream and E45 cream.

[Taka]

Out of interest (and not meaning to thread-jack), does anyone have any recommendations for bodywash/face wash/whatever that doesn't contain any soaps? Or, you know, any suggestions at all xD I'm allergic to soaps (and most scented things) so I'm stuck washing with aqueous cream and E45 cream.

sauna or steam bath, make sure you sweat a lot to clean your pores. then you could use olive oil instead of soap if needed. wash with clean water. a japanese bath (43˚–45˚c, with water over your shoulders count to at least 100) would work the same way. the japanese prefer to wash with lots of soap before entering the bath, but that's just because the entire family uses the same water

[Bahzi]

I use Irish Spring body wash, Axe deodorant/anti-perspirant and body spray (I like the Dark Temptation and Excite scents),  whatever shampoo is in the shower and Mane and Tail deep moisture conditioner.

I wish I could just use whatever 2-in-1 hair stuff a lot of guys use, but I live in a really humid climate and my hair is curly and prone to frizzing.  Even at only 2" long on top, it's unruly without deep conditioning in the summer.    I've started using the Axe 'whatever' hair paste, and while it's probably over priced, it works better than gels for me and doesn't flake.

For my face and shoulders/chest/back I use the generic Proactiv wash, 'Acne Free', and it's pretty effective.  I use witch hazel for a toner instead of the Proactiv toner, and get the step 3 'repairing lotion' part of the Proactiv kit on eBay for less than $10, which is the only part where generics seem to be less effective for me.

My skin looks pretty damn good for 3 months on T, my hair's shiny and nice looking, and I smell awesome.  If that makes me effete, so be it, I can totally rock that.

[KamTheMan]

I'm borderline obsessed with the axe products. I use the hair putty and paste, and the downpour shampoo which has mint and tingles my scalp I also use the Excite deodorant.