Men's Personal Care Information
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Health Tip
Make A Great First Impression With Your Appearance
Beyond taking a shower every morning, here is some basic tips:
Check your face
You don't necessarily have to shave, but at least ensure that your face is clean and free of "debris." A quick look in the mirror to check for nose hair, stuff in your beard or crust in your eyes doesn't take more than a few seconds, and is well worth the effort.
Groom your hair (ear, nose, chest, head, etc.)
Hair growth happens with regularity, so make trimming and upkeep part of your routine. Wash and condition your hair every day (or every other day, depending on your hair type and length). Set aside one day a week (preferably a Saturday or Sunday, when you have more time) to tend to ear, nose and chest hair.
Clean your hands
In the business world, handshakes can make or break you; in the dating world, a woman expects to see nice hands. So all you have to do is cut your nails regularly, scrape away the dirt with a "nail cleaner" or a nailbrush (which you can keep in the shower to save time), wash your hands frequently (to avoid sweaty, sticky hands), and use lotion on occasion (to keep them smooth).
Apply lip balm
There is nothing worse than looking at chapped lips, and trust me, no girl will want to kiss them. Find a good lip balm and use it regularly. Just don't put too much on, or it will end up looking like lip gloss. And if you don't like applying it in public because of the unmanly look it portrays, then do it in private when you go to the bathroom.
Dress well
You don't need a suit (unless the occasion calls for it), but you should always wear clean clothes that are wrinkle-free and smell good. In other words, wear clothes that were just in your drawer or closet, not your hamper.
On a related note, select clothes that fit. After you put on your clothes, take a look in the mirror for a few seconds to make sure they fit properly. Yes, their preferred fit will vary over time as styles change (along with your body and taste), but the key here is to pay attention to what you're putting on.
Use some sort of scent
Many guys go to town wearing some sort of fragrance, using everything from scented soap and deodorant to aftershave and cologne. Other guys prefer not to use anything. Like most things in life, the answer is moderation. Pick one scent (otherwise you'll combine fragrances, which will result in a weird smell) and go with it. Just make sure it isn't too strong and make sure not to bathe in it. One final note: Don't skimp on cost here; cheap cologne will act like repellant.
Shine your shoes
People tend to look at your shoes right away. If dress shoes are appropriate, make sure they're shined. If you're wearing casual shoes, make sure they look clean and new. Tattered shoes tell the world that you either don't have money or don't care -- neither option is attractive.
Study Debunks Notion of 'Healthy Obese' Man
MONDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- No man who is fat is truly healthy over the long term, a new study finds.
"There appears to be no such thing as metabolically healthy obesity," said a statement by Dr. Johan Arnlov, an associate professor of cardiovascular epidemiology at Uppsala University, and lead author of a report published online Dec. 28 in the journal Circulation.
That assessment is based on a study that has followed almost 1,800 Swedish men, starting at age 50, for an unusually long time, 30 years, recording those who died or had a cardiovascular problem such as a heart attack or stroke.
Arnlov and his colleagues measured not only obesity, but also the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors -- high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high blood triglycerides (fats), low HDL ("good") cholesterol and a broad waist size (40 inches for men, 35 for women). Metabolic syndrome is the presence of three or more of these risk factors.
Previous studies have found no increased cardiovascular risk in obese men who did not have the metabolic syndrome, giving rise to the notion that there was a "healthy obesity."
But the new report indicates that those studies didn't follow the participants long enough. Problems only become more evident after 15 years or so, the researchers found.
Using the body-mass index, which matches height and weight and lists a score of 30 as obese and 25 to 30 as overweight, the study found that over the 30-year period, the risk of cardiovascular disease was 63 percent higher in men of normal weight who had metabolic syndrome, compared to normal-weight men who did not have metabolic syndrome. It was 52 percent higher in overweight men without metabolic syndrome, 74 percent higher in overweight men with metabolic syndrome, 95 percent higher in obese men without metabolic syndrome and 155 percent higher in obese men with metabolic syndrome.
"The findings weren't all that surprising to me," said Barry Franklin, director of cardiovascular rehabilitation and exercise laboratories at the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., and chairman of the American Heart Association council on nutrition, physical activity and metabolism. "But they had a phenomenal follow-up, 30 years, and the take-home message is that overweight and obese men are at higher risk of cardiovascular risk even if they don't have metabolic syndrome."
A shortcoming of the study is that while it measured other factors such as smoking, it did not look at levels of physical activity, Franklin said.
"We have unequivocal evidence that being physically fit, whether you are overweight or obese, has a beneficial effect," he said. "So, if you are overweight or obese, it is all the more important to emphasize your fitness."
The endpoint results seen in the study -- 681 cardiovascular events, 386 cardiovascular deaths -- were similar to those seen in the United States, said Dr. Richard A. Stein, director of urban community cardiology at New York University.
And so the message of the study is that an American man "can't say 'my weight is a social or psychological issue, [but] it's not a cardiovascular risk factor,'" Stein said.
More information
The metabolic syndrome is described by the American Heart Association.
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