When it comes to grooming, we all make mistakes. However, many of them can be avoided. In order to help, Male Standard has developed The 101 Worst Grooming Mistakes Guys Make.
We’ve sought the help of experts in the grooming industry including: shaving gurus, barbers, skin care professionals, and stylists to develop the most effective and comprehensive list ever made.
Take a look at these mistakes and take steps to avoid making them.
Hair
- Using too much hair product
- Using the wrong hair product for your hair type
- Choosing a hairstyle that does not compliment your face shape
- Choosing a hairstyle that does not compliment your hair type
- Choosing a hairstyle that’s not age appropriate
- Not maintaining your style between cuts
- Thinking a $5 haircut is the same as a professional one
- Sporting the comb over
- Sporting the same style for the past 10 years
- Scratching your scalp when you wash your hair
- Having dandruff and flakes
- Using the wrong shampoo and conditioner for your hair type
- Using thick product and conditioners on fine or thinning hair (makes it look thinner)
- Over using the blow drier and brushing too much on oily hair (makes it produce more oil)
- Over shampooing dry hair (takes away all of the natural oils)
- Over washing and towel drying on curly hair (makes it frizzy)
- Applying water-based styling products to wet hair (reduces the effect)
Body
- Sporting a unibrow
- Getting an unnatural arch when tweezing/waxing your eyebrows
- Ignoring stray nose and ear hair
- Having chest hair that pokes out of your t-shirt
- Not trimming excess back hair
- Thinking that waxing is only for women
- Having overgrown pubic hair
- Using a dull razor on your man jewels
Face/Skin
- Using a generic bar of soap to wash your face
- Having blackheads
- Having acne
- Not knowing your skin type
- Not using the right face wash for your skin type
- Treating your face and body the same
- Not wearing sunscreen
- Not using moisturizer
- Not using lip balm
- Not cleaning your ears properly
- Touching your face
- Picking at acne
- Drinking too much alcohol (can irritate skin and cause inflammation)
- Being too stressed (can cause inflammation of the skin)
- Showering too long (over 10 minutes- strips body of natural oils)
- Not exfoliating your skin
- Using soap on greasy/oily skin (use an oil-free cleanser)
- Not exfoliating your lips
- Not using eye cream (sporting puffy eyes)
- Not drinking enough water
Scent
- Wearing too much cologne
- Purchasing cologne because it smells good in the bottle (needs to work with your skin)
- Wearing a cologne just because of the brand name
- Wearing the same cologne for every occasion
- Wearing lotions that each have different scents (throws your main scent off)
Hands/Feet
- Biting your finger nails
- Chewing your cuticles
- Thinking manicures are just for women
- Having dirty fingernails
- Having athletes foot
- Not washing your hands frequently
- Having long toe nails
- Having foot fungus
- Taking too long to clip your finger and toe nails (should be 1 every 2 weeks)
- Not using lotion on your hands and feet
- Not drying your feet properly after a shower (can cause fungus)
Shaving
- Shaving against the grain
- Shaving with a dull blade
- Not rinsing the blade
- Not using a shaving brush
- Shaving dry skin
- Not prepping
- Not using a pre-shave oil
- Not using after shave
- Thinking that more blades are better
- Not using the right shaving cream/soap
- Not stretching the skin when shaving
- Too many passes over your face with the razor
- Using too much pressure on the razor
- Not using enough lather
- Not shaving your neck when sporting a beard (makes you look like a hobo)
- Sporting facial hair that does not match your face type
- Not trimming your beard
- Sporting a goatee that exceeds your smile line
- Not replacing rotary and foil blades on your electric shaver
Mouth
- Not brushing your teeth properly
- Not using teeth whitening products
- Not flossing properly
- Not using a tongue scraper (most bad breathe starts here)
- Keeping your toothbrush too long (over 60 days)
- Brushing for less than 2 minutes
- Brushing too hard (makes your gums bleed)
- Not brushing at least twice a day
- Not using mouthwash
- Drinking too many caffeinated beverages (strains your teeth)
Problem Areas
- Having ingrown hairs
- Improperly removing ingrown hair (causes infections)
- Wearing low-quality socks (causes smelly feet)
- Sporting athletes foot
- Buying low-quality/cheap grooming products
- Not wearing deodorant/antiperspirant
- Using too much self-tanner (you look orange)
- Using a cheap self-tanner (you look orange)
- Not wearing SPF products while tanning
- Not having a base tan
- Having food stuck in your mustache/goatee
Now that you’ve seen the list, let us know your thoughts. Do you have some grooming mistakes to add? Help your fellow man and add them to the comment area below.
