ME Beauty Republic - Waxing & Skincare

What is Manscaping?

Get the inside scoop from manscaping and intimate grooming expert yours truly, Tiffany Piggée! Whether you're new to manscaping or looking to perfect your routine, I share the best tips for keeping things smooth and comfortable. Dive in and learn how to level up your grooming game!

MALE BODY WAXING

Tiffany Piggée

7/6/20247 min read

The simple definition of manscaping is: to remove (unwanted body hair other than scalp hair) by waxing, shaving, etc. It’s basically the words man and landscaping combined to create pop culture lingo, and there you have it! Side note: I will use the terms groom, manscape or bodyscape interchangeably throughout this post. My use of the phrases mean the same thing.

The days of a guy having to slay a dragon to get the girl of his dreams are a thing of the past. While a handful of women may find the dragon slayer look appealing, most of us want our man to be well-groomed (manscaped), and to smell good. Who wants a man that looks like he has BO even if he doesn’t? That’s a major ICK! If you don’t believe me I did a recent poll on ME Beauty Republic’s FB page and every woman said that they prefer their man to be groomed.

I’ve been in the business of manscaping for close to two decades. The evolution of the industry makes my heart sing. Way back when I started out, manscaping was something that was very underground. So much so that the local PD departments would secretly shop my business to try to bust me for “illicit activities”. Which when you think about it. It’s kinda messed up. I am literally providing a service that I am licensed through the state of Michigan to provide. Why was manscaping taboo?

Given my history with manscaping and seeing where I started almost 20 years ago to how it’s becoming a household term. I am over the moon with excitement. I love to see grown men put effort into their physical appearances in their own unique ways, and for them to not feel ridiculed for doing so. Not every guy is going to wear a three piece suit. Some of you might be cargo pants and polo guys, or hell you might be a graphic tee and ripped jeans kinda guy. Whatever your personal style is. I am giving all of you gold stars and A++ for effort.

Storytime: the other night I was here late working on a blog post. I went to grab a bite to eat and came back to see my neighbor on his broken down riding mower attempting to mow an acre of grass that was about 4 feet tall. I was almost sympathetic to his plight, and then I remembered. This man had months to mow his grass and he decided against it.

I started seeing Township work trucks in our parking lot the last month or so. Once I saw my neighbor out that night. I put two and two together. My assumption is that the township was on his case because of the grassland he decided to grow in between two office parks.

I pull in early the next morning and I see that the majority of the grassland is gone. I thought to myself ”Good for him”, but that was short lived as I looked over to see one of those big city mowers was responsible for removing the grassland. He’s definitely getting a bill for that.

If you’re in the US and own a home it is traditional for men to be responsible for the landscaping of the family residence. You mow the grass, trim the bushes, use a weed whacker, and maintain the outside of the home. We’ve all heard the phrase that a well maintained yard increases a home’s curb appeal.

The same rules apply to men that decide to groom their unwanted body hair. Women notice when men put effort into their appearance. Just like I noticed when my neighbor started cutting his overgrown grass land. It gives you guys “curb appeal”.

Get Your Grown Man On

The introduction of grooming starts young for some guys. According to Gillette “Most guys in the US (82%) first notice facial hair between the ages of 12 and 17, and 67% shaved for the first time between 14 and 17. What I found interesting is that the majority of young men are taught to groom their beards, but not the rest of their bodies.

While their female counterparts in the same age group are taught and expected to groom their bodies (bikini, under arms, legs). A woman having excessive body hair is not customarily seen as feminine or pretty. Same age group but very different expectations when it comes to body grooming expectations. In my personal opinion this lack of knowledge on how to properly remove unwanted hair plays into relationship dynamics. I will touch more on this in a bit.

The vast majority of men that I serviced in my early days had never done any type of bodyscaping to their chests, backs, groin, and under arms. Think 4 ft tall grassland. When some guys would take off their shirts my heart would race, not because they were eye candy, but because they were covered in gray, matted, body hair coats. Their body hair was so dense and unkempt that it would wage war against my clipper guards. After time I was the obvious victor, but it was not without some serious effort and skill on my part.

Guys I am a hardcore body waxer probably to the day that I die. If you don’t believe in hair removal, that's okay, but at least: shampoo, condition, detangle, and comb or brush your body hair several times a week. Just like you would the hair on your head. If you are going to keep your body hair in tact. It needs to be maintained.

The more I think about how young men are not properly taught how to groom outside of their beards. It would make sense why so many men in partnerships rely on their significant other (mostly female) to become their predesignated bodyscaper. I want to go on record saying that

it is not the responsibility of the woman that you are romantically connected to to manscape you.This is a personal journey. While you may be a bit behind on the lesson. I am more than happy to coach you along.

Why are guys manscaping?

I have asked hundreds of men why they manscape and it they all have one of three responses:

For Sanitation Purposes. Lots of guys say that they feel cleaner and worry less about having body odor after manscaping. I’ve also been told that manscaping makes showering and using the restroom (number 2) an easier and tidier experience. FYI: waxing, shaving or trimming the buttock trail eliminates the risk of dingle berries.

Silky Smooth and Loving It! Lots of guys tell me that they like the way that their skin feels after manscaping. Smooth and soft are the most common phrases used when describing how they feel after manscaping.

Hey Good Looking! Lots of guys say that they like the way their bodies look after manscaping. I”ve personally noticed a few gentlemen flexing in the mirror after a back or chest wax. I’ve been told by several guys over the years that the removal of unwanted body hair from their groin makes their junk appear larger If they like it I love

What tools are guys using to manscape?

The most popular tool I’ve seen guys use to manscape are trimmers. I really like WAHL peanut clippers, because they are small, easily get into small areas, powerful and easy to clean. What’s your favorite trimmer?

Some guys use razors to remove their unwanted body hair. Gillette seems to be a very popular and reputable brand.

Tweezers are another tool used for manscaping. I don't recommend tweezing unwanted body hair over large areas. An occasional hair here or there is fine to tweeze. Anything more than that is unhinged.

Stainless steel grooming scissors with a safety tip. These are used for noses, brows, mustaches, beards, and ears. These are great for trimming those pesky unwanted hairs.

What Areas Can You Manscape?

To be completely transparent can manscape from the rooter to the tooter. How much or how little you decide to do depends on your personal preference. Popular areas of the body that are often manscaped include: the back, chest, legs, arms, under arms, neck, ears, nose, brows, groin, toes and hands.

Lots of guys will pick a combination of areas that they concentrate their energy on manscaping and that becomes their signature style. Some guys macascape every stitch of hair on their bodies. I did a full body wax on a guy yesterday afternoon. It all depends on what works for your lifestyle.

What’s The Best Method of Manscaping?

Now that you have an idea of what manscaping is, what tools are used for manscaping, and what areas are generally manscaped. I am going to briefly touch on a few methods that can be used to manscape, but I am not going to tell you the best method. The best method is subjective. You get to pick what works best for you!

The most popular method of manscaping is shaving. This is done using a razor (single or multi-blade), shaving cream or gel, and good old fashioned elbow grease.

Trimming with clippers has gained popularity over scissor trimming in the past decade. It’s fast, accurate and can cover large areas of the body in less time than it takes to shave.

Trimming with scissors and a comb is the scenic route of manscaping in my opinion.

Tweezing small areas is great! Tweezing large areas is a commitable offense. If you do, tweeze large areas of your body. Keep that bit of info to yourself.

Depilatories such as Nair or Veet are also ways to quickly and temporarily remove unwanted body hair.

Waxing is also a very popular method of manscaping. You’ll get the longest lasting and smoothest results from waxing vs the other methods listed in this post. I am a professional body waxer, but I am not biased in my statement at this particular time. Waxing will outlast the other methods and leave your skin buttery soft.

Let’s quickly summarize everything we discussed in this post. Manscaping is a pop-culture term used to describe methods of hair removal other than hair on the scalp. Young men are typically taught to groom their beards but not their bodies. While their female counterparts in the same age group are taught and expected to groom their full bodies.

There are many tools that can be used to manscape one's body. Here are three that we discussed in this post: clippers, razor, safety scissors, and tweezers. Each tool provides a different function in manscaping and are all very useful.

Lastly we discussed the following methods of manscaping: Shaving (with a razor), trimming (with clippers), tweezing, using depilatories (Veet or Nair) and lastly my personal favorite, waxing. While manscaping is never a requirement to exist in a civilized society. It is greatly appreciated and definitely noticed when a guy puts a little extra effort into his physical appearances.

I hope this post has given some insight into what manscaping is. Have you ever considered manscaping?

I'm Tiffany Piggée, a licensed esthetician specializing in "junk waxing" (manscaping) and pimple popping (skin care). I dream in color, create unique and welcoming spaces like ME Beauty Republic, craft beauty products, and write content that educates and inspires. If you’re looking for a professional who understands both the art and science of skincare, I’m here for you—feel free to book an appointment!