Intimate care for men:
TIPS & TRICKS
Stay clean!
Intimate hygiene for every man
Intimate care for men: a must!
A well-groomed body makes a man feel good – and that applies to the areas that rarely see daylight in everyday life too. But intimate hygiene isn’t just good for your wellbeing, it’s also important for your health: it helps prevent sexually transmitted diseases, for example.
What matters?
Smelling fresh is nice – for you and everyone else. However, thorough intimate hygiene means more than that, because it’s primarily about your health. Anyone who stays clean down below makes it difficult for pathogens.
The biggest adversary when it comes to intimate hygiene is so-called smegma: a whitish substance made up of sebum, skin flakes and bacteria that settles under the foreskin of the penis.
If you neglect to cleanse the genital area, this can lead not only to unpleasant odours but also to infections.
So intimate care is important. But does a man need a special product for it?
Don’t worry: you don’t need a whole range of cleansing and care products to keep your intimate area in top shape. A mild shower gel is just as suitable as an intimate wash lotion. Intimate sprays and deodorants are okay for in between, but not absolutely necessary.
- Wash daily.Cleansing the lower region is part of the standard wash routine. It’s important to pull back the foreskin – because that’s the only way you can remove the smegma. This is best done in the shower or bath.
- Dry thoroughly.Bacteria love warm, moist conditions – so a drying cycle is essential after cleansing. But be careful: it’s better not to rub, but to pat dry with the towel.
- Take a close look.While you’re at it, take the time for a quick check: is everything fit down there? Has anything changed? If, for example, the foreskin can no longer be pulled back as easily or you feel lumps, it’s time to see a doctor. Urologists have seen it all – and the earlier diseases are treated, the better the chances of recovery.
Smooth affair:
Tips for intimate shaving
- Trim hair.First the rough, then the details: if your pubic hair is several centimetres long, you should trim it shorter before shaving. Many razors offer an attachment for this, but rounded scissors will also do the job. If you like the trimmed look, you can skip the next steps and go straight to the final care.
- Cleanse intimate area.Take a moment for your intimate hygiene. With a warm shower you’ll kill two birds with one stone: dirt and sebum disappear down the drain and the body hair softens – making it easier to cut afterwards.
- Prepare for shaving.The more smoothly the blades glide over the skin, the better. Therefore, apply shaving foam or shaving gel about a finger’s width thick before intimate shaving and give the product a few minutes to work.
- Shave.Skin folds in the intimate area can be a small challenge. It’s best to pull them taut with your free hand and guide the razor over them with light pressure – in the direction of hair growth. Shaving against the grain is more thorough, but puts more stress on your skin.
Tip: To avoid irritation, you should only use disposable razors with a fresh blade and then dispose of them. More sustainable and efficient are reusable razors: their pivoting head adapts optimally to the contours of the intimate zone. - Rinse off.Cold water after shaving not only feels refreshing, but also causes the blood vessels to contract. The result: cooling for you – and less redness in the intimate area.
The intimate area is sensitive – so a delicate touch is required when handling the razor. Wet shaving in the shower is particularly thorough. With a little practice, this method is easy to master and can be easily incorporated into your morning routine. Of course, you can also shave the intimate area dry – but because of the skin folds, injuries occur more quickly.
Time out desired: it’s best to give your skin a few days’ rest after shaving to avoid irritation. One hair removal per week is optimal – in between, your intimate area can recover.
Razor burn, redness and spots are troublemakers on freshly shaved skin. But don’t worry, irritation reactions are (unfortunately) completely normal – especially after the first intimate shaves.
These care tips help your skin to calm down quickly:
- Apply a thin layer of after shave balm to the shaved areas. This provides the irritated skin with moisture, lipids and everything else it needs.
- Don’t have any cream to hand? Baby oil serves the same purpose: it’s mild, easy to spread and nourishes the skin.
- However, you should now keep your hands off heavily perfumed and alcohol-based care products – otherwise it could be painful.
Oops, an ingrown hair?
Ingrown hairs are unpleasant, but usually disappear on their own just as they came. If the culprit is on the skin surface, a light scrub can help.
For deeper ingrown hairs, however:
Never squeeze them yourself – you could injure the skin and thus worsen the inflammation. An appointment with a dermatologist is definitely the better option.