Personal Hygiene Rules

Hygiene is basic. If there’s one thing more important than style, that’s hygiene. I’m not going to start giving you reasons for this because I’m sure you already know them. But I’ve never spoken abut this topic before so it’s time that I should.

I realized that sometimes we forget some of these hygiene rules so I decided to put them all in one place. It’s enough to review it from time to time and make sure you don’t break any of them.

Hair Length

You know how us men delay from time to time to have a haircut? The hair just starts growing and growing until it becomes almost impossible to make it look right in the morning. Only then do we decide to do something about it.

In order to avoid these situations, you should decide BEFOREHAND how often you should have a haircut. If you think you should do it every two weeks, MAKE A DECISION then STICK TO IT. That way you won’t have doubts as to when to go and, thus, you won’t delay.

Baths and Showers

Things are simple here, take a shower once a day and after each sporting activity. Take more showers daily if it’s hot outside or if you have a tendency to sweat a lot. You don’t have to spend 20 minutes in there, 2-3 minutes are enough.

Baths are very relaxing, it’s worth taking one at least once a week. Keep in mind (and this goes for showers too) that hot water damages skin in the long run. The fact that skin hydrates when you expose it to water is a big myth. The more you do so, the faster it dehydrates. In time, this could lead to premature aging. Hot water can also remove some of your skin’s natural oils.

Hands Hygiene

Hands are the area that is exposed to other people the most. This is why they should always be kept clean. If you travel frequently by bus or subway, by holding on to those metal bars while standing, you become even more exposed to bacteria.

Did you know that Donald Trump never shakes hands with his partners because he’s afraid of germs? No, you don’t have to be this strict, just remember to wash your hands with soap throughout the day.

The Deodorant

Not much to say here, you find plenty of them in stores. Pick the one you like.

The Underwear

Ideally, you want to change your underwear every day. The days you have sporting activities or it’s too hot outside and you’re sweating, you should do it even more often.

Your Face and Facial Hair

Your face is the first thing anyone sees when they first make contact with you, so it deserves special care.

A basic good facial routine is composed of exfoliation (removing dead skin cells), shaving, tonifying and hydration (this last step is not recommended if you have oily skin). I’m not trying to convince you to go buy 5 different facial creams but, if you skin doesn’t look very well then you must take action. Depending on your budget I recommend you get at least a hydrating and an exfoliating cream.

Dental Care

I left teeth for last but don’t imagine they’re the least important. I personally spent A LOT of money getting my teeth problems fixed because I didn’t take excellent care of them.

Though I’m not a certified dentist, I will give you a few pieces of advice that I was given to along the years.

A full ritual for taking care of your teeth should consist of:

Brushing your teeth

You probably know this one but one thing that I’ve noticed over the last few years is that people tend to use chewing gum instead. I know we have busy lives and that a gum is faster and you can chew while doing most daily activities; however, you should know that a toothbrush is WAY more effective. Use your toothbrush as often as possible.

What toothbrush to use? I recommend that you use electric toothbrushes. I’ve been using them for over 2 years and, overall, I’ve had less cavities.

The reason? Electric toothbrushes do a better job at removing leftover food, compared with regular toothbrushes (Which would require us to do a lot of hand movement to achieve the same result.)

Flossing

Once you’ve brushed all your teeth, there still are some leftovers in-between, where the toothbrush didn’t reach.

A few years back I had just gone through an operation one of my teeth. It was an experience I never want to repeat… ever again! Anyway, right as I was about to leave the dentist’s office, I just had to ask:

Is there ANY way that I can avoid cavities?

This hot-looking doctor smiled (as if she heard that question too many times already) and she recommended this:

She said to me: If you want to get rid of cavities… dental floss is the holy grail.

She was right. Once I started using it, I noticed the dental floss helped me remove a lot of extra food from in-between my teeth. It was obvious then: the extra food that my (electric) toothbrush missed was causing all my agony and pain.

Using a mouthwash

Mouthwash is important because it cleans your mouth even more from areas where not even dental floss can reach. Think bacterias mostly, which can lead to dental plague, and, eventually, cavities. If you find yourself that your teeth get cavities very easily, don’t skip this step.

Look, I’m not a dentist and I’m not trying to give you medical advice. Far from it. What I’ve told you about personal hygiene is what I’ve been told by other dentists to do and… it worked. I have very crowded teeth, had lots of cavities over the years and even went through dental surgery.

Right now? At my last annual check, the doctor enthusiastically said to me: Congratulations, you’re taking really good care of your teeth! (I was actually a little embarrassed because there were some cute women around and I felt like a kid.. but he was right.)

I hope you realized clothes are NOT the most important thing when it comes to style. Personal hygiene is VERY important so it needs extra care from you. A body that’s not taken care of will look bad even in the most stylish of outfits.