Three Guys Dish on How They Deal with Body Hair

I manscape! Yea, I said it! No shame in my game! I enjoy it. My girlfriend definitely appreciates it too. Yet I’m also conscious of the public ridicule that comes my way from the woolly conglomerate.

Just think that it wasn’t too long ago when body hair removal was primarily considered the "female thing". But nowadays, it’s practically routine for all sexes. Even if the discussion of masculinity and grooming is still a fresh topic as grooming trends continue to grow, there’s no denying that it’s one which is changing society’s views on virility.

Body hair is manly. It’s probably the most macho feature any man can sport outside of a bushy face. Point. Taken. But it’s just aggravating AF to deal with. Granted I’m far from being the hairiest dude out there, I personally find it more relieving to purge my physique of unwanted, long fur. It’s like getting a haircut. There’s this sense of feeling lighter and more hygienic when having little or no hair.

And it’s not like I’m the only guy out here factoring body hair maintenance into his appearance or grooming regimen. Arms. Beard. Chest. Balls. A trim here, snip there or even the occasional waxing around your privates -- this idea of body hair removal has become an accepted cosmetic effect for modern times.

Related: The Dos And Don'ts Of Manscaping That Every Guy Should Know

Dollar Shave Club agrees with us, especially after conducting a survey that showed nearly 83% of men trim their body hair. Huge number! Exactly how men are choosing to deal with their body hair…well…those are trials best shared by real men embracing the manscape movement. So if you’re a feller who’s still unsure whether a hairy bod is “your look”, we spoke with three guys willing to bare their personal experiences with body grooming for your peace of mind.

Jake Nodar

IG: @JakeNodar
Background: Horse trainer and star on Discovery Channel’s “Naked and Afraid XL”

Ever since I was a kid and hit maturity, and hair was coming in, every patch that I had I just got more excited. It’s like one morning I got a bush, then everything after that I just loved. I wasn’t particularly hairy. My adolescence and my chest hair all started coming in. I love it. The more, the merrier.

Ever since I was a kid and hit maturity, and hair was coming in, every patch that I had I just got more excited... My adolescence and my chest hair all started coming in. I love it. The more, the merrier.

I prefer all-natural, pretty much all the way. I think when we get down south I definitely have to do some maintenance there, so I don’t look like a caveman. But other than a tiny bit of chest trimming to make sure I don’t have any 5-inch hairs shooting out, I keep the trimming to an absolute minimum.

My grooming regimen is very low key. I do pretty much everything in my house. If I’m going to do a TV show or something like that, I will go to a salon and get my beard and everything done up properly, so I look thoroughly groomed. But I do everything myself. I rubber-band a razor onto my back scrubber and shave my own back. I have to shave the shoulders because they look disgusting if I let them go. Then I use clippers to trim my chest hair and everything else that gets a little out of control.

I was once talked into completely clipping everything. I was living with a body builder. I was talked into that and I hated it. I’m very low maintenance. I know you’re supposed to look more chiseled and all that when you’re clipped, but it’s not for me. It’s a lot of work. But that was the one time when I caved into somebody else’s opinion and I regretted it.

I think people know better than to judge me because I will beat their ass! Just kidding. I don’t really hear judgement that much in terms of being hairy. I think the only time I’ll ever hear that is when my neck is insanely hairy and sometimes I’ll get compared to all the horses that I ride, and then that’s when I know I have to get to the barber. But overall, I never really hear complaints about my body hair.

I started paying more attention to body hair when I did a TV show that involved me being naked. I work on a farm, so prior I never really did a whole ton, but when I found out I was going to be on a national show bare naked I thought I’d better get on the ball with getting trimmed a bit.

But I started paying more attention to body hair when I did a TV show that involved me being naked. I work on a farm, so prior I never really did a whole ton, but when I found out I was going to be on a national show bare naked I thought I’d better get on the ball with getting trimmed a bit. The last show was called “Naked and Afraid,” where you’re literally naked on camera and surviving out in the wilderness. So a lot of the manscaping that goes into that is trying to be practical – the last one I shot was in Africa and it was incredibly hot — trimming the hair a little shorter definitely made me feel cooler. I also know that if you have a hairy ass, they give you a full blur on your ass and I didn’t want that. I wanted my ass to shine bright like a diamond on TV.

You see a little of everything on there. You have some people that didn’t do any grooming because they felt it would be better for keeping mosquitos and bugs off you if you had a wool sweater on. I’m a bit of a vain person, so I made sure that everything was trimmed up and my back shaved and good to go from all angles so to look good for the camera.

Related: Here's The Only Tool You Need To Keep Body Hair In Check

Sam Ciurdar

IG:@SamCiurdar
Background: Photographer/filmmaker, Dove Men Care ambassador and Founder of Adventure That Is Life

I’ve actually been publicly shamed on Twitter before. As a photographer, I shot an image which happened to show my arms. Tons of people went out of their way to make jabs and insults. Things about why my arms are so hairy, and how “skinny and weird” they looked. I’m talking hundreds of tweets. I’ve never had something like that happen to me before, so it definitely hurt and brought me down, especially because it caught me totally off guard. Instead of letting that get to me more than it did - my wife was very comforting and supporting and basically said, “Who cares what these people think?”

First off, I am a man - men are naturally hairy. Second, I’m European - who are also naturally hairy. Being confident in my personal grooming style isn’t always easy. In your teenage years, you want to look your best so you can try and appeal to someone you’re attracted to. So naturally, I started paying attention to my body hair and grooming around that age. Since then, I’ve experimented with my look a bit, but ultimately my beard has in a strange way become part of my persona! Now, I honestly think I would look weird without it - and really think that Lucy, my 9-month-old baby, wouldn’t even recognize me without it! Luckily, she won’t ever have to.

Now, I honestly think I would look weird without [my beard] -- and really think that Lucy, my 9-month-old baby, wouldn’t even recognize me without it! Luckily, she won’t ever have to.

The only place I really manscape would be my beard. I had to shave it off once for a job I had, and when I left that job my wife told me to grow it back and to never shave it again! I’m so lucky she loves it. Luckily, most of my jobs have been in the creative field. So instead, I would just trim my beard on a weekly basis. Now, I work from home mainly, with the occasional travel - so I do the bare minimum - plus, my daughter loves to play with my beard!

When it comes to my beard, I always trim right before I shower. This way I can shampoo and rinse to get rid of any lingering hair. There’s nothing worse than having loose hair all over your sink, so for this reason I like to do everything in the shower. I use a beard trimmer to help shorten and clean up certain areas of my facial hair, and for my routine I’m very fond of the Dove Men+Care products. Their Elements line is my favorite - its ingredients are inspired by nature (which is my favorite place to be), I love the scents, and how fresh they make me feel.

Related: Rock The Best Beard In Town Thanks To These Trimmers

My wife is the most supporting person when it comes to my facial and body hair. I’ve had other people say, “You only have a beard because it’s ‘in’,” but I’ve had facial hair of some type since I could remember. I never did it because it was “hip.” I mainly did it because I was too lazy to shave every day! So, while there can definitely be moments of weakness when it comes to my grooming choices, I’m thankful for a supportive family who loves me as I am – and no, I’ll never shave my arms no matter what the Twitter conversation says!