Grooming Treatments Every Man Should Get

We men are odd creatures. We’re quick to claim man-flu, we’re proud of our man-drawers, and we’ll even helpfully man-splain something while man-spreading and holding a man-bag, if need be. But man-pampering, ‘manpering’, or just plain old taking care of ourselves? Well that’s all a bit girly, isn’t it?

Not so. Blokes now make up one in five salon customers, according to a 2017 report by industry supplier Salon Services. And as a result, testosterone-fuelled treatments and gentleman’s club-style spas are popping up all over the UK. From the tan that’ll give (the illusion of) gains to the sports massage to fix a niggling knot, here is the ultimate edit of grooming services every guy should get.

Facial

Being a man can take its toll on the face, all that wood chopping, fire starting and car fixing (read: beer drinking, pizza eating and gym sweating). Add to that the damage caused by regular shaving and sun exposure and it’s easy to see why it pays to get a facial.

Many spas, like Alfred Dunhill’s Bourdon House, offer tailor-made solutions for men such as the Skin IQ treatment: an anti-ageing booster for tired, stressed and dehydrated skin. “There is a range of options available to men,” says one of the centre’s senior aestheticians, “each targets a specific need; including cellular performance, cleansing, reconditioning, removing impurities, lifting, firming, brightening and resurfacing.”

But don’t worry, it’s not all whale music and cucumber eye pads. These days, manly outposts offer, ahem, ‘extras’ including wet shaves, haircuts and even film screenings all in one place.

Expect To Pay: From £45 for a 30-minute treatment

Frequency: Once a month

Sports Massage

Key Men s Hairstyles Trends For SS17

Style is a breeze in winter. Faced with sinking temperatures, severe winds and snow; piling clothes on, rather than peeling them off, becomes priority number one. Which means more blocks for building a look you like.

In the summer heat, however, priorities shift. Meaning most of us – when we’re not in air con – are intent on getting as close to naked as possible. Which leaves, as you can probably imagine, little to work with in pulling together an expertly layered outfit, or one packed with texture and colour contrasts.

And that’s where your hair comes in. The one thing you’ll be wearing constantly at your desk, on a plane, at a bar and in a pool over the next few months, your mop speaks to your style in ways clothes often can’t once the mercury rises. So you’d better make sure it looks good.

To that end, we caught up with three of the UK’s best barbershops to get the long and short (as well as the in between) on this season’s hottest hair trends.

Short Hair

If ever there was a time to ditch that top knot, it’s now (if you haven’t had the good sense to already, that is). Opting for shorter hair once the summer hits means less sweat, not to mention less chance of carefully sculpted styles frizzing up, Sideshow Bob-style.

“The short back and sides remains one of the most popular styles for men,” says Lloyd Hughes, creative director of award-winning grooming brand Men-ü, who puts this classic cut’s popularity down to its versatility.

According to Hughes, the length of the hair on top can be varied beyond the standard short and neat crop, from new recruit-tight to dramatically long and wavy. “A thick, textured cut that’s choppy and layered [is most popular this season though],” he says.

(Related: The 5 Best Men’s Short Back And Sides Hairstyles)

While most short back and sides styles might involve clipper cutting the hair to a short – but not super-short – grade 2, 3 or 4, Adam Gore, founder of Birmingham barbershop Barberology, suggests stripping the length right back for an exceptionally sleek finish. “This season’s key style for short hair has to be a skintight tapered crop, with hair on top styled with a matte clay for texture and a messy wave,” he says.

Products

The Best New Menswear Pieces To Buy Right Now

Axel Arigato Tori Hooded Sweatshirt

Prolific Swedish sneaker label Axel Arigato has been turning out new designs every week for a little over three years. Presumably by cutting out staff toilet breaks and, you know, letting employees going home, the firm has also found time to launch its second clothing collection, which includes this excellent hoodie with an embroidered bird motif.

Available at Axel Arigato, priced £125.

Tod’s Mid-Length Striped Swim Shorts

Luxury Italian outfit Tod’s is perhaps best known for its iconic pedal pushers (and by that we mean driving shoes, not nasty three-quarter length jeans). However, it turns out the brand is a dab hand at everything from tote bags to swim shorts, as shown in a new exclusive capsule collection for Mr Porter.

Available at Mr Porter, priced £195.

Michael Kors Jet Set Painterly

7 Street Style Trends From The Men's AW2016 Fashion Weeks

Crowds have dispersed. Collections have been dissected. And street style photographers everywhere are finally nursing their battle wounds. Menswear fashion month is – with the exception of New York’s addendum next week – done and dusted. And while AW16 wasn’t without its on-runway moments, we’d be lying if we told you style outside of show venues wasn’t equally impressive.

So, if you’re more likely to take your cue from a big-time buyer than a 16-year-old boy getting paid to wear a skirt because he was told it was ‘career building’ (bless him), then get a load of this, your guide to what men are actually wearing in Florence, London, Milan and Paris.

Showstopping Coats

Well, maybe not showstopping, but certainly striking enough to delay one while photographers stall you for a snap. Statement outerwear, from patterns to primary colours, colour-blocking to exaggerated cuts, hit hard for AW16, with most of menswear’s dons covering up in eye-catching styles.

Granted, this is fashion week, and you’re (understandably) probably not all that hot on the idea of shelling out wads of your hard-earned cash for a coat you could only get away with wearing a couple of times a year. Nodding your head in agreement? Then swerve the photographer bait for something less brash: like one of the several forest green styles, or the Woost’s colour-block design. Boss.

Yu yang for Fashionbeans

Key Pieces

• Brioni Single Breasted Coat
• A.p.c. Wool-blend Overcoat
• Reiss Banks Checked Tonal Overcoat Black
• Haider Ackermann Double Breasted Corduroy

How To Build A Solid Streetwear Wardrobe

Before we dig into the specifics of what those staples are, here are a few signposts to get you started on the streetwear path:

On Fabrics: Above any other material, cotton is king. You’re looking for classic cotton textiles – jersey, Oxford cloth, chambray, twill and one more essential that we’ll cover in more depth shortly. Some of the more ‘decorative’ fabrics like herringbone and seersucker are nice, but they technically skew more #menswear than straight-up streetwear if you ask me.

On Shape: See me, I’m a classicist. I’m enamoured of that early 1990s Ralph Lauren-led interpretation of streetwear: slightly loose-fitting chinos, baggy shirts, beanies, you know the look. But if you want something more contemporary, then longline cuts and dropped crotches should be your go-tos.

On Consistency: As you’ll have gleaned from the points above, definitions of ‘streetwear’ are several and, despite my own preferences, all of them are perfectly valid. But once you’ve made your choice, stick with it. Mixing styles can be a winning combo, but trust me when I say your double-layered street Goth shorts won’t work with those Wallabees. Just here to help.

Now we’ve covered off the basics, let’s survey that list, shall we?

‘A Good Pair of Dark Blues’

Frank Ocean knows what’s up. If your streetwear wardrobe doesn’t start with a decent pair of jeans, then someone’s led you astray. This is the very guts of any solid streetwear line-up, and the piece you’ll likely bolt everything else onto. While selvedge isn’t vital, the tell-tale strip running up the leg has become commonplace in the streetwear landscape, and is generally a mark of superior quality and durability when it comes to denim.

Then it’s a question of wash. And in most circles, it isn’t even a question: raw denim all the way. Menswear mythology has turned the gradual fading and distressing of denim into a personal journey of self-discovery which you may or may not entirely endorse (cough), but I’ll at least admit that wearing my first pair almost daily and refusing to wash them (until a dog came up to me on the bus and started licking the stale sweat, food stains and god knows what else off my leg – true story, feel my shame) was something of an experience.

For cost-per-wear, my money’s on Edwin ED-55s or A.P.C. New Standards – if you’re plumping for the former, consider buying 2 inches under your normal waist size to allow for stretch.

Selected Homme Jeans 2014

Key Pieces

Army Outerwear

While menswear pieces have been lifted from other areas