Gold Bond. Feet, junk, and sometimes a light dab under the pits when I put on a dress shirt straight out of the shower. Most talc/ baby powder type products will suffice, but I think this is the standard.

Razors…I moved away from the triple blades and electrics because I have ridiculously sensitive skin. I’m probably going to go for the single blades and start shaving in the shower once I get back stateside. I have found that some of the products the brothers use for curbing razor burn are effective for guys with sensitive skin like me. I recommend Bump Patrol shave gel and aftershave. Also on the aftershaves, someone touched on it already, but I want to reiterate that the aftershave is intended to help the healing and restoration process of a newly razored face, not act as a cologne. I haven’t used a scented aftershave in ages, but I remember it being overpowering.

To go further into scent…the Axe epidemic bothers me to no end. I’m in the military and have been stuck on ships with young guys that use this stuff as a cure all. No my friends. Just use some ANTIBACTERIAL soap and wash your clothes and you’ll be all set. Overpowering colognes is a huge turn off to a lot of people. I do wear cologne from time to time, usually only for special occasions or if I’m putting on the ritz for a night on the town. I’ve used Chanel Platinum Egoiste since my first high school dance and am just about to finish my second bottle, after nearly 12 years. It’s a classic and I have received a compliment on it nearly every time I wear it and get close enough for a girl to notice. I recommend applying down the back or at the shoulder area. Directly on the neck is okay if you don’t plan on getting ass that night, but lets be honest, that’s why you put fourth all this effort in the first place and you should always be in the game.

The tongue scraper seems like good idea, I’ll have to get into that, but flossing CANNOT be overlooked. It’s a pain in the ass to get into but will become habit soon enough and really helps with bad breath. Have you ever smelled some of the globs of decaying food that come out with floss after not doing it for a day or two? Heinous.

Obviously being in the military I keep my hair short, and found the best product for styling is a wax stick. I suppose it is similar to a pomade, but seems to last longer as I use less of it. Just make a couple light passes over a DRY head and style with your finger tips. I usually wash my hair after a haircut, apply some wax, and repeat the process every week or two. I thoroughly rinse my head in the shower everyday, but find that using shampoos and conditioners too often leaves the dome frizzy, thin, unmanageable, dry, and childlike. I’m going to look into that Brylcreem stuff, or maybe some regular mousses, but I just went to the only store around here and they only carry the spiky headed 2000 era Boy Band gels.

As far as personal grooming goes…
Haircuts, pube TRIMMING, shaving the face, and for those Sasquatch recruits, back shaving is okay, anything else and you’re entering metro territory and risk getting laughed out of the barracks by real men, not Zoolanders. I did know a sniper that shaved his arms and legs though, and still make fun of him to this day. Totally unnecessary. He was a total Guido though, so apparently that’s acceptable.

A good set of tweezers, small, well made scissors, nail clippers, and small battery operated detailing clippers are a must as well.

In the shower, St Ives INVIGORATING Apricot scrub is legit as it gets.

-Scott

This is nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Sounds impressive, but has nothing to do with reality. Anywhere you put it will have the same effect: it smells. “Pulse points” (whatever that means) do not “produce heat” any more than a random spot on the body. Nor does the scent need to be “activated”. It’s not a puzzle, it’s not a machine, and it’s not an explosive. It’s just a perfume marketed to men, plain and simple.

You’d think, at first glance, that a marketing gimmick would tend to encourage you to use more of it, so that you go through it faster, and pay the company more money. Indeed, Unilever (owners of the AXE brand) bases their entire fragrance marketing strategy on this. “Douche yourself in our spray, and hot chicks will be attracted to you like a magnet!” However, for products meant to appeal to customers who fancy themselves “more refined”, marketing gimmicks tend to go in the opposite direction. If they can convince you that “a tiny bit is enough” then you are left with the psychological impression that the product is POWERFUL AND POTENT, and therefore intrinsically more valuable. It tends to produce a great deal of brand loyalty, which wins the long-term game. That’s why companies like Procter & Gamble (owner of the Old Spice brand) are still in business.

For the most part, Old Spice and AXE are the same product. 99% of their chemistry is the same, since they’re both intended to deliver a fragrance to the human body and cause it to stick there. The main difference, aside from the specific scents used (which is really kind of incidental), is the packaging and the marketing applied to them.

How much you intend to use is nothing more or less than personal preference, but have a care for the people around you. Sometimes less is more.

“Also, according to these old Listerine ads, Listerine can also battle dandruff.

Hmmm… not so sure about that use.”

It can. Just for the record. You probably only want to use the regular flavor for this, since a head that smells like cool mint is strange to say the least. But the fact that this was advertised is, again, basically a marketing gimmick to make you go through the stuff faster. Dandruff shampoo will work better. Actually, if it were safe to put in your mouth, Head & Shoulders would work better than Listerine even as a mouthwash. I don’t recommend that, though.

from your link to the article by the American Cancer Society

Studies of personal use of talcum powder have yielded inconsistent results, although there is some suggestion of an increase in ovarian cancer risk. No other forms of cancer appear to be associated with the use of talcum powder.

However, only a very small minority of women who have used talcum powder will ever develop ovarian cancer. And it is impossible to say to what extend talc use had contributed to these cases.

” I said there was a strong link according to articles I have read by the American Cancer Society and Cancer Prevention Coalition”

The American Cancer Society claims no such thing.

The only link between talc and asbestos was that they appeared to be similar in form. I could not find a source “debunking” this topic. This would be because there are no definite findings to debunk. There are *suggestions* of *increased risk.* Again, the American Cancer Society ends with “it is impossible to say to what extend talc use had contributed to these cases [of ovarian cancer].”

I will continue to use Talc as I do not own a set of ovaries. I will also continue to trust the American Cancer Society over any independant Coalition of experts and their blogs. This is due in part to the fact that the ACS cites more sources and studies than the CPC. I’m not sure whether this means the CPC is biased, or that the ACS has access to more resources.

Gold bond is great stuff especially if you are prone to heat rash or irritation in body cracks and crevices. It definitely is ‘cooling” so if you’ve never used it, be aware.

One thing I find a bit confusing is that this site stresses the importance of owning and maintaining quality leather shoes and boots. The absolutely worst thing you can do is sprinkle foot or any other type of powder into your leather shoes or boots. The powder gets into the pores of the material and clogs them up and you end up sweating more not less. Wash and dry your feet, then sprinkle them liberally with powder then put on your socks. Don’t kill your shoes with powder!