Read on for 10 quick grooming tips to sharpen up your style. Some of these might seem weird or counter intuitive – but they all WORK.

1. Best Time To Cut Your Nails

There is no ONE best time – it depends on your technique. If you’re using clippers or a file, you want your nails to be hard. Do it before your shower.

As I’ve mentioned before, clippers are pretty hard on men’s fingernails and difficult to achieve a neat look with. Filing is better.

But your best option by far is nail scissors – which you’ll want to use AFTER you shower. Their sharper edge will give you unmatched precision on a shower-softened nail.

2. Powder Your Balls

Real talk – it doesn’t matter how sharp you look if you smell like ball sweat. Or if you have a puddle of ass sweat on the seat of your pants. Even if you’re lucky and nobody catches a whiff of you – when YOU know you smell it affects your confidence so much that women rate you as less attractive ON VIDEO.

Solution? Ball powder. This stuff keeps you dry and fresh-smelling where it counts. Avoid powders with talc (which can cause cancer) or menthol (because… ouch.) Also steer clear of powders that turn into a paste with sweat. Frosted balls: not a good look.

3. Take Cold Showers

This grooming tip works even better in the WINTER! Why? Cool or cold showers may not exactly be a treat, but they’re less irritating to the skin. This is especially true in the winter and for those who get dry skin easily.

Unless you’re a real masochist, you’ll also be in and out of a cold shower way faster. This gives you more time to spend polishing your appearance overall.

4. Wash Your Hair Less Often

Frequent shampooing is necessary for most because hair collects dirt and sweat. The soap in shampoo, however, is very drying – and it can cause your hair to look dull, frizzy, or straw-like. If your hair is unmanageable, washing too frequently may be to blame. Try shampooing every other day.

5. Shave The Back Of Your Neck

Shaving the back of your neck once a week can add a week or more to your time between barber visits. Save money – and time in the chair getting your hair cut. Ideally you’ll want to use a trimmer – smaller than a clipper and specifically designed to trim your hairline.

If you do use a razor on the back of your neck, remember to use shave cream to avoid razor burn.

Use a handheld mirror to see what you’re doing, and follow your natural hairline. Don’t push it up too far or create hard lines – they tend to grow out unnaturally.close x

6. Relief For An Itchy Beard

When you’re first learning how to grow a beard, your new beard hair tends to be very coarse and dry, often causing horrible itching that drives many potential beardsmen to give up. I know a lot of you are desperate for grooming tips to solve this.

Luckily, there’s a simple solution – condition your beard along with your hair when you shower. Leave the conditioner in for a few minutes and then rinse. Moisturized beard hair is MUCH less itchy.

7. Substitute For Shaving Cream

In a real pinch you can just use soap, but conditioner or cooking oil will dry your skin far less. You only need about a teaspoon to get the job done. Just rub it onto your face in circular motions and shave as usual. Then rinse off any excess.

These alternatives can also help prevent razor burn, so if you’re prone to it, give them a try. Olive oil is especially good for most skin types.

8. Substitute For Conditioner

Hair and beard conditioner are important to your grooming routine because – as I said before – shampoo is drying and strips the natural oils from the hairs. You may find yourself without conditioner though – especially if you’re traveling.

Use hand or body cream or lotion – it contains many of the same ingredients.

If you’ve got a choice, look for a lotion that’s a similar thickness to the conditioner you usually use (for instance – if you usually use a liquid conditioner designed for fine hair, a heavy body cream may weigh your hair down too much).

9. When You Don’t Have Toothpaste

This is another quick fix grooming tip for emergencies. Don’t skip brushing your teeth the morning before an interview or big presentation – or the morning after hitting up the local Thai buffet – just because you’ve run out of toothpaste at exactly the wrong time.

Baking soda whitens your teeth and cleans your mouth almost as well as conventional toothpaste.

Mix 1/2 teaspoon with a bit of water and apply it to your teeth with your toothbrush or finger.

To get the teeth whitening effect, allow it to sit on your teeth for 1-2 minutes. Then brush normally. It won’t taste minty but it should leave your mouth feeling fresh and clean and remove surface stains from your teeth.

10. Eyebrow Grooming

Unruly eyebrows can mess with your facial symmetry and draw attention away from your eyes – both big hits to your overall good looks according to scientists who study attraction.

If you’re not quite ready to borrow your girlfriend’s brow gel, hair gel works just fine. You only need a tiny bit though – if you try to use even a fingertip-sized glob you’ll get an eye full.