Reader Comments and Questions 8th Edition
Reader Comments and Questions 8th EditionMen's body grooming, reasons for this site's existence, favorite trends in men's underwear, Life Underwear...Gone? and reviews and underwear laundry questions.
Thanks again readers for all the comments and emails. It might not seem like it but I do catch pretty much all of what you write between what you add to the blog, @replies on Twitter and status comment on Facebook. It's always really cool to see you pick up the conversations and provide your own perspectives. I appreciate that everyone continues to read and check back for updates and I am always motivated to create new content based on positive feedback. Something I haven't had a chance to do in a while is respond directly to some of your comments and questions so I thought I'd do that here in my 8th "Reader Comments and Questions" article. It's always tough to choose which questions to respond to and this time there are a very broad range of topics covered so hopefully there's at least something of interest for everyone here from shaving to underwear laundry!
Click on the "More" link to view all the questions and answers.
Best,
Underwear Guy
A couple of different readers had similar questions about body grooming:
Hi- LOVE your site. Really enjoy reading about your underwear 'journey'. It's a treat to have someone do the research- and look so good doing it. My question is this: What products/method do you use for hair removal?
Thanks, -- Jeffrey
Hello, I just stumbled upon your website by accident while shopping for new underwear online. I like the reviews and will keep checking back on a regular basis. I do have a question though. What do you do to keep your body hairless? Do you shave your chest hair? I'm going to try the hairless look this summer for the beach and was just wondering what method you use. I hope this is not too personal of a question.
Thanks!
John
Hi Jeffrey and John, thanks for the compliments and the questions! When it comes to hair removal/trimming for men in the home without assistance there are basically three options, shaving with a razor, using a chemical depilatory or using one of the newer body grooming electric razors for men. Waxing is an option that can yield excellent results although I do not have any personal experience with that process so I'm mentioning it here and can point you to two relevant articles online: About.com's: Male Brazilian Wax & Men's Bikini Wax: What To Expect and AskMen.com: Hair Removal Trends For Men. Laser hair removal is perhaps the ultimate choice but I put that into the more extreme category.
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| www.shaveeverywhere.com |
I have tried two of the leading brands of electric body groomers for men including the Norelco BodyGroom which was one of the first products to market to cater specifically for shaving other areas of a man's body than the face. Phillips launched the BodyGroom shaver with a viral website: www.shaveeverywhere.com and they have continued to add humorous viral content to it over the years.
The other electric shaver I have tried is the Remington Body and Back Groomer which is a more versatile design than the Norelco version with a variety of attachments and features. Since both shavers are available for $39.99 directly from the manufacturers price is clearly not the strongest factor in your purchase decision process.
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| Phillips Norelco BodyGroom | Remington Body Groomer |
Performance-wise I can't say either device provides a shave that is as perfectly smooth or close as a standard razor but I seem to have been able to obtain consistently better results with the Norelco version over the Remington for overall closeness and smoothness. Interestingly enough, the trimming function of the Remington works better than the Norelco so I still use it for areas that I do not want to remove all hair. I've been pleased with the results from using the Norelco Bodygroom given that it doesn't cause any skin irritation and simply requires a little extra patience. Just FYI I am not naturally smooth and would classify myself as about medium-hairy if I were to let my chest/arm hair grow out.
Here's your chance to add to the discussion...what's your take on men's body grooming:
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| Fashion Institute Of Technology Building C in NY |
Good Evening- I am a current Fashion Merchandising Management student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City doing a project about current trends and developments in men's underwear and your blog has been so helpful! I was just curious to learn how you got so interested in posting about men's underwear, and your favorite trend in the industry right now. I was also curious how and where you are able to find such a varied and extensive collection of underwear (almost a new pair every other day) seeing as most men (I can speak for my fiance) would have no idea where to look. If you have the time to write back I would love to hear from you, and keep doing a great job doing what you are doing!
Thanks so much!
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca, thanks for writing and good luck with your studies at the Fashion Institute. I have done review sites in the past for other topics such as website designs and books so I had a good handle on the format and style of the writing I wanted to employ. As for the topic of men's underwear I have always been a fan in general but what prompted me to start the site was a perceived "gap" in knowledge and resources. I would regularly read the men's underwear forums and it seemed like there were always the same questions popping up regarding fit, size, fabric etc. I realized that I already had a wide collection of men's underwear and that I was often an "early adopter" of new brands and styles so it seemed like there was something I could do with a website that would be helpful. I also thought it would be useful work-out motivation since it's always a good reminder that if I stop or slow down the workouts it will show up on the site pretty quickly! I am also a professional web designer/developer, online marketer and communications technology strategist so this venture allows me to continuously try out new technologies, creative designs and communications methods and keep my skills sharpened on that front
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| AussieBum Catch Of The Day Net Jockstrap |
As far as trends in men's underwear, I've written about the metallic trend and I've Twittered about what seems to be a new trend in mesh/net underwear. Another trend I've noticed is the recent explosion in shape-enhancing engineered underwear either via padding, pockets or rings. It's a little challenging for me to pick one trend and say it's my favorite. I'm inclined to highlight the more global shift towards a consensus that what men can wear for underwear as "every-day" wear has transitioned from being just the usual basics in black or white to more fashion-conscious "designed" clothing. Color, style and anything else that brings more variety to the table seems to be much more acceptable for a larger number of consumers. Styles have diversified as well with more choices running an entire gamut of cuts instead of the age-old either/or option of "boxers or briefs".
Where I purchase my underwear varies greatly from physical stores like Macy's and smaller boutique shops to the broad variety of online website merchants. If you're willing to shop online, your options are nearly limitless and it's very easy to find all manner of men's gear. I often conduct Google web searches to find new designers and online stores. For those who might wonder, I purchase virtually all of my underwear myself, no gifts or free review pairs. It's definitely a costly policy to maintain but it frees me to give much more realistic and even sometimes negative opinions without feeling obligated to soften the wording. I also purchase all my underwear anonymously as a regular consumer so I am able to replicate the shopping experience just as everyone else would. That way I receive no special treatment when it comes to botched orders, wrong sizes and/or pricing.
Reader Kevin wrote in with some quick review requests:
Hello, Great job with the reviews. Would love to see some reviews of the new N2N stuff you've purchased. As well as I believe on your site at one point you mentioned that the Score Thong was coming up for review and have yet to see it, would also love to see that one as I have always been intrigued by it. Keep up the great work
Hi Kevin, thanks for sending in your note and I did finally get around to reviewing one of the new N2N items: Mojave Thong as well as the Score Thong. I'll be posting more reviews of N2N underwear in the near future so keep checking back!
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| Original Life Underwear Sculptured Pouch Trunk |
Just found your blog and love it! I found Jockey Life Sculptured Pouch Trunk at WalMart a couple of years ago and loved the way they made me look and feel. It was my first experience with sculptured pouch underwear and I haven't gone back to "regular" underwear since. However, I have going crazy trying to find these excellent trunks again. I thought I found them under a different style name, but still Life, at WalMart, but they weren't like the original. I even went on- line to Jockey's Web site and still couldn't find them. After reading some of the comments from readers on your blog, I realize many people agree with me and also can't find them anywhere. Did Jockey just decide to discontinue making them? If so, why!? I realize you probably can't answer that last question, but I am stumped trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for their discontinuation. Do you like them as much as I and others do? What underwear have you found that comes as close to the fit and comfort as the Jockey Life Sculptured Pouch Trunk? Thanks for your blog and the excellent reviews.
Keep up the good work!
Ted
Hello Ted, thanks for your continued readership and for writing in. This has been something that's made the rounds on underwear forums before and I can confirm that unfortunately Jockey decided to discontinue a large section of their men's underwear under the "Life" brand. Apparently the demand wasn't there from the WalMart consumer and/or it's possible the product line competed too much with Jockey's regular underwear. Life Underwear is now limited to just the regular multi-pack briefs, boxer-briefs and bikini cuts (still a WalMart exclusive). It's hard for me to find an exact 1:1 equivalent for the Life Sculptured pouch collection especially considering the price-range that line was available at. Something I haven't covered much on the site is the array of underwear available under the regular Jockey brand so I'll make an effort to purchase and try out some more of those styles and hopefully come up with a relevant recommendation for you in the near future! I definitely agree the original lineup of Life Underwear was (for the price) a very good option for men's underwear.
Chad was interested to know what the review process is like: Love the site; long time reader, blah, blah... When you review an item, do you do so after a certain 'wash and wear' period or is the review of the product done straight out of the box? I ask because I've been burned before when something gave me an initial good impression only to buy more and learn that after a couple of times in the wash, they all have a defect (fabric wearing thin or holes, banding unraveling, etc). Particularly on the high end of the spectrum this can hurt those that like to be cost conscious/effective.
Chad.
Hello Chad, my review process isn't particularly scientific but some basic things I try to do include putting the underwear through at least one wash/wear cycle since fabrics behave fairly differently when they are new out of the box versus after travel through a washing machine and the harshness of a dryer. This step also gives me some basic understanding of how the garment will start to wear over time as I do not give my underwear
special treatment in the washing machine. I tend to ignore most of the instructions on the tags and use standard detergents, throwing in my underwear with other clothes like jeans and use the full heated dryer setting. I realize this might not be ideal from the manufacturer's perspective but I also feel it's unrealistic to expect men to be spending an excessive amount of time worrying about how to care for their underwear. I do draw some distinctions when it's specialty underwear that is intentionally meant to be worn sparingly and not an every-day wear and wash garment. For a few pairs, yes I will hand-wash and air dry but that's a very rare exception. In order to keep the reviews going I can't necessarily speak to the durability of a particular item through weeks or months of wearing and washing since I'd never have a chance to move on from one style so I am often using my best estimation based on experience having purchased and worn hundreds of pairs of underwear every year. If, or when I find a serious problem after multiple wearings I will update a given review under the construction category. I think determining durability is also relative to how long a person expects their underwear to last. It can be very subjective sometimes in terms of longevity expectations for underwear so I try to find a reasonable middle-of-the-road baseline and provide a recommendation off that.
Hope this helps answer your question Chad and thanks for writing!
Hi- just wanted to make a few comments on your recent question/answer posting- as far as hair removal I've found waxing works best for me (professionaly done, wouldn't try it myself)- it can be a little painful, especially down below- but it does the job. I find that air drying my underwear helps hold their shape and color- love the site-reviews and of course the pics!
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Hello Ron, thanks for the comments. You are totally right, I missed waxing as an option for hair removal. I have updated the text of the article with additional links to waxing information as well as the poll options.
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i have to agree with you on the laundry article. it is very hard to tell which is which that make your undies last a long time. i still have some undies that dont fitme but i hang onto it in case i can get back in. we have to take a risk and learn how to make it better in wash. sometime it can be sizing problem that most website advise you. it also better to wear undewear one size up of you want to wear it 4ever.
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Hi, is there any where a man can find Jake Taylor Nylon Briefs? Anywhere? I have tried Ebay and google Searches. Thanks, Nick
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Hey Underwear Guy!
Love the site: it's an amazing resource. I hope this isn't a stupid question. In the review Wear Recommendations, what is the difference between a check mark and a plus? Is one higher than the other? Sorry if the answer is posted elsewhere and I just missed it.
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