You pick up your date feeling and looking oh-so confident. Then it happens: That tickle in your nose twitches, there’s the moment of anticipation and then you sneeze.
That hip facade is immediately shattered as your unkempt nose hairs shoot out and you look like a party favor.
According to experts, perhaps the most overlooked grooming issue with men are those untamed nose hairs. It’s not only a grooming issue, though. When we attempt to cut back that nasal forest, it can quickly become a health issue, as well.
First up: Those hairs are necessary for good health. They serve as legitimate biological function, protecting you from airborne pathogens by serving as a barrier between your respiratory system and the outside world. So, as much as you want to completely remove them, that’s not a good idea.
You can, however, trim them way back and still have protection from harmful airborne particles.
Tackling them with a pair of scissors or a disposable razor is effective, but can lead to nicks and infections. The best way to trim, experts say, is to buy one of the many electric nose hair trimmers on the market. They’re typically inexpensive and engineered to cut hairs in hard to reach spaces while protecting against trimming accidents.
Instead of craning your neck into impossible angles to survey the field, press backward on the tip of your nose to expose each nostril, making it easier to see and reach what you’re cutting with the nose hair trimmer. Using the trimmer, gently circle around each nostril taking care to not press too hard or venture too deeply into the nasal cavity. That exuberance to fell your nose forest is what leads to cuts and possible infections.
The job isn’t done just yet.
Trimmed hairs can be sharp once cut, and can be irritating under dry conditions, but the biggest threat to your freshly groomed nostrils is an ingrown hair.
The experts at Men’s Health magazine suggest taking these steps to finish the trim job:
- First, cover your index finger in a warm, moist cloth and gently insert it in your not to remove clipped hairs and moisten the skin in there. Repeat the process a few times, rinsing the cloth periodically.
- If you feel a spot that feels irritated, there’s a good chance that the hair is either ingrown or in the early stages of being a problem. Gently rub your finger at that spot to loosen the ingrown hair from underneath your skin. Then, dab a Q-tip with hydrogen peroxide and rub the irritated spot to disinfect it.
- Finally, you can apply any common antiseptic ointment, which are designed to kill bacteria. Most also have the added benefit of keeping your nasal skin moist and soften those trimmed hairs.
