How Do I Encourage Him

Maybe just start off simple by giving him a day moisturiser he can put on after he has a shower or washes his face. And then compliment on how nice he looks so he can feel encouraged to keep using it.

You can also try a body wash with exfoliating beads in it and with a scent thats not too over the top.

Yes i agree with what marie says. I was in same boat as you with my hubby, i introduced moisturiser with built in sunscreen, it took him a while to apply it, then i left it in the bathroom so that he will notice it. He started using it yayyyyy i bought him an aftershave for his birthday and even puts some on for me, now this is coming from my sweetheart who doesnt believe in dealing with any pretty boy stuff. I did it because he used to complain about how old he is looking because of his job and because i love him want him to feel better about himself. Try it slowly, maybe leave the moisturiser beside the sink so that it would be easier to pick it up and apply it. Goodluck :)

completely agree with the above- the built in sunscreen thing is a great idea! i got my boyfriend to start moisturising, washing his face, etc by doing it together. whenever i would put moisturizer on or brush my teeth, i'd ask him if he'd like to as well. did it enough to make it become a habit of it. going out and helping him choose a moisturiser and face washer for men also helped. i guess it made him feel like he wasn't using a 'girl product'. try Niveas range for men :) lynx also have really nice smelling shower gels, and you can often buy them with loofahs in a pack

My hubby has hit it off with some of the masculine shower wash/gels that they make 'especially for men' - he even buys them himself. They need soap in the shower so this is a 'wash off' product like soap that he doesn't have to feel like he's actually putting anything on so it could be a good way of edging him into grooming products.

Bribe him...praise him whenever he does make an effort...say how attractive you find clean moisturised skin etc, etc.

I'm with Feathered Beauty - bribery and corruption all the way! Perhaps some things can be conditional upon things like clean skin and brushed teeth....ahem.....

I am actually a guy and a lot of the above advice is good. But softness has the right idea! There are a lot of products aimed specifically for men. Start slow like a manly aftershave cream or gel and as he gets more comfortable you can move onto more things :) Also as said above with holding certain things always gets the message across ;)

You have to make him brush his teeth?? If he doesn't do that I don't think you'll have much luck with exfoliating and moisturising.

I'd actually be upfront with him and tell him. Not exfoliating, ok not all guys want to do that. But basic hygiene like brushing teeth and washing your face is not optional in my book! I tell my fiancé when his breath his gross, if he wants a kiss he'll brush his teeth!

How do I encourage my man to look after himself? Last night I offered him some microdermabrasion treatment (just the face scrub & moisturiser) and he didn't want a bar of it. I know maybe that's an extreme thing to expect him to do, but how do I encourage him to constantly wash his face, brush his teeth, etc etc. I don't want him to be a 'pretty boy' I love that he's a dirty trucky haha but some grooming would be nice.

My bloke is 50 this year and for some reason hates cleaning his teeth at night - when he's tired he just wants to crash. What works for me is teasing him like he's a little kid, not making it a hygiene issue as such, because he would find that humiliating (he's actually hyper clean every other way). So I call it Happy Tooth Time, and tickle him until he gets up and brushes them. He even calls it Happy Tooth Time himself, now! And sometimes I exaggerate wildly about all the horrible things that will happen to him if he doesn't clean his teeth, like they'll all go black and fall out of his head and he'll have to eat soup for the rest of his life. YMMV, but it works for us because silliness works for us.

Re the grooming side: I give him Christmas and birthday gifts of haircuts at my really good salon - sometimes, because I spend a fortune there and he has "interesting" hair, I can negotiate for one of the apprentices to give him a free cut as part of their training. He wouldn't have spent that sort of money himself, but actually loves the luxury, and now and again he will actually book and pay for the expensive cut as a way of acknowledging the freebies (and because he really likes it now).

And on our recent holiday I booked him a pedicure as a surprise, and he was quite anxious about it, but totally loved it, and kept showing me his "beautiful" feet for days! So it's a slow process, but I'm finding that if I can get him liking the pampering side of it first, he won't see it as vain, or worse, as somehow "correcting" the things that aren't good enough. And then I think that seeing the difference that looking after his teeth and hair and feet has made, he wants to keep it up.

I'd actually be upfront with him and tell him. Not exfoliating, ok not all guys want to do that. But basic hygiene like brushing teeth and washing your face is not optional in my book! I tell my fiancé when his breath his gross, if he wants a kiss he'll brush his teeth!

I agree with the upfront thing, but I try really hard not to be personal about it - so if it's bad breath, I'm more likely to say "Woooh, those falafels were poisonous!" than "Your breath stinks", because the first one lets him know I don't think its his fault, where the second one is just going to make him feel defensive and embarrassed.

So I had to share - my husband has been talking about his skin a little lately as he just turned 29 - last night on a whim I suggested we both use an exfoliating mask (I can't get enough of the dermalogica cream exfoliator) and he said YES! It was a lot of fun :) And I've caught him rubbing his face a few times since to feel how smooth his skin is, he's pretty impressed with himself hahaha :) Love him to bits!

You're lucky Shelleypelly, my hubby would run a mile if I even suggest I give him a face mask. It has taken a long long time, but now he uses a facial moisturiser, and that's his beauty regime, full stop. Sigh. I am trying to leave masculine-looking things (eg things with labels saying they are especially for men) lying around in the bathroom - he tends to be more receptive of these than my 'lotions and potions', as he calls it.

I'm not sure if this a new thing but there seems to be a greater emphasis on male hygiene and grooming especially in younger generations like my own. I know a lot of males that are obsessed with how they look. I know my boyfriend moisturizers but even more so as winter is coming and his skin is starting to dry out. My brother when he was about 17 yrs old was using a hair straightening. Unimaginable for a lot of the older hetro guys but it is much more acceptable these days. I think it is good that they are taking more of an emphasis on their looks, however, always good to have a rugged manly side as well!

I agree with you, Annabelle. I think guys of our generation (I'm 21) spend as much time in front of the mirror as us girls! But I think it's a good thing- as long as they don't take it too far and forget they are actually men!

And yeah, I like W.T.F when my brother asked to borrow my hair straightener! Lol. even more so when he asked me to straighten his rat tail....eww, gross I know!

I HATE MEN THAT DON'T EVEN TRY TO MAKE THEM SELVES LOOK AND FEEL BETTER. , I THINK IT STEMS FROM LAZINESS AND LACK OF MOTIVATION.WHY WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO LET YOURSELF GO .NO PRIDE I RECKON.

Most guys are curious and will try products if they are not made a fuss over. Just ask him to try the product in his own time and challenge him by saying that I bet you can tell when he has applied the treatment...

i loved reading this thread i love my partner dearly an he lets me do few things here an there which i think make him feel less man like at time but he smells good after!