The whole lather, rinse, repeat thing applies to your lower half as well…it’s just followed by the task of, y’know, exfoliate, moisturizer, repeat. This crop of body washes and lotions, though, will make the whole process feel less like a chore and more like a call to break out the bubbly.
Wonder Valley
Hinoki Body Wash
Wonder Valley’s Hinoki Body Wash will do what is expected of a solid body wash—thoroughly cleanse without stripping the skin of its critically important moisture barrier—but also, much more. With its fragrant blend of Japanese hinoki, cedarwood, and Siberian fir, the smooth, syrupy-texture wash is forest bathing, bottled.
Suave
Sensitive Skin Body Wash
If your skin puts up a fuss no matter what you put on it, Suave’s Sensitive Skin Face and Body Wash offers hydrating hypoallergenic cleansing with a zesty lemongrass and moss aroma.
Flamingo Estate
Peppermint Soap
A lather that will give you the tingles in the best way possible, Flamingo Estate’s Peppermint Soap brings its zest for life to even the boring old bar soap.
Naturium
Salicylic Acid Body Wash
One of the best active ingredients to combat body acne—salicylic acid—is the star of the show in Naturium’s Body Wash. We like it for rogue pimples, sure, but it’s also great for those who are active and sweat a lot.
Murad
Retexturizing Body Pads
Body acne happens. So does keratosis pilaris (KP) and, yup, ingrown hairs too. Murad’s Retexturizing Body Pads efficiently address all of the above with calming azelaic acid, plus salicylic and glycolic acid, packed into a very handy format.
Necessaire
Vitamin C Body Lotion
The skin-care savvy know that vitamin C is a must-have in your skin care regimen for its brightening and antioxidant capabilities. Now, those extend to the body too in this formula from Necessaire, which is meant to be slathered from head to toe. Bioavailable, stabilized vitamin C (a.k.a., THD ascorbate) plus tranexamic acid and enzymes boost radiance and reduce sun spots for a healthy, all-over glow.
There was a time when you simply used deodorant and didn’t talk about it. Those times are not now: Full body sprays that fight all kinds of funk, legendary perfumers concocting underarm scents, and skin care-level ingredients make us want to rave about these winners.
Dove Men+Care
Whole Body Deo Aluminum-Free Deodorant Spray
It’s called body odor because it’s not limited to just your pits: other parts (see feet and privates) can benefit from some freshening too. Enter Dove Men’s Whole Body Deodorant, which offers long-lasting protection against odor while also playing well with the most sensitive skin types.
Old Spice
Gentle Man’s Total Body cucumber + avocado aluminum-free deodorant cream
If you prefer a stick to a spray, Old Spice Gentle Man’s Total Body swipe-on cream is also meant to be used anywhere you find some funk. It glides onto skin and with fewer than 10 ingredients—and no phthalates or parabens—it’s a clean choice for those discerning customers who don’t want chemicals abou
Papatui
Antiperspirant in Sandalwood Suede
Antiperspirants have been sitting idly by while we’ve all tried to deal with the “funk” that deodorants can leave behind. The Rock can smell what you’re cooking and so he helped develop the Papatui Antiperspirant, which taps aluminum to plug sweat glands while leaving behind a Sandalwood Suede scent—designed by legendary perfumer Frank Voelkl—that is a mellow and, crucially, doesn’t feel too perfumey.
Hume
Supernatural Deodorant
A good-for-you deodorant? Hume Supernatural’s plant-derived version uses ingredients more common in your supplement regimen, like prebiotics and probiotics, to bolster your skin’s microbiome while keeping you smelling delightful. (We enthusiastically endorse the Vanilla Haze scent.)
If you’re thinking that fancy hand soap is “so 2020,” then you haven’t lathered up with the lusciously scented products we’re crowning king—and, certainly, you haven’t pruned your cuticles with the keratin-infused formula that keeps our manicurists very happy with us.
Trudon
Hand Soap in Vixi
Sudsing up with Cire Trudon’s Vixi feels like something of a forest bathing experience with a refreshing woodsy aroma courtesy of bitter orange petit grain, sage, and sandalwood.
Loewe
Tomato Leaves Hand Soap
Immediately get your hands on Loewe’s Tomato Leaves, which perfectly mimics the verdant scent of tomato vines, and if we say so, embodies the Spanish fashion house’s signature spunk.
Essie
Good As New Nail Perfector
The premise of Essie’s Good As New Nail Perfector is simple: it’s your nails, but better. Like, significantly, dramatically, huh-how-did-they-do that better. The ceramide-rich formula corrects yellowing and evens out ridged and uneven texture in as little as one week’s time.
Hermès
Les Mains Hermès Bleu Électrique
That Hermes, the brand synonymous with luxury at every touchpoint, happens to make some of the most damn fine nail lacquer around comes as no surprise. The brand offers a Pantone-level color palette (we are especially fond of the cobalt Bleu Electrique), long wearability, easy application, and, oh yes, eye-catching bottles that you’ll want to keep as prominently displayed as those little orange boxes.
Dedcool
Hand Cream in Taunt
Seasonal changes, hardcore workouts, a diet without hydrating foods—all these things can show up on your hands. While the options for hand creams abound, finding one that adequately moisturizes without leaving a greasy trail, lasts through many washes, and doesn’t smell like potpourri can be a challenge. Dedcool, the viral fragrance brand, hits all the marks with its thick but quickly absorbing Hand Cream in Taunt, a citrusy amber scent.
Paume
All-in-One Cuticle Cream
We think we speak for your cuticles when we say: We are tired of being overlooked. And all those frequent hangnails are a sign of this gross oversight, one that Paume’s All-In-One Cuticle & Nail Cream can, with its plant keratin, biotin and emollient formula, quickly address.
Hair Care
The Best Shampoos and Conditioners
Whether you fancy something that smells like a dream or functions as a workhorse, the best shampoos and conditioners are here for exactly what you desire.
SheaMoisture
Raw Shea Butter & Mafura Oil Moisturizing Shampoo
We’ll spare you the full chemistry lesson, but suffice it to say that most shampoos have to change the pH of your hair to get it clean, which winds up drying it out. That is unless, of course, you introduce oil into the formula, which can remove hair oil via the like-dissolves-like philosophy. This formula uses oils and incredibly gentle surfactants to clean hair and keep it moisturized.
Corpus Naturals
Cypress Shampoo & Conditioner
Do we need a chic shampoo? One whiff of the juicy Italian bergamot and grassy vetiver of Corpus Cypress Shampoo and your answer will be a resounding yes. But lest you think this is all scent and no substance, the coconut and sunflower oil-rich formula also hydrates and restores scalp health.
Horace
Fine Hair Shampoo
Those with thinning hair will do well to lather up with Horace’s Fine Hair Shampoo. It’s formulated using rice proteins to strengthen and volumize individual strands, helping hair to look thicker after a single wash.
Nutrafol
Scalp Cleanser Shampoo
The scalp is the new face. Treat it with the same level of TLC. Nutrafol’s Root Purifier Shampoo is formulated with vegan protein and prebiotics to treat the scalp’s microbiome (yup, you have one there too).
Prose
Custom Shampoo
To get your shampoo and conditioner tailored to your exact needs, perhaps consider shelling out a bit more for Prose’s Custom Shampoo, which creates your formula to be unique to you—down to the scent profile it comes with.
Olaplex
No.5 Leave-In Conditioner
A conditioner with split personalities. Olaplex’s Moisturize & Mend Leave-In Conditioner is first and foremost a damn good conditioner for dry and dehydrated hair; secondly, it’s a leave-in that mends split ends and protects from heat and damage; and finally serves as a styling cream that fights frizz and smooths.
The Best Hair Loss Solutions
Some degree of thinning hair is a reality for many—many—men. While there’s no quick or easy fix for hair loss (yet, at least), innovation has come a long way in recent years.
Ro
Topical Finasteride
Roman Hair Solutions’s 3-In-1 Topical Spray is a powerful (prescription) mash-up of minoxidil for regrowth, finasteride to slow loss and tretinoin to enhance absorption, that promises to get hair back on track in as soon as 3 months. Finasteride gets a bad shake because some users have experienced erectile disfunction; however, our testers like that this blend allowed users to still get the DHT-blocking punch from the ingredient without having it a brutally high concentration.
Hims
Minoxidil + Supplement Chew
DTC health brand Hims supplies you with the gold standard in hair loss: oral minoxidil. As we wrote in our review, the compounding pharmacy makes it easy to get this supplement with or without finasteride and if you’d like you can even combine minoxidil and finasteride with tadalafil, an ingredient that treats erectile dysfunction.
We’re here to tell you that good hair days are incredibly repeatable so long as you have the right products and tools in your arsenal. Ahem:
Odele
Cream Pomade
To smooth and sculpt short hair or add pieciness, Odele’s Cream Pomade is easy to work with and dries to a matte finish.
Aveda
Invati Ultra Advanced Thickening Foam
Aveda’s Invati Thickening Foam is a styling aid that adds significant volume without weighing down thinning strands.
Ocoa
Hydrating Curl Cream
With mango butter and marula oil, this incredibly hydrating and frizz-remedying concoction ensures that your curls and coils are adequately nourished without feeling weighted down.
Cécred
Hair Oil
GQ’s October cover star Beyoncé’s Cécred Hair Oil blends thirteen oils into this lightweight blend that helps strands to feel moisturized and shiny without the use of any silicone.
Sachajuan
Ocean Mist Volume Hair Mousse
To add airy volume or create an ideal pre-blow dry foundation, Sachajuan’s Ocean Mist Volume Hair Mousse works its magic without any residual stickiness.
Dyson
Supersonic Nural
Are we suggesting you spend $500 on a hair dryer? Yes, yes we are. Dyson’s Supersonic Nural is the smartphone of hair dryers with sensors that automatically shift temperature and airflow, a protective scalp mode, and plenty of clever attachments for all your styling needs.
The serums that, without fail, make it a joy to realize that the skin on your scalp needs just as much TLC as the other stuff.
THOM
Scalp Serum
THOM’s Scalp Serum is a soothing treatment made with pomegranate enzymes, pea protein, and apple stem cell technology that quashes inflammation.
Act + Acre
4% Niacinamide Oily Scalp Serum
Act + Acre’s new 4% Niacinamide Oily Scalp Serum, which taps its key ingredient to help balance oil production so that you get an extra day or two from your shampoo.x
Cologne and Fragrance
Fragrance is such a subjective pursuit, one that can shift with the seasons, your mood, even the political climate. Our picks for best fragrances of the year may fall under familiar scent umbrellas (citrus, spicy, fresh, woodsy, and floral) but the olfactive interpretations within each category will take you to thrillingly unfamiliar new territories.
The Golden Retriever boyfriend of fragrances, spritz one of these on for instantaneously likable vibes.
Ralph Lauren
Polo ’67
Ralph Lauren’s Polo 67 is a remix of a classic with a bright blend of Calabrian bergamot, pineapple, and vetiver.
Tom Ford
Neroli Portofino
Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino is a sensory trip to the titular Italian Riviera town, powered by crisp citrus
Aesop
Virēre Eau de Parfum
Exactly what you’d expect from the beloved minimalist line: Aesop’s Virere rounds out its citrus heart with peppery green spices.
Pleasing
Rivulets
Like brand founder Harry Styles himself, Pleasing’s Rivulets fragrance has range. While you might not think of it as a citrus fragrance, at first whiff its peppy citrus top notes fire off endorphins in your brain; over time, the musky floral drydown settles things just enough to be all-day wearable.
Punchy, vibrant, lively—these spicy fragrances reframe the category into one that’s approachable and wearable all the same.
Guerlain
Patchouli Paris
Patchouli gets a bad rap, but in Guerlain’s sophisticated Patchouli Paris, the note is paired with musk, vanilla, and an ambergris accord—it feels like redemption.
Frederic Malle
Hope
For Frederic Malle’s newest, Hope, perfumer Dominic Ropion gave ancient oud a thoroughly modern remake with the help of spicy pink peppercorn, cypress, and leathery incense.
Easy-going without being trite, a spritz of these fresh colognes will make you, to borrow a phrase from Louis Vuitton men’s creative director: happy.
Dior
Sauvage Eau Forte
The evolution of Dior’s iconic Sauvage is Sauvage Eau Forte, an inventive alcohol-free fragrance that melds a fougere freshness with lavender and musky wood notes.
Louis Vuitton
Lovers
Conjured by Pharrell Williams and perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud, LV Lovers aims to bottle the essence of the sun, something they achieve with crisp ginger and verdant galbanum.
The Best Woody and Green Colognes
Even air signs can appreciate the beauty of these Earth-bound scents which pluck their notes from verdant woods, springy California cliffs, and a bouquet of greens or two.
Le Labo
Corriander 39 Mexico City
Cilantro naysayers, prepare to have your mind changed by Le Labo’s Coriandre 39, which takes aldehydic cilantro leaves for an unexpected ride with lime and musk.
Eauso Vert
Dos Mil Anos
The aromatic woodsy notes of Eau So Vert’s Dos Mil Anos—like cypress, cardamom and hazelnut— nod to the ancient Oaxacan tree of life that the fragrance is an homage to.
Jo Malone
Hinoki & Cedarwood
Open the sauna and let out all the steam, breath in and you’ve got something akin to this grounding fragrance that feels like tra-la-la-ing through the Northern California Redwoods or taking a big breath in of woody mountain air.
D.S. & Durga
Big Sur Eucalyptus
DS&Durga’s Big Sur is a wet woody interpretation of California’s magnificent eucalyptus groves.
The Best Floral and Sweet Fragrances
A stiff drink, a bouquet of buds—these fragrances prove that sweet-smelling scents don’t have to veer saccharine.
By Kilian
Old Fashioned
By Killian’s Old Fashioned distills the elements of one of the most classic cocktails ever shaken into a sweet and smoky, cedarwood-laced liquored floral.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian
APOM
Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s APOM is a supremely elegant aromatic ambery floral.
When done right, scent can be a conversation starter, and we think you’ll have plenty to talk about with these guys going.
Diptyque
Les Mondes de Diptyque
With its combination of moss absolute, cedar essence, and a matcha accord, Diptyque’s Temple des Mousses candle will transform your home into a Japanese zen garden.
Byredo
Holidays Trois Encens
It’s hard to award a limited-edition holiday release a Grooming Award, but Byredo’s trio of Bibliothèque, Woods, and Sweet Grass is get-it-while-you-still-can kind of good.
Homecourt
CeceRoom Deodorant
Courteney Cox’s line of home-cleaning goods Homecourt expanded to include the Cece Room Deodorant, which everyone with a pet, child, or spouse has probably needed at some point or another. It neutralizes odors with zinc ricinoleate, yeast ferment, and charcoal, and leaves behind a Cox’s signature—a blend of geranium, ylang-ylang, and guiacwood.
Vyrao
Ember Large
If you’ve ever wanted to burn it all down in a witchy kind of way, look no further than Vyrao’s Ember candle, which selects its notes to attract positivity, promote healing, and bring about restoration.
Facial Hair Care
The hair on your face and the hair on your groin both need tending, just not ever with the same device.
Gillette
Intimate i7 Trimmer
For your pubes, there is the Gillette i7 Pubic Hair Trimmer, which comes with two attachable combs and a handy LED light when your overhead lighting isn’t ideal.
Bevel
Trimmer SE
For your beard, there is the Bevel Trimmer, a lightweight, ergonomic device with easy-to-clean blades that prevent bumps and irritation.
Andis
Explorer Body & Groin Trimmer
Your body hair—namely any overgrown pubes—demand regular trims too. But not any bladed device is fit to be so close your nether regions. This trimmer uses a ceramic cutter (it stays sharper longer than metal, which means less needless tugging on the skin) and has a slim and discreet design that meanders easily around any hard-to-reach places.
Panasonic
Ear and Nose Hair Trimmer for Men
A vacuum seal on Panasonic’s Ear and Nose Hair Trimmer trimmer makes clipping ear and nose hair so easy that you could do it every day if you needed.
Hair removal is a choose-your-own-adventure kind of undertaking, and while there are hundreds of devices out there, the new ones are pretty stellar.
Dollar Shave Club
3-in-1 Freestyler
If you’re a razor devotee, there is, in our opinion, no better option than the Dollar Shave Club 3-In-1 Razor. On the front there are a top-of-the-line six blades, and on the flipside you’ll find a self-sharpening power trimmer.
Philips Norelco
Compact Shaver
Smaller than an iPhone, this rotary shaver is convenient to pack, you can shave wet or dry, it charges in a jiffy, and above all, it gives you a close and smooth shave that honestly is so good you might want to just keep this in your regular rotation.
Shaving and trimming your facial hair requires its own assortment of products. Choose wisely.
The Grey
Cleanse and Shaving Mousse
The Grey’s Cleansing and Shaving Mousse is a two-in-one wonder: a luxe antioxidant rich cleanser and a smooth shaving mousse.
The Shop
After Shave Toner Anti-Bump Solution with Witch Hazel
The Shop’s After Shave Toner uses gentle acids to exfoliate, brighten, and prevent the formation of razor bumps.
Prohibition
Beard Oil
Just a few wee drops of Prohibition Wellness’s Hair & Beard Oil (a blend of coconut, jojoba, hemp, argan, and grape seed) is all your beard needs to resist unruliness.
Chanel
Bleu Beard Oil
Lest you think hair fragrance is designated for the hair sprouting solely out of your scalp, allow us to present Bleu de Chanel hair perfume, which is simply divine to dab on facial hair.
Oral Care
Don’t sleep on your oral health. It can have far-reaching effects that extend beyond your teeth.
Colgate
Total Foaming Clean Soft Toothbrush
Your first course of action for mouth maintenance is a capable toothbrush. Our pick for a solid manual version is Colgate’s Total Active Foaming Clean Soft Toothbrush, which has high-density bristles that gets to hard-to-reach corners.
Quip
60 Oscillating Toothbrush
Quip’s 360 Oscillating Toothbrush is our electric pick for its easy-to-wield rotating and pulsating brush, which cleans in three intensities guided by LED pressure sensors.
Boka
Restore Citrus Mint Mouthwash Tablets
Our preferred mouthwash isn’t really a wash at all: Boka’s Restore Tablets are hydroxyapatite tablets with powerful probiotics that are activated by your saliva—they do a bang-up job of freshening breath and soothing gums.
Selahatin
Steam Will Rise
On our mission to give everything in our wellness and grooming routine a chic upgrade, we have finally found a toothpaste up the task. Swedish brand Selahatin’s Steam Will Rise is an anti-inflammatory formula that comes housed in a sleek aluminum tube ready for prominent sinkside display.
Crest
Deep Stain Remover
If you’ve been sipping on coffee since the aughts and are looking for a way other than whitening strips to nix stains, Crest’s Deep Stain Remover toothpaste starts working its magic after a single use.
Waterpik
Sonic-Fusion 2.0 Professional Flossing Toothbrush
For those who say they “floss once a day,” at the dentist but otherwise aren’t actually as thorough, this two-in-one device makes toggling between the brush and water flosser as easy as pressing a button
STORY CREDITS Writer: Fiorella Valdesolo Editors: Ali Finney and Chris Cohen Contributors: Tyler Chin, Ian Burke, Avidan Grossman
PRODUCTION CREDITS: Photographs by Bowen Fernie Set design by Suzy Zietzmann
Silvia Ballard is a writer and editor who has worked in publishing for over 15 years. She has written on topics ranging from arts to construction, automotive to travel, real estate to fashion—and everything in between!
When she's not writing, Silvia enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling around the world, and exploring new places.