Thread: The end of men...who are these people?

Taken from the Daily Mail yesterday;

Rise of the metrosexual: Men now spend longer getting ready to go out than women | Mail Online

Men now take longer than women to get ready? 83 minutes a day? Surely some men do but I don't believe the average man takes longer than the average women to get ready. I don't mean for this to sound sexist, I'm just a realist!

23 minutes for a man to shower? What do they do in there that I'm not doing?

I'll admit my spending has gone up the last couple of years due to wanting different soaps, creams and aftershaves. Oh ya, more razors, more hones, etc. Perhaps my spending is a bit OTT at times. I can still have a shower and shave and be ready to walk out the door in less than half the time this suggests and that's when I'm not in a rush. According to this men spend 7 minutes a day on make-up. Wtf?

Obviously I make a bit of an effort but I don't own moisturiser, toners, cleansers, etc. I use cheap hair wax, deodorant, soap, shampoo and shaving paraphernalia. Job done. That's it. I'm 35 but maybe I'm from the old school where a real man conjures up images of Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson. Less moisturiser, more leather please!

We all enjoy the finer things in life, but reading this article makes me think I'm missing something here? Is this an attempt to make men think this is what they need to do to be men? There's certainly a trend in the media and advertising for women to feel they need to use certain product and do certain things to be attractive, is this a cross over to open up a whole new market with men?

I'll stick to my routine and leave these boys to it I guess...being an emo or David Beckham must be a real pain if that's how long it takes to get ready!

I'm a minimalist when it comes to the morning. I'm up at 5.15 am; brush teeth, wash face, dunk hgair into sink of water dry off, done.

I shave at night after my bath - I don't shower, I don't think they clean as well plus we don't have one come to think of it I take 25 mins to run and have my bath! what are these guys doing? my friend takes two hours to get ready, and guess what...? he shaves with a mach3 and can't move his face afterwards because of the razorburn! I keep telling him he's nuts and to at least try and use a decent soap, but he won't be told so I've given up.... he's a masochist I think.

The bit I find funny in the article is men spending 7 minutes on their make up?

Here's my total time spend getting ready;

Shower/bath - 25 minutes
Shave - 14 minutes
Cleanse, tone, moisturize - 10 seconds (Do these people have hands?! how long do you need to rub cream on your face?)
Hair - 2 minutes
Make-up - 0 minutes
Clothes - 10 seconds (whatever I look at first gets put on)
Touch-ups - 0 minutes
TOTAL - 31 mins 20 seconds

and that keeps me perfectly pruned, clean complexion, well dressed and not a complete nutter. Of course my morning routine takes 2 mins and 20 seconds - I bathe and shave at night so I think I'm well under target. The thing is, IME the stress and worry caused by them thinking how they look all the time is adding 5 years onto their face

25 mins in the shower would almost be a hanging offence in this country. Water is too damn precious here. I spend a total of 40 minutes in the bathroom every morning usually less (all depends on how long I spend reading a magazine on the dunny ) Shower, shave, teeth, hair, dress and out.


Mick

I'm with you there Mick! I worked in the outback years ago and water was indeed precious stuff. Even here in Northamptonshire rainfall is way behind this year and they need to draw water from the River Nene to cope. I get funny when people leave water on while they brush their teeth, nevermind a 23 minute shower!

Originally Posted by MickR

25 mins in the shower would almost be a hanging offence in this country. Water is too damn precious here. I spend a total of 40 minutes in the bathroom every morning usually less (all depends on how long I spend reading a magazine on the dunny ) Shower, shave, teeth, hair, dress and out.


Mick

I don't know..I am not much of a primper... I straight shaved because back in the old days the camo that we put on our faces clogged the disposable razors... I put on lotion (Jergens) because of years in the sun and hard water gives me eczema.... But the one thing I do enjoy is a long hot shower. I worked on ranches and in the oii fields before joining the infantry for 20 years.... nothing feels better than a long hot shower after a day of grime... it is a habit I have reduced over time (Now I wear a tie , and don't sweat all day) but still probably enjoy more time in the shower than most....THe only ones who really know how to bath were the Japanese Infantry guys we trained with in the mountains in Japan....They would sit in those showers for hours (it seemed)....I tried it and man, it was great after being grimey all day.

Originally Posted by justalex

I'm a minimalist when it comes to the morning. I'm up at 5.15 am; brush teeth, wash face, dunk hgair into sink of water dry off, done.

I shave at night after my bath - I don't shower, I don't think they clean as well plus we don't have one come to think of it I take 25 mins to run and have my bath! what are these guys doing? my friend takes two hours to get ready, and guess what...? he shaves with a mach3 and can't move his face afterwards because of the razorburn! I keep telling him he's nuts and to at least try and use a decent soap, but he won't be told so I've given up.... he's a masochist I think.

The bit I find funny in the article is men spending 7 minutes on their make up?

Here's my total time spend getting ready;

Shower/bath - 25 minutes
Shave - 14 minutes
Cleanse, tone, moisturize - 10 seconds (Do these people have hands?! how long do you need to rub cream on your face?)
Hair - 2 minutes
Make-up - 0 minutes
Clothes - 10 seconds (whatever I look at first gets put on)
Touch-ups - 0 minutes
TOTAL - 31 mins 20 seconds

and that keeps me perfectly pruned, clean complexion, well dressed and not a complete nutter. Of course my morning routine takes 2 mins and 20 seconds - I bathe and shave at night so I think I'm well under target. The thing is, IME the stress and worry caused by them thinking how they look all the time is adding 5 years onto their face

Like you I shave at night during the week. I like to slow the pace down and relax just before I sleep so it makes sense to me. Weekends I shave in the morning. The make-up thing is what really had me scratching my head! I agree it's probably the stress of worrying about how they look that counteracts all that time and effort as well. Personally I think any man doing that kind of primping and preening on a daily basis needs to get over themselves but that's just my opinion...

Originally Posted by Wintchase

I don't know..I am not much of a primper... I straight shaved because back in the old days the camo that we put on our faces clogged the disposable razors... I put on lotion (Jergens) because of years in the sun and hard water gives me eczema.... But the one thing I do enjoy is a long hot shower. I worked on ranches and in the oii fields before joining the infantry for 20 years.... nothing feels better than a long hot shower after a day of grime... it is a habit I have reduced over time (Now I wear a tie , and don't sweat all day) but still probably enjoy more time in the shower than most....THe only ones who really know how to bath were the Japanese Infantry guys we trained with in the mountains in Japan....They would sit in those showers for hours (it seemed)....I tried it and man, it was great after being grimey all day.

Perhaps the difference is you earned that shower! I don't think these lads are swinging pipe 16 hours a day in the patch or clearing an LZ with a machete! They're probably mainly in IT, Real Estate or customer faced roles here. I'd love to soak in a Japanese Onsen one day. Sounds sublime!

long years spent on boats with cold water showers get wet soap up and warsh off total 5 min. shave about the same toliet time about same all total 15 min. and that is taking my time, now that i am at home i ues warm water to shower and it does fell nice but a 30 min. shower i cant understand .

Good points indeed ! I even turn the shower off when soaping up , seems a waste to keep the water running .
I read that men`s hair/body/shave products , not to mention lotions and what not - have become a multi-million pound/dollar/euros/yen
industry !
Plus the power of athletes/celebrities endorsing products and huge marketing budgets to bombard the
us men ! Axe company is a good example of target marketing . Good stuff , if you want to smell like a 15 year old schoolboy !

I usually take about 20 mins , shower, shave, clean the sink and then fall into my closet and whatever sticks to me , is what I wear !


cheers,

Scott

Good points indeed ! I even turn the shower off when soaping up , seems a waste to keep the water running .
I read that men`s hair/body/shave products , not to mention lotions and what not - have become a multi-million pound/dollar/euros/yen
industry !
Plus the power of athletes/celebrities endorsing products and huge marketing budgets to bombard
us men ! Axe company is a good example of target marketing . Good stuff , if you want to smell like a 15 year old schoolboy !

I usually take about 20 mins , shower, shave, clean the sink and then fall into my closet and whatever sticks to me , is what I wear !


cheers,

Scott