Give me tips/products to trim (not shave) Down There

May 12, 2009 6:35 PM

I'm a guy, looking for recommendations for, er, personal grooming.

So my past few sexual partners have expressed a distinct preference for their guys to be trimmed, rather than 'natural' or shaven. I'm happy to oblige, but using tiny scissors has gotten tedious, annoying, and the results are uneven. Any easy tricks to get things trimmed down, or product recommendations I could grab on Amazon? I've seen references to beard trimmers and the like, but I'm nervous about putting anything with zipping metal teeth near my junk without a thumbs-up from some internet strangers. In the event it matters, I'm anatomically quite ordinary, with no penis- or skin-related health issues. Thanks!

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (18 comments total)

thumbs up for beard trimmers. start at a rather long setting and shorten to desired length.
posted by Industrial PhD at 6:38 PM on May 12

This works great.

That's all I have to day about that.
posted by The Deej at 6:39 PM on May 12

I'm nervous about putting anything with zipping metal teeth near my junk

Understandable. However, Nair is a worse not better option. I suggest a beard trimmer with a nice reassuring guard.
posted by jessamyn at 6:42 PM on May 12

I had decent results with the Norelco BG2020 Bodygroom Shaver, but the two I've bought got dull after about six months, and then the metal shaving bit that can be removed from the plastic housing started falling out on its own.
posted by orthogonality at 6:52 PM on May 12

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsbXwzqlqsU

There used to be an entire site by Norelco about this, but it seems to be down and all I can find is this.
posted by Brian Puccio at 7:08 PM on May 12

Regular electric hair clippers work fine as long as you have a comb on it. 1/4" does the trick.
posted by bengarland at 7:09 PM on May 12 [1 favorite]

Wahl beard trimmer. AFAIK he's never nicked himself, and neither have I.
posted by desjardins at 7:23 PM on May 12

I used a hairless removal product (Easy Shave or Magic Shave) for my beard when I was young. It's gotten popular with the shaved chest/hairless torso crowd.

Do not, DO NOT, use that stuff on your junk. I got a chemical burn on my cheek for letting it stay on too long. You don't want chemical burns on your junk, right?

Stick to a beard trimmer, they're fine and even when used directly on the skin, don't cut or hurt. See this previous question about shaving pubes.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:28 PM on May 12

Electric hair clippers come with all sorts of nice plastic guards that keep the blades far away from your tender vittles. Get the kind that you'd use on your head (WAHL, etc.) and go nuts.
posted by hermitosis at 7:42 PM on May 12

Beard trimmer. It's so the right answer to your question, they even market them now as "personal hair trimmers" or some silly euphemism like that. They make them in lavender and sell them to women, that's how perfect they are for this task.
posted by padraigin at 7:50 PM on May 12

Beard trimmers. You put a plastic guard over the clipper to control the length of the trim and so you don't snag your junk. Don't buy any of the purpose-made ones, they suck. The Norelco G 380 is a good beard trimmer that also works well on pubic hair etc. It comes with a few different attachments including a foil shaver that cuts hair down to the skin and is good for beard outlining among other things.

FYI: Scrotums are not shaped in a way that's conducive to easy trimming. Stick your nuts in the sink in some cool tap water for a few seconds so your 'sack pulls in close to your body and hairs stick straight out. You can then trim those hairs pretty easily by leaving the guard on the "1" setting and passing the trimmer over your skin, held slightly above it.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:05 PM on May 12

After using a Bodygroom for a couple years, I wouldn't suggest anything else. It's time to replace mine, and I've been happy enough with it that I'm seriously considering the upgrade model this time.
posted by Pufferish at 8:12 PM on May 12 [1 favorite]

My ex used to pluck out his pubes with a pair of pliers.


What was that about being squeamish about the beard trimmer?
posted by coppermoss at 8:19 PM on May 12

My husband also says "beard trimmer". I say "use a reasonably long guard," because otherwise it's stubbly and uncomfortable.

Personally, I pluck. Tweezers, not pliers. Longest-lasting, most thorough, no nicks or stubble. On the down side, time-consuming, detail-freakyoriented, and requires a fair degree of flexibility or a good magnifying mirror. Not the method for everybody.
posted by Lexica at 8:53 PM on May 12

Nthing the adjustable beard trimmer.

I would also like to add that, earlier I was going to post EXACTLY Inspector.Gadget's sage scrotumular advice, but I was suddenly seized by the fear that perhaps my scrotum was abnormal in that regard, so I thank I.G. profusely for the scrotal validation.
posted by zerokey at 9:44 PM on May 12

Nth the beard trimmer— depending on your particular trimmer and choice of grooming style, i.e. "slice of pizza with a bite missing" vs. "crotch goatee" vs. "exclamation mark", you might have to learn some new techniques to reach everywhere without discomfort.

Mine is a Wahl. FWIW I also have a dedicated Mach 3 in the shower and either Edge ActiveCare or Aveeno shave lotion— if you do shave part/all of your naughty bits, using an exfoliating face wash keeps ingrown hairs to a minimum.
posted by a halcyon day at 7:50 AM on May 13

beard trimmer. FWIW, I've used one without a guard with zero problems. Current brand is an ultra cheap Conair, but I've used whatever's been handy at the time. Really, you'd have to try pretty hard to cut yourself with one, I think.

Now try not to get hair everywhere.
posted by fishfucker at 9:06 AM on May 14

I'm glad somebody finally mentioned having a separate razor for your face. Make sure and do that.
posted by paisley henosis at 8:44 PM on May 15