There comes a time in every man's life when skin sags, hormones lag and energy flags. But that doesn't mean that men have to surrender to the numbing — and humbling — effects of aging.
Here at Chatter, we've gone on a hunt for hints and hacks from experts on men's health and grooming. We were looking for little things men can do in mid-life to look younger without going under the knife — not that there's anything wrong with that. Here are 10 quick takeaways from our research.
Illustration by Matt McClane / Trim those brows to improve your look.PeopleImages
Wax On, Gents!
Do your eyebrows grow like hedges? Can you see ear hair in your peripheral vision? More and more mature men are turning to the "wax on, wax off" method of wild hair removal, says Debbie Tomas, a stylist at the Strand Salon on Chestnut Street. A smear of wax can clean up the short hairs above your eyebrows and inside your ears, and it lasts for several weeks. And don't worry, most men don't seem to find waxing painful, she says. Another grooming tip: Use a boar-bristle brush when blow-drying to tame unruly hair.
Illustration by Matt McClane / It turns out that you don't need to shower every day, according to the experts.PeopleImages
Lather Logic
"Do you really need to shower every day?" was the headline of a recent New York Times article. Yikes. How could skipping a shower help your hygiene? A dermatologist is quoted in the story giving a warning that showering too frequently can indeed lead to dry, red skin and trigger "itchiness and flaking." A happy medium if you insist on showering every day is to limit soap to armpits, groin, hands and feet, the article says.
Illustration by Matt McClane / Stand up straight to look your best.PeopleImages
Posture Perfect
Experts agree that practicing good posture is often an overlooked element of looking younger, especially for men. So get off the couch and don't be a slouch. Just standing up straight with your shoulders back and your wrists rotated a few degrees, so they are parallel to your hips, can take years off your look. Other standing posture adjustments, according to Medline Plus, include keeping your feet shoulder-width apart, pulling your stomach in, keeping your head level and putting most of your weight over the balls of your feet. Just don't hyperventilate or lose your balance while doing all this, or you might need hip surgery — which is always a buzzkill.
Illustration by Matt McClane / Naps can help prevent stress and boost brain activity.PeopleImages
Snooze and Excel
There might be a reason why afternoon naps feel so good. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who has been called "American's most famous neurosurgeon," recently told the Wall Street Journal that data shows that people who nap regularly "had increased brain volume versus those who did not nap regularly." Naps provide a useful break from stress, Gupta said, which may contribute to brain activity. So take a nap at work, and tell your boss you are trying to become a genius.
Illustration by Matt McClane / Sleep on your left side for health advantages.PeopleImages
Left Is Right
Speaking of sleeping, experts say that sleeping on your left side (as opposed to your right side) has real health advantages. It reduces heartburn by keeping stomach acids lower in the esophagus, according to nutrition expert Ali Ramadan as reported in Huffpost. It's just the way your insides are made, so take advantage. Also, heartburn makes you scowl, which ruins your facial vibe and can also cause wrinkles.
Illustration by Matt McClane / Show off your style with a custom suit.PeopleImages
Suit Up for Success
Twenty-eight-year-old Chattanooga tailor Alex Byrum believes that more men should consider custom clothes. The fit of a tailored men's suit (which typically ranges in cost from $850 to more than $2,000) is infinitely better than anything off the rack, says Byrum. He operates his business, Alexander Sebastian Bespoke Tailoring, out of the former St. Andrews Methodist Church, near the old campus of Tennessee Temple University in Highland Park. For as little as $850, Byrum offers a handmade suit that has high-quality (but not extravagant) fabrics and architecture. "That's my value suit," he says. "Everybody can partake. I firmly believe everybody should have a custom suit."
Illustration by Matt McClane / Try a facial scrub to get rid of dead skin cells.PeopleImages
Scrub the Years Off
AARP — yes, the venerable association for retired people — suggests that men over 50 should add a weekly facial scrub to their grooming regimen. In a recent article titled "11 Great Grooming Habits for Guys Over 50," AARP's online magazine says, "Think of a scrub as a vacuum cleaner." It may sound gross, but dead skin cells build up on everyone's faces, which can lead to "a dull, rough, dry skin texture and can clog pores on the nose." The solution: For under $10, Burt's Bees and Nivea both make facial scrubs for men that are built for exactly this purpose, and it only takes a couple of minutes a week to shed your dead skin.
Illustration by Matt McClane / Men shouldn't neglect their fingernails.PeopleImages
Nail It With a Man-icure
What about a manly mani-pedi? The New York Daily News reported a few years ago that "among males aged 18-34, 25% said they had gone for a manicure or pedicure." No word in that article about older men, but it seems logical that if this is a younger men's trend, giving it a try might make an older man seem younger. It couldn't hurt, right? Many men neglect their nails, and their overall appearance suffers.
Illustration by Matt McClane / Men can gradually lose about an inch of total height by age 70.PeopleImages
Stand Tall
According to WebMD, men can gradually lose about one inch of their total height by age 70. So if you were 6 feet tall in your prime, men, you might be a measly 5'11" by now. Thankfully, there is a long tradition of height-building techniques to get your inch back. In a 2015 article in Esquire, writer Scott Christian offered a slate of wardrobe tricks that make a man look taller. Among them: Don't wear short sleeves, stick with a monochrome palette for your clothes and tuck in your shirt. And, one presumes, hope for the day when stacked heels come back in style.
Erase and Embrace
The bible for men on the hunt for the fountain of youth is a book called "Age Erasers for Men: Hundreds of Fast and Easy Ways to Beat the Years," a 1994 classic with entries from Men's Health Magazine that is still available on Amazon.com. Interestingly, there's a chapter at the front of the book called "Aging: It's a State of Mind." The message is that no amount of tanning or tonics put the brakes on aging like a positive attitude. Specifically, experts say that it's a forward-looking sense of purpose that keeps men young. "People who live long and productive lives don't feel old because they make themselves necessary," say the authors.