How Can Men Regain Control Over Their Appearance?
It’s increasingly common for people to have a complicated relationship with how they look, to put it lightly. You can place the blame on a lot of things, including social media, but the fact is that it’s easy to feel as though you’re losing control of how you look.
Physical appearance is one of those things that probably shouldn’t be as important as it is. Body image issues can cause major problems for people’s mental and physical health, and people can legitimately feel terrible about themselves because they don’t like who looks back at them in the mirror.
Just because this is common, it doesn’t mean that it’s not a problem. So, what can you do about it?
The Right Attitude
The first and most important thing for everyone to do is to make sure that they’re approaching things in a balanced way. Is there anything wrong with wanting to look good? The shortest answer is no.
The slightly more complicated answer is that you need to approach your appearance with a balanced view. For some people, regaining control of their appearance might involve extreme methods, which can lead to them developing body image issues or eating disorders that threaten their health and happiness.
For example, male fitness role models have reportedly gotten less and less realistic in recent years. There’s a difference between being physically fit and being a professional bodybuilder, but male body standards are increasingly extreme. The “action hero” physique of even twenty years ago is now sometimes considered small or weak, despite this once being considered peak physical fitness.
However, this isn’t to say that the fitness industry is completely terrible. Yes, being more physically fit is a great goal to have because it can make you look better and feel more confident, as well as improve your health, but it’s important to be realistic.
Another thing to consider is the fact that physical appearance isn’t everything. Yes, you can want to look good and work towards that, but it shouldn’t be the most important thing in your life, and, ideally, it shouldn’t massively affect how you feel about yourself.
Beauty standards are fickle and features that are considered attractive now might not be considered attractive in a few years time. So, rather than trying to change everything about how you look, focus on building on your natural beauty.
With this in mind, let’s explore a few ways that men can better control how they look so they can be more confident in themselves.
Physical Fitness
It makes sense that the first thing to discuss is physical fitness. Fitness shouldn’t be an optional extra just for people who want to look ripped. Ideally, everyone should be able to move comfortably and stay active, no matter what they look like.
Interestingly, the link between fitness and weight isn’t as clear-cut as we might think. Some people might look heavy, but they’re a lot stronger and fitter than someone else who happens to be naturally skinny but never works out. Physical fitness is a health concern at least as much as it is a cosmetic one.
One of the most important aspects of physical fitness is consistency. If you hit your goals and then just stop, it’s so easy to fall back into old habits and health problems. This touches on the other important way to make sure you’re more successful, which is to set concrete goals.
So, you might want to battle the dad bod. This might involve losing fat and gaining muscle, as you can maximize your existing strength while getting rid of excess weight. This is a great goal to have, and the type of exercises and diet you use will be informed by this goal. But only by sticking to your routine will you stop yourself from sliding back into a body shape you don’t feel confident in.
By defining your goals, you massively improve your chances of success. You should also track your progress incrementally, so you stay motivated as you see yourself improving. Be realistic with your early goals as well, especially if you’re new to working out. Impatience is the enemy, but by being consistent, you’ll see healthy results that you can maintain.
Hair and Grooming
As well as working on your body, you can also improve how you look and how you feel by focusing on your grooming routine. This is a great way to have more control over your appearance.
First, let’s tackle one of the most common insecurities among young men about their appearance, which is their hairline. Male pattern baldness, especially if it strikes in early adulthood, can be surprisingly traumatic.
One of the simplest solutions is to go for the big shave. This is cheaper and, especially if you can pair it with a beard, can transform your look. You might look older and more masculine, and this is often considered an attractive look for men.
Another option, if you aren’t losing your hair too quickly, is to style your hair in ways that disguise the hairline. This can buy you some more time, especially if you pair it with treatments that reduce hair loss. In some cases, this can allow men to keep their hair for longer.
Or, if you have lost a fair amount of hair and don’t want to shave it off, you could look into hair restoration for men that actually allows you to regain your hairline completely. There’s no wrong way to deal with hair loss; the important thing is that you are happy with the results.
As well as focusing on your hair, it’s important to consider how you groom yourself. Good hygiene is such an important part of maintaining and controlling your appearance and even your health. Make sure to take care of your skin as well as your hair and beard by regularly cleansing your skin, protecting it from the harsh sun, and using moisturizer at least twice a day.
