Your guy’s grooming is a big deal these days, according to men’s magazines and style guides. Manscaping – or trimming all that excess hair from various parts of the body – is definitely a trend. Before you tie him down and force him to shave down some of that manly fur, consider his feelings about it. If he’s game to trim those tresses, then it’s OK to help him out. If he wants to make a change in his hairy landscape, then grabbing a razor and some shaving cream definitely isn’t the way to go about it. A few rules of thumb according to AskMen.com are as follows. First, there are very few areas of his body that need to be super smooth — like your freshly shaved legs — unless he makes a living as a stripper, AskMen helpfully points out. Nor should there be wide swaths of hair the length of a five o’clock shadow. Stubbly chest? No, thanks. The best tool for a natural look is a beard-type trimmer with several guards to ensure the right length.

On the chest, he’ll want to ensure there are no tufts of hair hanging out of his collar, so that can be trimmed down. Ensure that it’s all fairly uniform without making it too short. Consider natural hair lines and avoid cutting them yourself – it looks unnatural. His back is one of those areas that ought to be smooth – perhaps he wants you to help out with keeping it clean and neat, or if he has a carpet back there, he may want to look into waxing. The shoulders should be fairly smooth as well. Male waxing is so commonplace these days that no one bats an eyelash when a man enters the salon, so give up any hangups about that. It’s important to clean up the underarm area – but it’s OK not to obsess over this area. Don’t forget the backside – some dudes look like they donned a pair of pants made of hair when they take off their usual pants. Once again, ensure it’s all a uniform, somewhat short length.