If anything exemplifies the perplexing polarities of what women want, it’s men’s skin. She wants your face soft as a baby’s butt ... but with the rugged appearance of a veteran cowboy. She wants you to have that “JLo glow,” but the masculine version. She tells you to get regular melanoma screenings and to keep an eye out for suspicious moles -- all without keeping a pasty, Kabuki-white pallor. Go figure.

Here are five tips from the pros to achieve this feels-smooth-but-looks-rugged men’s skin dichotomy she finds so irresistible:

1. Drink up.

No, we’re not talking about beverages from a can or bottle -- we’re talking tea. Says Denise Vitello, spa director of the Mandarin Oriental in New York: Drinking warm ginger tea to support the circulation of blood will give you that flush chicks read as healthy and sexy (without the dripping sweat you get when you work out).

2. Read the labels.

No, not the protein and carb content in your protein shake (that’s another story), but rather the ones on your “products” -- from zit medication to sunblock. “The ingredients you put on your body are just as important as the ingredients you put in your body. Skin is the body's largest organ (it lives and dies) and needs nourishment to encourage regeneration of healthy skin cells,” explains Cecily Braden, president of Beauty Secrets, a company that produces organic skin care products for professional spa use.

3. Don’t suffer.

“Waiting to reach for the ChapStick and having your lips crack puts you at risk for lip cancer,” warns certified plastic surgical nurse Joan Dallal. So don’t think you’re pulling some kind of macho move by holding out -- you're just being mucho dumb. Bonus unfortunateness: “Men also have to reapply sunblock more often than women because they sweat more,” says Dallal.

4. Foresee your future.

“Your skin is nothing like your mom’s or sister’s -- it’s oilier and more acidic than women’s skin,” says Dr. Isabel Souffront, an internist specializing in cosmetic skin care. “Sure it’s denser, thicker and firmer because you have more collagen than women, but unless you take care of it, expect it to thin quickly and to have deep lines.” Bottom line: Pass the skin cream, bro.

5. Take time to shave.

“Rushing in the a.m. can really end up hurting your face if you’re multitasking and not paying attention,” warns Kristen Haines, winner of the Juli B Style Skincare Professional Esthetician of the Year award. What’s that, you say? You already shaved with too much pressure, against the grain, using a dubious razor? Soften the blow by reaching for moisturizer instead of aftershave.
 

You think she’s looking at your shoes or your bulging biceps? Nah, the first thing she notices is your skin, “so take that extra minute or two to pull that razor across your face and use the right product,” recommends Haines. “There is nothing sexier than a smooth, irresistible face.”

Eyebrows are one of those mysterious facial features that can make a huge difference in your appearance … but generally go unnoticed unless something about them is terribly wrong (like, say, you’re still sporting a unibrow or accidentally singed them off over a barbecue -- it happens).
 
When it comes to eyebrow grooming for men, it boils down to three simple things: de-bulking, shaping and knowing where brows should start and end.
 
Really thick eyebrows may call for major eyebrow grooming, so you may want to visit a salon -- a trained aesthetician can do them the first time and give you a good reference point for maintaining them solo.
 
Still, most guys can whack these little weeds themselves at home. Just follow a few simple rules. …

First, you’ll need to have the right tools on hand: razor, small electric trimmer, grooming scissors and tweezers. Next, shower or wash your face before attempting to shave or tweeze the area. The hot water and steam open up your pores and follicles and soften the hair, making the process easier (and less painful). Plus, this will help prevent ingrown hairs.

Now you’re ready for the big browbeating. Here’s how.

Length
First, get rid of excess hair in the middle and the outside ends. The inside edges of your brows should line up with the inside corner of your eyes -- anything else is in unibrow territory and should be removed. To determine where your brows should end, use this simple trick: Take a pencil and place one end at the outside edge of your nostril, then rotate it so that it points towards the outside edge of your eye -- that’s where the brow should end.

As for how to get rid of those stray border crossers, take a razor and use short light strokes but take heed: A razor allows more room for error -- remember Steve Carell’s slipup in The 40-Year-Old Virgin that left him browless? -- but the hair will grow back quickly. On the other hand, you can use tweezers to pluck these areas, but you’ll have to be extra-careful; repeated tweezing can cause permanent hair loss.

Thickness
Next, ditch the bulk with grooming scissors or a small electric trimmer. You want to remove just enough hair so the brows look tamed, not overly trussed. You don’t want to cut the hair so short that it refuses to lie flat against your face.

If you have fine hair, brush it upward, then trim till it’s about 5 millimeters long. If you have coarse hair, pick out one hair and trim it slowly, a little at a time, till it’s short but still lies flat. Then use it as a marker for the rest of the hairs.

And slow down -- this isn’t a race. It should take you at least a few minutes to do a proper job.

Shape
To arch or not to arch … that is the question. And the answer depends on your face shape. If it’s long and skinny, or anchored by a particularly strong jawline, you should probably forget about sculpting your brows into an arch -- thicker, horizontal brows can help divide your face to make it look shorter and draw people’s gazes up and away from the jaw. On the other hand, if you have a round or square face, a prominent arch can create the illusion of a longer face.

As a general rule of thumb, the arch should peak directly above the pupil; make a note of where that is, then use tweezers to remove hairs directly underneath that point until you’ve defined the shape.

Rather than just relying on prayer and luck, you can actually change yourself into the man she seems attracted to. And this power to morph into her dream guy lies right at your fingertips -- or rather, at the tip of your mug. Yup, we’re talking facial hair.

Look, we don’t want to stereotype, but ever notice how certain lady types tend to go for certain guy types? Sure, you already know they’re assessing your God-given attractiveness, career choice, wealth aptitude, tattoo-titudes and Avatar action figure collection. But are you also aware that they're judging you by your facial hair choices? The trick is to groom your facial hair to attract the girl you want.

Below, we present six lady archetypes and the kind of facial hair they’re likely to go for. (Just don’t do any major shaves on date night: You don’t want a tan line around where the spot your face fur used to be.)

The Biker Chick

She’s into:

Motorcycles and classic rock (like Motorhead), and loves the WWE.

You grow:

A Fu Manchu -- that’s a ’stache shaped like a horseshoe, named after an evil genius movie character in the 1930s (current wearers include Hulk Hogan). Add large sideburns or lamb chops for a more extreme effect.

Possible hairy situation:

While you can let the ends grow past your chin or curl up off your face (turning into a handlebar mustache), never, ever let the hair above your upper lip grow to the point you can grasp it with your bottom teeth. Eww.

The Intellectual

She’s into:

Smart. You’ve seen her with guys obviously destined for professor-hood.

You grow:

… take a deep breath … a beard.

Possible hairy situation:

While it gives the impression you’re too busy finishing your dissertation to shave, take a second careful look to ensure symmetry and a lack of errant hairs.

The Cool Chick

She’s into:

Retro. Or hipster. Her style says, “I’m original and I like original.”

You grow:

Either a pencil mustache (think Rhett Butler or Gomez Adams) or a caterpillar, a slightly thicker version. She’ll make a beeline to you at the coffee shop to comment on your “courage” faster than you can say “latte with skim milk.”

Possible hairy situation:

Brace yourself for teasing from friends. Also: If you get carried away with trimming the sides, you’ll end up with a “Charlie Chaplin” (also called a “toothbrush” or “Hitler”).

The Goth Girl

She’s into:

Black hair, black clothes …

You grow:

“The Satan,” (aka “The Magician”), a mini-handlebar and goatee combo shaped into a V. Note: the darker your hair, the better.

Possible hairy situation:

If you’re tempted to include arched eyebrows (a la David Navarro) into the mix, go to a professional so you don’t end up with Boy George brows.

The Free Spirit

She’s into:

… different. Just a tad. The guys you see her with are never clean-shaven. She likes subtle pizzazz.

You grow:

A small facial hair commitment just to catch her eye -- think soul patch, chin patch or petit goatee. If time is of the essence, consider shaping your sideburns into Vulcan-like points.

Possible hairy situation:

If you do go Vulcan, resist the temptation to sign off with “live long and prosper” or hail your friends with the requisite three-toed sloth hand signal.

The Corporate Gal

She’s into:

… smooth -- as a baby’s butt. Keep it simple, stupid. Shave in the a.m., and gosh darn it, maybe even a second time in the p.m. just to drive home the point.

You grow:

Nothing. Sure there’s a hint of 5 o’clock shadow (on weekends). But otherwise, you are one human-resources-guidelines-following mofo.

Possible hairy situation:

You’re late and your razor went by way of your lost luggage at the airport. Basically, you look like you pulled an all-nighter. Don’t bother pretending that the look was deliberate. She’s with the corporation, remember, and they don’t like padded truths or expense reports.

You wouldn’t keep a new car hidden away in the garage. You’d show it off, right? So why are you still hiding your hard-earned pecs and quads behind a bear suit? Have you not heard of body shaving and trimming -- aka manscaping?

“Hair really does hide muscles and obscure their definition,” says Cynthia James, a former professional bodybuilder and a judge at the International Federation of Body Building. “A hairless body is the only way to show off the details of your muscles and physique and reveal symmetry.”

The good news is you don’t have to invest in any new products to manscape for bigger-looking muscles -- the tools you use to groom your facial hair will do. In fact, all you need is an electric trimmer, a five-blade razor, shaving cream, a full-length mirror and a nice long shower.

“If you’re going to shave your body, you always need to prep it first with water and soap,” says Dr. Jeffrey Benabio, a clinical dermatologist and skin care expert in San Diego and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. “It softens the skin and hair so that you get the closest possible shave, and it helps prevent razor burn and ingrown hairs.” A good rule of thumb: Wait until the end of your shower before body shaving. But if you have the time, try soaking in a hot bath -- it’s much more effective at softening skin than is a shower.

Unlike your face, your body’s unique bulges and curves require individual attention. Here’s how to conquer them all.

Chest

Show off your:

Pecs and abs

Manscape plan:

First off, if you’ve really got the goods (a well-defined chest and a 21-pack or whatever), you’ll want to lose all the hair (no need to keep the treasure trail when the real treasure is right there in view!).

As for your plan of attack, when it comes to chest hair, you want to shave with (not against) the grain of the hair. “Chest hair tends to be coarse and curly,” says Benabio, “and if you shave against the hair growth pattern, you could accidentally shave the hair beneath the surface, causing it to curl up under the skin” (read: ingrown hair).

One more thing: Mind the nipples. You might even want to put round adhesive bandages over them before you shave. Sure, they’re not the most manly of body parts, but fess up, you’d miss them if they were gone.

Legs

Show off your:

Quads and calves

Manscape plan:

Take out most of the bulk first with an electric trimmer or grooming scissors before you try to tackle it with a razor. Then use long, smooth strokes in a downward motion and let the razor lightly glide across the surface -- using too much pressure can cause nicks and razor burn. Pay attention to curves and bony areas, like your knees and ankles, and adjust the direction of the razor accordingly.

“You shave your face every day, so you’re used to the contours,” says Benabio. “It’s like brushing your teeth, you get used to the routine. But when you’re shaving in new places, you have to be more careful.” One trick is to think of your razor as a paintbrush and use the same loose wrist motions that you would use when painting.

Arms

Show off your:

Biceps and triceps

Manscape plan:

Shaving your arms is a lot like shaving your legs: Trim first with clippers before you pick up the razor, then use long, smooth downward strokes.

But the tricky part is figuring out where to stop and start. If your arm hair is light in color and not too dense, you can probably just shave from your shoulder to your elbow and leave the rest alone. On the other hand, if your arm hair is dark and thick, you’re better off shaving all the way down to your wrist for a more uniform look.

Backside 

Show off your:

Glutes

Manscape plan:

If you really want to show these off, then we’re assuming you’re going to be wearing something a little tighter and formfitting than surf trunks, so you’re going to have to manscape the hair back there (and down there, in the front groin area between your thighs). First, you’ll need to get a good view, and a full-length wall mirror usually isn’t enough. Instead, try squatting over a small mirror placed on the floor. Next, take your time. Women are experts at this, but men need a little practice. “The trick is to use lots of shaving cream, pull the skin taut, and shave using short, light strokes,” says Benabio. “And remember to rinse out the razor blade between every single stroke; a clogged razor will prevent you from getting the smoothest possible shave.”

Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps have reason to look as clean-cut as their bankers and accountants who take care of their mountains of money: Being well-shaven -- sometimes from head to toe -- actually boosts training and performance in some speed-related sports. Cyclists and some runners shave their legs, while swimmers and triathletes often shave their whole bodies before big races. Here’s why they do it and why you, Mr. Weekend Warrior, should think about following suit.

Why Bikers Shave
Shaved legs serve several purposes for cyclists:

1. Prevent “road rash.”

   These are the scrapes you get from falling on the pavement. (Without hair on your legs, there’s less friction and fewer abrasions.)

2. Decrease aerodynamic drag.

   According to Bryan Roberts, an instructor at the Sports Technology Institute at Loughborough University in the UK, about two-thirds of the aerodynamic drag caused by cyclists comes from their bodies -- and it can easily be reduced by “wearing a smooth suit or by shaving the skin.”

3. Enhance street cred.

   “Fellow bikers don’t take you as seriously if you don’t shave your legs,” says amateur Ironman triathlete Ned Tobey. “For whatever reason, it’s a credibility thing.” 

Why Runners Shave
Yes, smooth skin can improve aerodynamics enough to boost results not only in short sprinting events -- when thousandths of a second matter -- but even long-distance races. That’s what a respected study from the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise tells us. It found that being well-groomed, along with wearing clothes that fit more snugly and produce less drag, can “result in a significant performance increase” that can trim seconds off your time in a 10K race.

Why Swimmers Shave
There’s no conclusive evidence correlating body shaving with improved performance in the sport, but all competitive swimmers swear it makes a difference. Most let the hair grow when training -- to create resistance -- and wait to shave until immediately before a big competition.

“I think the benefit to a swimmer is in the ability to ‘feel’ the water. That’s definitely hard to measure, but most, if not all swimmers will tell you that shaving is important to them,” says Russell Mark, an aerospace engineer and the biomechanics expert for USA Swimming.

Why Triathletes Shave
Shaving’s performance benefits in biking, swimming and running have been mentioned above, but there’s also one side reason to do it -- especially if you’re subjecting your body to the wear and tear of triathlon training. “Massage treatments for tendonitis or sore muscles work better with no leg hair. The massage therapist can get to the skin easier,” says Tobey. “And a better massage is always a good thing.”