Should You Shave Your Chest? Find Out What Women Think!

Male grooming has changed the dating scene, and there's no going back. Once women realized that they don't have to put up with guys at their smelliest, greasiest, or hairiest, they made it clear that we can get in line or sleep alone. Every man in modern society has paid close attention to that change, and it's why you're here now.

You've embraced male grooming in general, but it's a big topic with many subtle question marks. One of those involves your chest. Should you shave it? Should you trim it? Is there something to tell you how to grow chest hair? Does it matter? Movies and magazines suggest that all guys are walking Greek statues, cut and muscular without body hair. That's just crazy. For those of us who are mortal, a smooth, chiseled body comes at the end of a lot of hard work.

You might assume that women want everyone to look like a movie star. If so, you're about to be surprised. As sexy as those guys often look, they don't represent the majority. Women's taste in chest hair isn't one-dimensional. Once you understand the discussion's nuances, you can make an informed decision about your chest hair and have more success with the ladies. That's what we promise today.

What Women Think About Chest Hair

Here you go, guys. We're going to give you the definitive guide to infiltrating the female mind. We know all of the secrets, and after you're done reading this, you'll be a master of feminine thought. Ok. That was a bluff. Some of the female staffers here at MANSCAPED are laughing at the notion. Maybe we're not more insightful than other guys, but that doesn't mean we all have to be clueless. Instead of trade secrets, we'll turn to science.

Some Statistics on Chest Hair 

So, do women like chest hair? What a world in which we live. Professional scientists were paid money to find out what women think about chest hair. It boggles the mind. But, we need to be grateful because otherwise, we'd all be clueless. We found a survey of 1,000 women. Here are some of the statistics that the study generated. 

First, chest hair isn't typically a deal-breaker. Only 19 percent of women in the survey outright disliked chest hair and want their partners to partake in chest hair removal. That fifth of respondents said that they like a chest bare, and they want it that way all the time. That's good to know. If you're getting around a bit, you'll inevitably come across a woman who says shave it or miss out. Unfortunately, you'll be pleasing that minority while losing favor with the majority.

It turns out that a third of women in the survey like chest hair. They think it's manly, and they want a little fuzz on their dudes. Even among that third, almost every woman agreed that there is such a thing as too much chest hair. The Austin Powers look is out. You can have some burliness, but it still needs to be under control.

Another third of the respondents said that they don't care much about chest hair. As long as it isn't scratchy or completely spilling through a guy's shirt, they're fine. Note that recurring theme. Too long or prickly is bad.

So, what can we conclude from these statistics?

Women Are . . . Different?

Sadly, there's no catch-all here. Every decision you make is going to be a trade-off. Some women will like it more; others will like it less. So, you have to pick your battles. First, if you're dating someone (or married or otherwise involved), you can ask. It shouldn't be too hard to satisfy a lady when it comes to chest hair, and if it makes you more attractive to her, why wouldn't you want to do it?

If you're not settling down and you want to maximize your general attractiveness, there are some things you can do. We'll get into details a little later, but the idea is to style your chest somewhere down the middle. You won't be swimmer-smooth, but you won't be completely ungroomed either. We'll include some tips to pull it off, so don't worry.

All of that said, there's another approach to take. You could do what you like. Groom your chest the way you want it to be, and let the ladies self-select. You'll end up finding someone who has more in common with your tastes from the get-go. If you're spending time with a woman who likes what you like, maybe it'll lead to a better outcome. Who knows?

Pleasing the Opposite Sex 

We learned that you need to do at least some upkeep to please the opposite sex. Well, some of you are naturally smooth-chested. We'll try not to side-eye you while we talk shop for the rest of the guys. You can amuse yourself by seeing what most of us have to go through.

For the rest of you burly dudes, let's talk. There are reasons to groom your chest that have nothing to do with women. Sometimes it's a health thing. Sometimes it's a sports team. None of those reasons are why you're here today. We've gathered to learn more about looking good for the ladies (and the guys, but those statistics are different). In short, you have three real choices in how you control your chest hair (four if you count going completely wild, which we don't). Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Shaving Your Chest Hair

Shaving is in the title, and we're guessing it's why you clicked the link. By all means, you can shave your chest to keep it smooth. There are plenty of reasons to do so — women only being one of them. Here's the thing. Shaving is pretty much the worst way to groom your chest. Yes, it does technically work, but it requires a lot of extra maintenance. Remember how scruffy is bad? You're going to get a 5 o'clock shadow on your chest. No one wants that — not even you. You'll be itchy and miserable, and no one is going to want to be intimate until you sort it out.

You could deal with this by shaving all the time, but that isn't good for your skin. Think about what it takes to keep your face presentable when you groom daily. Now multiply that by the size of your chest and the sensitivity of your nipples. Still, want to shave? It's fine in a pinch, but you need a better option.

Trimming Your Chest Hair

Trimming is the first and obvious alternative to shaving. With modern trimmers (like The Lawn Mower 4.0), you can get smooth results without literally scraping away the top layer of your skin. The methodology is similar to shaving, but it's easier to maintain and much easier on your body. If you're not feeling adventurous or creative, swap your razor for a body hair trimmer. It'll work great, and you'll be a lot happier.

We do want to give you a quick tip for trimming. Do it dry. It's always easy to do your grooming in the shower, but your chest is particularly tough to manage when it's wet. The wet hairs will stick to your chest, and you'll miss some. That makes it harder to get a clean, even look. It's especially bad when you're not trying to be bare-chested (which is the ultimate strength of trimming).

Alternative Grooming

There are a few other ways to groom your chest. The disadvantage is that these are only good for going completely bare. The good news is that they're pretty much universally better than shaving. 

The first is waxing. It might be an old movie, but that scene from 40-Year-Old Virgin does get it right. They filmed Steve Carell getting waxed and just got his natural reaction. The process hurts, especially if you're hairy. On the upside, it will leave you bare for weeks, and when the hair does come back, it'll be nice and soft. You skip the scratchy part of regrowth. 

Next up is depilatories. Hair removal cream is actually at its best when used on a man's chest. The cream is painless, gets rid of hair, lasts a while and leads to soft regrowth. In this case, the cream is a straight-up upgrade to waxing. That said, some care is necessary. Not everyone reacts to creams the same way. If you're a first-timer, try testing the cream in a small area first. Ideally, you'll go somewhere that won't be completely annoying if you have a reaction. A lot of guys go for the back side of the wrist. You can make sure your skin is ok with the cream. Once you're confident you'll be fine, go ahead and get that chest hair.

Other than what we've listed, you can look into things like laser removal and whatever is the latest craze. Alternative methods can work, but they limit your aesthetic options. Pursue them at your own risk.

Stick to Trimming

With all of that covered, our primary recommendation is to trim your chest hair. We listed several reasons, but the top of the list is that most women don't want you to have a completely bare chest. You need calculated grooming, not a nuclear option, and you can only get that with trimming. We'll talk technique in a moment, but we really want to see your body grooming be a success, and we have to talk about something a little touchy.

Not all guys have the same . . . physique. We're not judging. There's comfort weight to spare around the MANSCAPED offices. We get it, but we have to be honest. If you're not cut, then chest hair is your friend. Even if you're mostly in shape, a smooth chest highlights the imperfections. Plenty of guys have solid pecs with soft nipples. It happens, especially as you age. Most of us don't have the time or energy to maintain a real six-pack. A little chest hair de-emphasizes the softness of the core. It's a safer aesthetic. If you're not ripped like a Marvel superhero, we recommend trimming over the other methods.

Some Styling Advice

We kept promising that we'd get deeper into grooming details. This is the section where we can do that. We're going to discuss some style options a little more carefully. More importantly, we're going to show you how to achieve the look. Here's your spoiler alert. We're playing the numbers on this one. We're not going to teach you how to shave your chest. We're also not going to discuss how to pull off a teen wolf look. This is all about playing the averages and going with the easiest means possible. In short, you can have a sexy chest if you follow two easy rules.

Avoid Scratchiness at All Costs

You already understand that scruffy or scratchy chest hair is the enemy. Now, we're going to help you avoid it. The first and most important thing is to not grow stubble. That's easiest if you never shorten the chest hair enough to get stubbly. Use a cutting guard on your trimmer that is at least half an inch long, and you'll be good to go (note: every guy is different so you might have a different ideal hair length).

If you do need to go extra short, then there are two things that help you avoid scratchiness. The first is to consider waxing or depilatories. When hair grows back nice and soft, this whole thing gets easier. If you can't do that or have something else contributing to scratchy hair, you want to focus on skincare.

Softening the skin helps the hair poke through without having to bristle. Clear pores and hydrated skin make for softer chest hair. If you can add some hair care to the mix, you're golden. That's why you want to use Crop Cleanser. It has everything you need in a single bottle. Our formula promotes healthy skin. It doubles as a shampoo, so it productively cleans the hairs and follicles. Overall, the all-in-one approach helps you have hydrated, soft skin and hair that is healthy and less scratchy.

There's an important extra point to make. Some guys have scratchier hair than others, it's just nature. But, if you want to get it under control, Crop Cleanser can help you soften things regardless of your grooming choices. It's worth considering.

Favor the Natural Look

Here's our last significant piece of styling advice. If you don't have a powerful reason to pick one look over another, split the difference. The natural look will leave you with hair on your chest, but it won't be short enough to get stubbly and it won't be long enough to be a turn-off. The method is pretty simple. 

Get your trimmer and use the longest cutting guard. Rather than buzz cut your chest, you're going to use an upward, flared cutting stroke. This will result in the hairs being cut at different lengths, but there will be order to the chaos. You get a gradient, and the result is a controlled, natural look that suits the majority. 

After you go across your chest, you might find that things are a little too long. You can step down the guard sizes, one at a time until you hit an ideal length. You only have to use this progressive method the first time. When you figure out the length you like, you can go straight to that length the next time, but you still need to use the flared stroke to get the natural look.

That should prove a sufficient lesson on chest hair. You know what women like — proven by science! You know how to groom yourself to get the aesthetic that you think is best. You know which tools can help you achieve your goals, and you know the pros and cons of each of your options. That seems pretty sufficient. Then again, there's a lot more to male grooming than using a body groomer on your chest. If you want this level of insight for all of your grooming questions, you can find the answers you seek at www.manscaped.com. In addition to knowledge, you can also find a complete set of tools that will help you with every grooming project. We've solved problems you have yet to discover, so never be shy about enjoying the ample help that we provide.