A Butler's Guide to Gentlemen's Grooming E-Book

Nicholas Clayton

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 127

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

A real gentleman knows that it is essential to be well-groomed, and while a bit of moisturizer will help, it is not enough. Our Butler's guide is the ultimate source of information for looking pukka. It need not take long either, and this short guide cuts to the chase: skin care, including the best shaving techniques, hair care, from the mop on your head to nasal hair trimming, style guide (with tips on what to wear for what occasion), and taking care of your clothes and shoes. This simple valet guide will get you dressed to perfection to impress the ladies and the gents.

Leseprobe

A Butler’s Guide toGentlemen’s Grooming

A Butler’s Guide toGentlemen’s Grooming

Nicholas Clayton

For JD

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

SQUEAKY CLEAN

SWEATING

A CLOSE SHAVE

WORD OF MOUTH

SKIN-CARE ESSENTIALS

DIET AND WELL BEING

HOW TO DRESS: THE ART OF LOOKING GOOD

DEPORTMENT

BE YOUR OWN VALET

WATCH YOUR STEP

SWAG

DRESS CODES

APPENDIX

INDEX

INTRODUCTION

England alas, my country! Has degenerated very much, and is degenerating every day. She has not many gentlemen left. We are few. I see nothing to succeed us but a race of weavers.

Mr Turveydrop in Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Years ago, when I started to lose my hair, I was a bit concerned. After all no one likes going bald; perhaps it’s a fear of having to accept that the inevitable ageing process is starting to show or perhaps a concern about being called names such as ‘baldy’.

Every time I went for a haircut my barber suggested that I should have it all shaved off. I eventually gave in and had what remained of my thinning hair cut off. It is a style that is very easy to look after and is actually quite rejuvenating. I’m sure I look younger every time I go in for a ‘number two-and-a-half’, which must be a good thing. Another useful aspect of having my hair cut short is that I haven’t needed to comb my hair for nearly twelve years! My barber says that, rather than lament the passing of the thatch, one should just wear whatever one has with pride.

Pride in oneself is very important and – in exactly the same way that holding a knife and fork incorrectly will betray you and in one mouthful reveal your lack of training – so sloppy, slovenly attention to personal grooming will do exactly the same thing. Clean hair, teeth and fingernails are in our society the very basic of basic requirements in terms of personal hygiene, things that are extremely easy to achieve and to maintain.

Again to draw on the table manners analogy, who wants to sit at a table with someone with disgusting table manners? We all know, or should know by now, that eating like a pig is one of the quickest ways of being discounted for promotion, missing out on a date or simply not being asked back.

Likewise then, who wants to be seen with a scruffy, dirty individual with unkempt, filthy hair and fingernails, foul breath and stinking armpits? And furthermore, who wants to be that dirty individual?

To a certain extent the whole personal hygiene question is seen by some as a difficult one to discuss and a difficult one to broach – even a ‘taboo’ subject. How do you tell someone, for example, that they smell of sweaty armpits or that they have offensive breath? Well, as a butler I don’t have a problem with this. If I had staff around me that needed to bath or change their shirt or use a stronger mouthwash, believe me, I would tell them. In fact, only very recently I had to remind someone that using a deodorant and a toothbrush is generally accepted as a good idea.

If personal hygiene was not considered such an important subject, the shelves of supermarkets and chemists would not be stacked to the ceilings with washing, shampooing and cosmetic products, and shops and departments stores wouldn’t sell shirts. The market for these products in the UK alone accounts for millions of pounds in sales revenue annually. Clearly the products are important and millions of people are already up to speed, but it seems to me that there are also plenty who are not.

Looking good and being washed, shaved and well groomed is a vital part of our everyday lives. It shows pride in ourselves, is healthy and gives us confidence – that should be the goal. As well as washing and dressing like a gentleman, so behaving like one and knowing how to behave in company is just as important if you want to send the right message and give the right impression; deportment too plays a role, indeed it is every bit as vital as a clean shirt. This guide is designed to help everyone achieve that goal.

Nicholas Clayton

HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

Looking after your hair is an essential part of being well groomed, but there are a few basic rules to follow if you want to keep hair healthy and looking good.

Keeping hair healthy

A single strand of hair is made up of about 25 per cent water, so drinking plenty of water has to be a good way to maintain supple hair. Iron helps to carry oxygen to the hair, and without enough iron the hair and the follicles become starved of oxygen. Zinc builds hair protein, which can help towards slowing down hair loss. Pigmentation is influenced by copper levels and it is possible to optimise your natural shade with a diet high in copper. Vitamins B and C help with circulation, good hair growth and colour, and vitamin A will give you a healthy scalp.

The best advice is to avoid chemicals on your hair, such as chlorine from swimming pools and even sea water. Wet the hair or apply a conditioner before going swimming, or shower off the water from the pool or the sea as soon as possible after getting out. Physical wear from everyday friction is to blame for most hair damage; even friction from a pillowcase can cause breakage. Avoid blow drying because the intense heat is detrimental to the hair and the scalp, as is brushing the hair when it is wet, because wet hair is weaker than dry hair.

Massage the scalp after washing the hair to increase blood-flow and rinse with cold water after showering to close the follicles, thus lessening the chance of damage.

Don’t wash your hair every day unless you have an especially oily scalp; shampooing two to three times a week should be sufficient to remove dirt and build-up. Some permanent or semi-permanent colours can be harmful to hair, so consider staying your natural colour.

Alopecia

The correct term for hair loss is alopecia and the most common type is known as androgenetic alopecia, or male pattern baldness.

Going bald is a fact of life for millions of men. It is not inevitable that a man goes bald. In fact, in about 95 per cent of cases, male hair loss from the head is due to genetic inheritance. Hair lives for around five years and most adults lose about a hundred scalp hairs every day. In the case of the balding man these lost hairs do not necessarily get replaced and the thinning starts to become apparent, but the process can take a long time.

Unfortunately most men are genetically predisposed to male pattern baldness. It is the effect of hormones on the hair follicle that produces the bald patches. Testosterone, a hormone that is present in high levels in men after puberty, is converted to dihydrotestosterone. This has an adverse affect on hair follicles, slowing down hair production and producing weak, shorter hair. Sometimes it stops hair growth from the follicle completely.

When my hair fell out in clumps following a period of stress, my doctor told me that it might grow back and, if and when it did, it would more than likely be white. My hair did grow back white – I looked like a badger for about six months, after which it all miraculously returned to its former dreary brown.

The Norwood-Hamilton scale diagram (shown opposite) helps to pinpoint the stage of hair loss you may be at. As the name male ‘pattern’ baldness suggests, the thinning gradually follows a pattern. When men in their twenties to forties start to lose their hair, the chances are that it is male pattern baldness. The pattern generally starts at the temples and/or the front of the hairline.

There are drugs on the market that are said to help in a restorative way, but the proof is scanty. You could attempt to disguise the fact that you are balding by cultivating a ‘comb-over’, where the hair is grown incredibly long above one ear, then combed over the top of the head. This will only work until the wind dislodges it. Alternatively, you could have the remaining hair cut very short, which is rejuvenating and cheap in terms of shampoo usage.

The best way to wash the balding scalp is with a mild shampoo and a conditioner and then, if you want to, massage some moisturiser into the bald area as well.

Norwood-Hamilton scale for male pattern baldness

Stage 1: Full head of hair.

Stage 2: Small amount of loss at the hairline.

Stage 3: Visible loss at the hairline.

Stage 4: Increased loss at the hairline and at the crown.

Stage 5: Hair loss extends to the vertex.

Stage 6: Areas of hair loss at the hairline and vertex merge.

Stage 7: All hair is lost along the front hairline and crown.

Dealing with greasy hair

Environmental dirt and bacteria can add to the problem of greasy or oily hair. Greasy hair is caused by oil secreted by the sebaceous glands in the skin; it makes the hair unmanageable and it can look unpleasant and smell dirty.

and some more hints on dealing with greasy hair...

•  Wash greasy hair more frequently and not in water that is too hot.

•  Don’t scrub and rub like mad; it only goes to further activate sebaceous glands that are already over-activated.

•  Cut down on the use of conditioners, to about once every two weeks.

•  Reduce your intake of fatty food. Quite apart from the fact that we all know over-indulgence is not good for us, fatty foods will increase the likelihood of the hair becoming greasy. If you have seen the film Super Size Me you will know what fatty food can do to your heart in only a very short time – imagine what it could also be doing to your hair.

•  Buy and use a shampoo that is specifically designed for greasy hair.

•  Try some lemon juice in the final rinse for a healthy shine.

Dealing with dry hair

Dry hair is for some people a natural phenomenon, or it can be caused by heat and the elements. The tips of the hair are most at risk, as they are not in direct contact with the scalp and can’t utilise the sebum oil the scalp produces.

If your hair is really dry, try massaging an oil (such as coconut oil) into the hair. Take one or two drops of the oil in your hands and rub together, but do not use too much; there should only be enough to make your hands shiny. Rub the oil into dry hair, only the ends at first then the middle section of the hair. Leave the oil in your hair.

and some more hints on dealing with dry hair...

•  Don’t wash your hair every day. Shampooing two or three times a week should be enough to remove dirt and product build-up.

•  Buy and use a shampoo that is specifically designed for dry hair.

•  Use shampoos and conditioners that contain humectants. These are ingredients, such as glycerine, which help bind water to the hair to reduce dryness; they replace lost moisture and attract more moisture, which they retain in the cortex of the hair.

Dandruff

Dandruff is a common problem and affects most people at some time during their life. Dandruff consists of pieces of dead skin cells that fall away from the scalp. The entire body discards dead skin cells all the time and every 24–28 days we produce completely new skin. Dandruff and, for that matter, other skin ailments, such as psoriasis, are a result of the skin regenerating at a much faster rate than normal. Sometimes the rate at which the skin cells depart the surface of the skin is so fast that they are not even dead. In some people, the occurrence of dandruff is very visible, especially on the collar area.

Because skin regeneration is a natural process there is no official cure for dandruff, but there are a few ways to help control the causes. Most over-the-counter dandruff-specific shampoos attack the fungus known as Pityrosporum ovale, which is thought to be a major cause of the problem. Dandruff often leaves the scalp feeling very itchy and sensitive, so use products that contain chemicals with care. The apparently efficacious ingredients to look out for include climbazole, zinc pyrithione, octopirox and ketoconazole. Massage the dandruff-eliminating shampoo into the scalp gently to help exfoliate the dead cells and rinse very well.

Some possible causes of dandruff include poor health or hygiene, hormonal imbalance, allergic hypersensitivity, tiredness, stress or anxiety, bad nutrition, including too much sugar, starch and fat in your diet, over-usage of hair-styling products, infrequent shampooing or inadequate rinsing, over-heating with hairdryers, cold weather and dry indoor heating.

In common with other ailments, if the problem is particularly excessive, consult your doctor.

Colouring your hair

There all sorts of reasons why you may decide to dye your hair – just for a change, for a fancy dress party, to cover up the grey or, perhaps, you need to escape the law. It can be as dramatic or as subtle a change to your look as you wish. If you want to achieve a natural look rather than simply dyeing it green at home, it’s probably best to have it done by a professional stylist. Not everyone’s skin can cope with the chemicals involved in the chameleonic exercise so it’s definitely worthwhile having a skin test before the specialist dons the rubber gloves; hydrogen peroxide, the chemical used in hair dyes, is very strong.

Choosing a hair colour

Choose a colour to complement your skin tone. Light-skinned people don’t often suit very dark hair because it draws colour out of their skin.

If you want to go blond, this needs to be done with a permanent dye, and is a relatively simple job for a trained stylist. Tanned skin can look very unnatural when mixed with a one-tone blond.

Brunette colours suit most people and varying the shades can achieve a large range of looks from chocolate browns and bronzes to honey or dark blonde. Some really rich chestnut colours can look artificial and obviously dyed.

Black is the easiest colour to get right. It looks best on people with darker and olive skin tones.

Colouring grey hair

If your hair doesn’t fall out, sooner or later it will probably go grey; it happens to everyone. If grey hair is a bit too natural for you, you can tone it down, blend it in or cover it up using hair dye.

If your hair is more than half to completely grey, you’ll need a permanent process to dye it. Try to resist the temptation to go darker than your natural colour and pick a shade as close to your natural colour as possible. This will make your regrowth roots less obvious.

If your hair is less than half grey, you can probably use a strong semi-permanent process or stick with a longer-lasting permanent. Be mindful that grey and white hair is often more resistant to colour, so leave the dye on for the maximum amount of time. Always try a strand test first.