After dating my way through my twenties, I feel I've come across lots of guys who were decent men but it was clear to me that they were lacking feedback. Someone like a steady, long-term girlfriend would have given them that necessary feedback but, for whatever reason, these men had just never had that kind of girl in their life. I found myself wishing I weren't on a first date with them and we were just good friends or something so that I could critique them, give them those much needed pointers so that, after our disastrous meeting was over, they would have a chance at finding love from their next date. I sadly guessed that the next encounter with a woman was going to end up much the same as our mediocre date unless someone stepped up and told them what they were doing wrong. So I've decided that maybe writing down some of the most common trip-ups I've experienced with guys would help those in need, if they were to stumble upon it during their usual internet surfing. A long-shot, I know, but it's worth a try!

This first article is one of a series of articles I will be putting out there for your entertainment and/or education.

Physical Appearance and Other Grooming Matters

It may or may not shock you to hear that you don't need to look like Brad Pitt to be attractive to the opposite sex. In fact, I really do believe that you just need to employ a few tricks that girls often use in order to play up your best natural features, and no, I'm not telling you to wear makeup like a girl or curl your hair. There are decidedly manly and socially acceptable ways of working with what you have.

First, some basic grooming. Girls like someone who is clean and smells nice. The quickest and simplest way of achieving this is to take advantage of the huge number of body washes available that are marketed specifically for men. You don't even have to go somewhere uncomfortably frilly, like The Body Shop or Bath & Body Works, to get them either. Go to Target, Wal-Mart, heck, your local supermarket and you will see a whole section on bathing products for men. Pick up something like Axe body wash in any scent that appeals to you because I've smelled a lot of them and they really do smell very good to a girl. You don't even have to buy a loofah to use it, if you feel that's too feminine! Just get yourself a nice, clean washcloth and put the body wash on that, squish it around to make it sudsy, and apply. Now, at the risk of sounding like your mother, use it in the shower on a daily basis making sure to clean your entire body, including the undersides of your feet, between your toes, behind your ears, your undercarriage... don't skip anything! (Yes, I'm wagging my finger in a very motherly fashion right now and it's totally embarrassing.) This will easily get you a clean and lightly fragranced body that girls will really appreciate. Plus, scrubbing with something like a washcloth or a loofah will automatically make your skin smoother.

Now that you're clean, it's time to make sure you stay smelling sweet. Buy some deodorant/antiperspirant. Use it. Need I say more? Just an FYI, you can put antiperspirant on your feet and it has the same effect as it does under your arms. Just sayin'. At the risk of sounding like a commercial, I'd really like to suggest Axe deodorants. Personally, the Kilo scent kind of rocks my world.

If you are so inclined, you can buy a bottle of decent cologne that you like. Anything will do, as long as you like the scent and it's not cheap smelling. I suggest buying the really good stuff and using it only on special occasions as people don't tend to like strong cologne when you're at work anyway. The trick with cologne is not to use too much. One spritz at the base of your throat and that's it. Stop right there and don't spray another drop more!

Guys, I can't believe I even have to mention this grooming point but, sadly, I do. If you are not brushing your teeth at least twice a day, flossing at least once and perhaps swishing for 30 seconds with some mouthwash once a day, you are cutting your chances of ever getting close to a girl by at least 75%. Granted, that's completely unscientific, but my unscientific nose says that's the truth! Also, if you have bad dental hygiene as it is, I would imagine you probably need to use something like Crest Whitestrips or one of the Rembrandt Whitening systems to get those teeth shining again. Buy something like this and follow the directions religiously. Oh, and see the dentist! Also, buy some gum or mints and use them before the date and after any eating you might do on said date. Don't forget to offer the mints or gum to your date as well. It's the polite thing to do!

Next up, hair. Don't underestimate the value of a good hairdresser. You men are so lucky! You can go to see my amazing hairdresser and she will only charge you $30 for her expertise and good taste while I pay $150 for the privilege. I know, I know, you only pay $9 right now for that crappy buzz cut they give you at the strip mall. But I look at you and I immediately recognize that you paid $9 for your haircut and it's doing nothing for you. Just please, forget about the money and go to a real hair salon. They will help you grow your hair to a length and style that is truly flattering to your face. The chop job you keep getting, you see, is not tailored for your face. The gals at the strip mall didn't take even a nanosecond to look at the shape of your face or the angle of your jaw, the color of your skin or eyes before grabbing the number 2 razor and buzzing away. If you went to my hairstylist however, she would sit you down, look at your face, ask you how much time you have to spend on your hair each day, look at your coloring, listen to what you want; and if you ask for her advice, you will get the best advice you will ever get for making yourself as attractive as possible, as far as hair goes anyway. Do yourself a favor, go to someone awesome and take all of his or her advice. It is worth the money and it is worth that extra bit of time.

While you're there, please, please, please see about getting your eyebrows groomed. There is usually a lady at the hair salon that plucks/waxes/threads eyebrows. And please don't think this will make you look girly or everyone's going to know immediately that you groom your eyebrows. No. People will look at you and think you look clean and well-kempt. That's as far as their assessment will go. Believe me, if you're walking around with a unibrow, they're wondering to which cult you belong. I'd say that's worse than if they were to notice that you have well-kept eyebrows. Plus, it's perfectly acceptable these days for a man to partake of a little eyebrow grooming.

While we're on this subject, I'd just like to throw out there the possibility of grooming other hairy parts that may include your back, shoulders, toes, etc. (I'll leave the et cetera up to you for interpretation). Women like a man who cares about his appearance and they don't think it's feminine for a man to take the time to groom. It's not even necessarily shaving those other body parts that can make a difference. I've known men to take an electric grooming device to their legs or arms just to make the hair shorter and thin it out a little. It makes a huge and vastly more attractive difference in a man's looks if he does a little man-scaping!