What a Man Needs to Know about Zinc (and do I need a zinc supplement?)

Zinc is involved in several different biochemical processes in the body, but is especially important for men. In today’s agricultural environment and with the commercial use artificial fertilisers, many of us are not getting the optimum range of nutrients from our food, even if we are eating a well balanced diet. Add to this mix a stressful, busy lifestyle, smoking, coffee or alcohol, and many of us blokes just aren’t getting the goodness from our food that we need.

Zinc as a nutrient is to men, like iron is to women. Where women lose iron through their menstrual blood, men tend to lose zinc through their semen, so any guy that is operating at a high frequency or is one half of a baby making machine tends to be using more than his share of zinc.

Zinc, for blokes also plays an integral role in the manufacture of proper healthy testosterone. Good healthy testosterone makes us buff and virile, but when our testosterone is a little off centre, we can experience male pattern baldness (although this is mostly hereditary), prostate issues or early middle age spread.

For digestion, zinc plays a major role in the manufacture of our natural digestive secretions and helps with the early stages of the breakdown of food, especially proteins; zinc also helps with the enzymes that our body produces to breakdown alcohol.

In the immune system zinc it is directly involved in antibody production to help you fight an infection. It is believed that zinc has free radical scavenging ability in the body, possessing antioxidant abilities that protect against accelerated aging of the skin and the muscles of the body. Zinc, in combination with vitamin C plays an essential role in wound healing and these two same nutrients are depleting in those who smoke, causing premature aging of the skin and connective tissue throughout the body.

One of the major signs of zinc deficiency is a lack of smell, as zinc plays a role in the olfactory sensations. As smell and taste are closely connected, sense of taste is also an indication of zinc levels in the body, and, while on the topic of senses, zinc is also required for proper night vision.

It is fairly easy to see that zinc is an important nutrient for most of us men living and breathing today and it is said that after iron, zinc is the most highly required mineral in the body. In summary, a good quality men’s zinc supplement will help you to digest your food, keep your skin healthy, keep your testosterone in check, therefore keeping you looking muscular and healthy, keep you making that good quality semen and help keep your immune system strong and healthy.

Click here to see our range of great men’s zinc supplements.
(Always remember a supplement is no substitute for good healthy food.)

EARTH 2 MAN
Natural selection for modern men

Eight Tips for a Great Shave

When it comes to shaving, proper preparation and good quality products can help to ensure a good clean close shave, optimum skin health and can help to create a pleasant morning ritual. Here at Earth 2 Man we have come up with what we think are the essential basics to ensuring a great shave every time.

1. Shave in the shower or just after a good hot one. While you might have grown up watching your dad using his trusty ol’ safety shaver over the bathroom sink, the heat from a nice warm shower softens your bristles and prepares your skin for the main event.
2. Use a face scrub or exfoliant - a crucial step for guys with a good thick layer of stubble. A good scrubbing massage will help to open your skin pores, prime your hair follicles and help to lift your hair, giving you a dramatically improved shave. Exfoliation will also remove dead skin cells and impurities that can cause acne, ingrown hairs and infection.
3. Lubricate and build lather. A good quality natural or organic shave cream or gel will produce a gentle lather to lubricate your hairs and create a cushion to allow shaving blades to glide over your skin without scraping, it also serves to lock the moisture into the whiskers, keeping them soft and upright, primed for the cut. Using a shave cream or gel will create less resistance, less irritation and fewer nicks also meaning a longer lasting blade. Ideally you want to leave your shave cream on your face for at least a minute before you begin shaving so that your beard is as soft and as wet as possible.  
4. Use a sharp blade. No matter what kind of blade you choose to use for your shave, make sure it is sharp, we have all experienced ‘that shave’ with the blunt blade when we thought maybe you could get another shave out of it. Most blades will last only 4-5 shaves, depending on your stubble – but no matter what kind of blade you use, keep it sharp!
5. Avoid irritants. Steer clear of anything that burns, stings or causes bumps or lumps on your skin. Many men’s shave products contain a cocktail of chemical irritants that can damage your skin and cause microscopic swelling, contributing to razor burn and skin rashes.  In short, you are best avoiding products that contain mineral oils, propylene glycol, triethanolamine and polyethylene glycol. For more information about chemical irritants see our article “What Chemicals are in My Shave Cream?”
6. Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise. After all that exfoliation , removal of dead skin cells, removal of hair and everything else that goes with it, your skin is clean, but has been stripped bare and needs some sort of protection. Using a good quality natural or organic moisturiser will reduce irritation, protect your skin and will smooth and renew your complexion.
7. Go with the grain. When it comes to shaving, it is best to be a conformist. When you go against the grain, your razor blade rakes up against your skin and pulls the hair up harshly, contributing to nicks, razor burn and ingrown hairs. Some would argue however that shaving against the grain gives you a closer shave; our suggestion here is to first shave with the grain and then follow with a re-lathering and a gentle shave using light-pressure with short strokes against the grain to avoid overly irritating your skin.
8. Give your skin a rest. Even those who enjoy the cleanness of baby smooth freshly shaven skin on a daily basis, giving your skin a break from daily shaving is definitely the preferred option. As shaving removes the upper most layers of skin, it is best for a break, we suggest sporting some designer stubble at the weekend or occasionally as a mid-week change to allow your skin to rest.

Check out our great range of shave products including natural and organic shave cream, shave gel and after shave lotions and creams (We don’t have any frothy cream in a can!).

Earth 2 Man – natural selection for modern men

What Chemicals are in My Shaving Cream?

A quick look at the ingredients on your standard can of supermarket shaving cream can give you the feeling that you are reading a biochemistry text. Our general rule of thumb at Earth 2 Man is that you shouldn’t put anything on your skin that you wouldn’t put in your mouth.

Sound simple? Here is the some of the main chemicals that you want to avoid when choosing a shave cream or gel:

• Parabens are used as preservatives to protect from bacterial growth. Parabens are easily absorbed though our skin and can contribute to disorders of the endocrine or hormone regulating system and may also cause rashes or skin irritation.
• Propylene glycol acts as a ‘penetration enhancer’, allowing other chemicals in the shave cream to be quickly absorbed through the skin. Possible side effects include skin irritation and respiratory defects; it is also believed to be associated with problems of the nervous, endocrine and immune systems.  Oh! And it is also used in antifreeze and brake fluid.
• Mineral oils are a by-product of petroleum manufacture and create a seal on your skin, locking in moisture, blocking skin pores and preventing your skin from functioning normally. Mineral oils can cause dryness, skin irritation & blocked skin pores.
• Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) are two skincare ingredients that make a great lather, but they also have a number of health implications. Both SLS & SLES can be easily absorbed through the skin and have the potential to cause issues with hormones and can be classified as carcinogens.
• Triethanolamine (TEA) is an emulsifying agent (helps keep the oil and water from separating) that is a very controversial ingredient in the cosmetic industry because not only is it a skin irritant, but many formulas containing TEA are found to be contaminated with nitrosamines, which are linked to cancer.
• Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is used as a lubricant, binding agent and stabiliser which may be contaminated with carcinogen 1,4-dioxane. Side effects associated with PEGs include skin and eye irritation, kidney defects and immunotoxicity.

At Earth 2 Man we do our best to source the most natural and organic men’s skincare and shaving products that do not contain any parabens, propylene glycol, SLS, SLES, artificial fragrances or any other nasties that are no good for us. Check out our great range of shave products including natural and organic shave cream, shave gel and after shave lotions and creams (We don’t have any frothy cream in a can!).

Earth 2 Man – natural selection for modern men