SummaryMale grooming has its roots in antiquity. Control and styling of facial hair has invariably required the development and use of metal instrumentation. Once crude and unreliable, it has latterly become sophisticated and subject to intense research and development at the highest scientific level. This paper describes how male grooming is being impacted by improvements in fundamental understanding of male skin. Skin issues associated with poor hair removal approaches are common, but are often overlooked or their aetiology misunderstood by patients and physicians. By incorporating advanced scientific measurement and imaging technology into clinical testing, insights are being gained into both the common concerns which men express and optimal solutions for these concerns. Specific aspects such as the study of nicks and cuts and the identification and release of trapped hairs are discussed. Finally, details are presented on how the individual elements of technologically advanced razors play a role in managing the skin and hair, highlighting further the complexity of the shaving process.The process of shaving represents a complex compromise, in balancing robust removal of hair against minimizing impact to the sensitive skin substrate. Men typically articulate their ideal shave as one which maximizes the closeness of the shave, but does not compromise on comfort or skin irritation. Close examination of the physiology of the male beard reveals that it can be likened to tough fibres embedded in a soft jelly-like matrix (Fig. 1). This discrepancy in the relative properties of skin and hair results in a significant challenge when attempting to manipulate hairs for optimal, safe removal during shaving. The shaving challengeThe elastic modulus of dry beard hair has been measured to be around 3-4 GPa, which decreases to around 1-2 GPa when the hair is fully hydrated.1,2 The deformation of skin, in comparison, is highly nonlinear and viscoelastic, with skin approximated to have an initial modulus of the order of 1 MPa. 3,4This results in a relative ratio of around 1000 for the stiffness of hair ⁄skin, resulting in hairs being relatively loosely supported in facial tissue. As a blade engages and cuts a hair, the hair can be seen to be translated in the plane of the skin due to the lack of support, resulting in a sensation of tug and pull. 5 Similarly, application of hair cutting forces along the axial direction of the hair shaft has been shown to result in hair extension from the hair follicle, due to distortion of the soft material between the hair root and the skin surface layers. 6The cross-sectional size and profile of each individual hair are known to vary between individuals and across the facial sites of a single individual.2 Beard hairs are typically larger and more elliptical than scalp hairs 7 and consequently are observed frequently to rotate in their follicles to present the major axis of the hair to the advancing blade edge. Thus, it can be seen that hairs are highly mobile within the skin in both rotational ...

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For several years, the misuse of dexamethasone and its esters in livestock production has been clearly demonstrated. The first part of the present study deals with the elaboration of a sensitive and specific method for the determination of residues of dexamethasone in excreta at the ppb level. Sample preparation for urine and faeces, including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fractionation, was carried out. The detection was based on established methodology employing negative chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (NCI-MS) after oxidation of the dexamethasone. In comparison with previous literature, the yield of oxidized dexamethasone was substantially improved and the oxidation procedure was made more simple and robust. In the second part of the study, the relationship between the dose of dexamethasone administered and the levels of the drug in excreta was investigated using this method, as was the ratio between drug levels in urine and faeces. Treatment was carried out for 7 d with an oral dose of 50 mg d-1, the maximum levels found in urine and faeces were 980 and 744 ppb, respectively. While the elimination via faeces responded much slower at the start and the end of treatment, the final part of both excretion profiles were very similar and a level of 1 ppb was reached in both matrices 9 d after the end of treatment. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) results obtained for the urine samples were compared with those obtained with direct enzyme immunoassay.

Although the illegal use of orally administered compounds in cattle fattening has gained popularity, injection sites are still frequently found during control experiments on the carcasses in the slaughterhouses. The high concentrations of hormones in injection sites enable screening for the presence of 39 different hormones by a simple extraction followed by a fast and simple high-performance thin-layer chromatography analysis. Analysis of injection-site tissue is particularly successful for determining the hormones that are illegally injected. This data can not be obtained by analysis of other biological matrices like faeces, kidney fat or urine, owing to metabolization and selective excretion and/or deposition of these compounds. Since 1989, over 2000 injection sites have been analysed in our laboratory, which yielded a good survey of the hormones that were illegally injected. Over this period, the natural hormones estradiol and testosterone (mostly present as their esters) have obviously been used extensively. It is clear that since 1990 clostebol acetate has remained the most abused exogenous hormone. Additionally, some distinct trends were noticed, e.g., a tendency towards a highly decreased use of nandrolone, an increased use of progesterone and an increased occurrence of certain androgens like stanozolol and fluoxymesterone.

The majority of dermatologists in both studies (82.0% and 58.3%, respectively) either agreed or strongly agreed that they have noticed an increase in male patients reporting sensitive facial skin over the past 5 years. Some regional differences were apparent in the European survey, with a significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher proportion agreeing in Central/Eastern Europe (84.9%) and Asia (89.9%) compared with Western Europe (75.1%). General factors cited that could influence the incidence of perceived skin sensitivity included environmental factors, stress, increased acceptance in society and increased use of products. With the exception of UV light exposure, which was cited by a majority of dermatologists in all geographical regions, exacerbating environmental factors differed in a manner that may have been related to differing climates in the regions. In both surveys, over 90% of responders agreed that the selection of shaving products was important for men with sensitive skin.