5 Great Grooming Gifts Any Dad Will Appreciate This Father’s Day!

It’s time to think beyond socks and ties for Father’s Day, ladies! This year, upgrade dad’s grooming routine with some top-notch skin care products, grooming devices, luxury fragrances, and personal care subscription boxes. Check out the “Great Day Houston” segment above and read on for more details on the five amazing brands shown on air.

RUGGED & DAPPER ALL-IN-ONE ESSENTIAL MENS SKINCARE SET

Whether he’s 25 or 65, guys always appreciate having healthy skin. They might not be as vocal as us ladies, but they too get freaked out over things like enlarged pores, greasy skin, acne of any variety, and fine lines and wrinkles. And, since men’s dermis and epidermis is naturally thicker than women’s (typically about 22% thicker) and their sebum production is typically higher than that of their female counterparts, the fellas really do require products that cater specifically to their needs. If you thought the growth of the men’s skincare space was a gimmicky marketing phenomenon, think again: men of all ages are finally realizing that they need to move beyond using a single bar of soap for their entire bodies and face, and attitudes about grooming and primping are changing so that even the most macho of men are starting to feel perfectly comfortable establishing skincare regimens and educating themselves on the most effective ingredients for their specific skin types.

Any dad, then, will appreciate the Rugged & Dapper All-in-One Essential Mens Skincare Set ($64.95 at RuggedandDapper.com), a trifecta of skincare products designed to keep skin clear, healthy, and youthful. Founded in Los Angeles by a husband-and-wife team, Rugged & Dapper specializes in men’s grooming products that are formulate using premium natural and organic ingredients

Rugged & Dapper was founded by Ryan and Janine Labaqui, an LA-based husband-and-wife team, and the brand’s grooming products are made in the US and formulated using premium natural and organic ingredients and are free of all the toxins and chemicals lurking inside so many mass market offerings. The All-in-One Essential Men’s Skincare Kit, for instance, features products formulated using kaolin clay, willow bark extract, lavender water, aloe vera, spirulina, and tea tree oil. In particular, the set contains the Daily Power Scrub Facial Cleanser, the Age + Damage Facial Moisturizer, and the Detoxifying Mineral Clay Facial Treatment Mask.

The Daily Power Scrub Facial Cleanser functions as a cleanser, toner, and scrub in one. It contains ingredients like oregano oil, salicylic acid derived from willow bark, tea tree oil, and lavender water to treat and prevent breakouts; jojoba beads and olive pit powder to gently exfoliate the skin; as well as aloe vera to soothe and hydrate the skin.

The Age + Damage Facial Moisturizer, meanwhile, hydrates and nourishes the skin thanks to natural ingredients like aloe vera, sunflower oil, shea butter, jojoba oil, and botanical hyaluronic acid, and it contains peptides that boost collagen production so as keep skin taut and wrinkle-free.

Lastly, the Detoxifying Mineral Clay Facial Treatment Mask contains kaolin clay to draw out all the impurities that lead to breakouts and advance the skin aging process. It also features aloe vera, spirulina, and sea kelp to stimulate cellular regeneration and firm the skin.

DOLCE & GABBANA LIGHT BLUE ITALIAN ZEST POUR HOMME

To add some vivacity to dad’s life, gift him the new Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Italian Zest Pour Homme ($88 at Macy’s and Macys.com), a limited edition offering and the latest addition to the beloved Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue franchise. The scent was inspired by juicy Italian lemons and the salty Mediterranean sea, and it effortlessly captures and celebrates the joy of sunny days and sparkling nights in Capri.

It has top notes of bergamot, grapefruit, and Sicilian mandarin; a heart of sea salt, Sichuan pepper, and rosemary; and base notes of incense, oak moss, and musk. As with all Light Blue scents, you’re immediately enticed by the aqueous quality of the fragrance, the way it makes you feel like you’re near a serene blue sea, but the citrus top notes give the scent a liveliness that’s perfect for the summer season.

BIRCHBOX MAN SUBSCRIPTION

Do you geek out every time you get a package in the mail? Well, the dad in your life will too — especially if that box is filled with 5 top-shelf grooming products for him to test-drive.

With a Birchbox Man subscription,  members receive a box every single month with 5 top-shelf samples of products like shaving creams, body washes, shampoos and moisturizers from prestigious brands like Jack Black, Wilma Schuman, Kiehl’s, Baxter of California, Anthony, and Clinique for Men. The best part is that it’s not a random assortment of products — after all, every man has different needs when it comes to his skin, his hair, and his shaving routine. Part of what sets Birchbox apart is that it customizes each member’s box so that the samples contained therein really cater to him. After you gift dad a Birchbox membership, he can once log onto his Birchbox account and fill out his grooming profile, so that everything he receives will be tailored to his specific hair type, skin type, and facial hair status.

Subscriptions are just $10/month and Birchbox.com offers 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month options.

HELLO WHITENING TOOTHPASTES (AND SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE!)

I used to think I was the only one obsessed with achieving a whiter smile. Then I noticed how often my husband mentions wanting to brighten his smile and, during a recent visit, my father mentioned he’d gone to his dentist for an in-office teeth whitening session. See, just like women are looking at the blinding, pearly white smiles of stars like Blake Lively, Sofia Vergara, and Julia Roberts, and sighing longingly while obsessing over the yellowish stains on their own teeth, men  are looking at stars like The Rock, A-Rod, and Matthew McConaughey, and saying, “I want my teeth to look like that!” So if your guy wants to whiten his teeth, you can give him something to smile about with these products from Hello! This new oral care brand that specializes in toothpastes and mouthwashes formulated using effective, good-for-you ingredients like coconut oil and aloe vera and containing no parabens, synthetic dyes, artificial sweeteners or gluten.

They have several whitening toothpaste options — all free of harsh ingredients like hydrogen peroxide, which can be painful for those with sensitive teeth. One of my faves is the Charcoal Whitening Toothpaste ($5.99 at Hello-Products.com), which is naturally black in color and contains bamboo charcoal to eliminate plaque and dislodge surface stains, as well as coconut oil, which has antibacterial properties. It looks a little scary when you first brush it onto your teeth but, after rinsing, your mouth feels amazingly clean — and your breath smells like peppermint and spearmint, which is always a plus. And, if the charcoal toothpaste is a bit too intimidating, you can also check out  the Fluoride Free Whitening Toothpaste ($4.99 at Hello-Products.com) or the Extra Whitening Fluoride Toothpaste ($4.99 at Hello-Products.com).

And if you’re thinking,” Nope, toothpaste isn’t an acceptable gift,” allow me to explain why it’s actually the ultimate present. See, Hello recently unveiled a handy subscription service whereby customers can choose to receive a tube of toothpaste every month, every two months, or every three months. So you can easily gift dad a subscription so that he gets a new tube of toothpaste delivered to his door every single month. He’ll never have to run to the store because he ran out of toothpaste nor will he have to squeeze a flattened tube with all his might to get the tiniest of dollops out. Moreover, every tube of toothpaste comes with a new toothbrush made from 70% plant-based materials so that dad also won’t have to keep track of whether three months have elapsed and it’s time to replace his toothbrush because he’ll be getting a new toothbrush every single month. Not only are these products great for dad’s oral health, but they also just make his life simpler. And isn’t that a gift in and of itself?

BAKBLADE 2.0 BACK SHAVER

As I mentioned on “Great Day Houston,” my dad has always joked that he was used as the model for Chewbacca because he has a lot of body hair — he even jokes that he has built-in insulation to get him through the colder months. My dad is totally fine with his hairy physique but he’s also from a different generation. Nowadays, a lot of men feel self-conscious about body hair — particularly back hair. And if you think about it, even hairy-chested leading men in Hollywood like Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bradley Cooper, Tom Selleck, and Jon Hamm seem to have smooth and perfectly hairless backs, which I’ve always found suspicious. You mean to tell me, ALL these guys have hair on their chest and not their backs? I’m going to channel Judge Judy here and say, “Baloney!” More than likely, they’ve been doing some waxing or shaving to keep their shoulders and backs fuzz- and stubble-free, and yet it’s one of those subjects that’s rarely discussed openly. And regular men who want to get rid of that back hair rarely know the best way to do so — after all, waxing such a large surface area can be extremely painful, laser hair removal is both expensive and time-consuming, and those hair removal creams an burn and irritate the skin. Luckily, there’s an inexpensive, easy and quick way to tackle those back hair woes: the BakBlade 2.0.

This clever back shaver includes a curved ergonomic handle that tackles all those hard-to-reach areas, and the device includes brand’s DRYglide safety blade cartridges so customers can shave either wet or dry. The entire process of shaving takes only a few minutes, and it feels like you’re just using a back scratcher, so there’s no discomfort involved.

Prices start at $29.95 at Bakblade.com. For that amount, you get one Bakblade 2.0, two DryGlide Blades, and one wall mount.