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      <p><span>Celebrity hairstylist and groomer Benjamin Parker Thigpen shares insights on how men can overhaul their daily grooming and haircare routines this year </span></p>
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      <p><span>February calls for necessary reinvention, and if you&rsquo;ve yet to work on those New Year&rsquo;s resolutions you set last December, now is as good a time as any to start. As such, we&rsquo;ve enlisted the help of celebrity hairstylist and groomer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/benjaminthigpen/">Benjamin Parker Thigpen</a> to help elevate our skincare and haircare rituals. </span></p>
      <p><span>Thigpen got his start in the industry by partaking in an internship with American fashion photographer Arthur Elgort over going to medical school like the rest of his family. &ldquo;The hours and the amount of time you spend in school and residency did not appeal to me,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I look back at my younger self wishing I hadn&rsquo;t felt that way, but I was young and not in the right headspace at the time to make such a decision.&rdquo; </span></p>
      <p><span>Instead, Thigpen got to befriend and work alongside hair guru Christiaan Houtenbos during his internship, which ultimately led to him working on his first cover with Bruce Willis and Steven Klein at the age of 24. Now, the groomer holds a clientele of some of entertainment&rsquo;s biggest names, including Kieran Culkin (</span><span>Succession</span><span>), Jonathan Bailey (</span><span>Bridgerton</span><span>), Troye Sivan, Brian Cox (</span><span>Succession</span><span>), Julian Edelman, and Channing Tatum. </span></p>
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      <p><span>&ldquo;After having countless conversations with my father regarding his career, he helped me realise that if you truly love what you do, then it&rsquo;s not totally work. While I am not out saving lives, I am making people feel good about themselves. It&rsquo;s a passion of mine that I enjoy and I have a good time doing it.&rdquo; </span></p>
      <p><span>Below, Thigpen shares his experience working with the Hollywood elite, and taps on his knowledge and expertise to help men with their grooming rituals this year. </span></p>
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      <p><strong>What do you notice about your clients&rsquo; grooming habits? </strong></p>
      <p><span>The one thing I notice about clients is whether or not the hair on their necks is cleaned up. Having the hair on the back of your neck trimmed shows a clean look; it&rsquo;s just like trimmed nails. It&rsquo;s simple but it shows effort in your overall appearance.</span></p>
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          <p><strong>Are there any celebrities you&rsquo;d like to work with in 2024? </strong></p>
          <p><span>I have enjoyed and respected the direction that Jacob Elordi is taking with his career and movie choices. He also comes across as someone who respects the fashion industry and is willing to take risks with his looks! </span></p>
          <p><span>Also, Harris Dickinson is a new actor who has been selective in his projects, which is giving him a lot of recognition in the industry. His look is so aesthetically pleasing. He&rsquo;s one of those guys that can get away with trying new hair colours, cuts and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">trends, and has the body frame to look good in anything. Brands should be all over this guy!</span></p>
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                <p><span>Jeremy Allen White is not only an incredible actor and currently shining on </span><span>The Bear</span><span>, but his hair is my all-time favourite to work with. I take pride in styling and cutting wavy and curly hair. </span></p>
                <p><span>I would love to work with Ryan Gosling too. Who wouldn&rsquo;t? </span></p>
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      <p><strong>Tell us about your favourite look that you&rsquo;ve ever done on a celebrity client. What about this look stands out to you? </strong></p>
      <p><span>I&rsquo;ve worked with Kieran Culkin doing awards shows, red carpets, editorials and press for years now. In late 2022, he approached me to lead his look towards the end of </span><span>Succession</span><span>. It was bittersweet to say the least, because I have so many memories of those years. One was when he hosted </span><span>Saturday Night Live </span><span>in 2021. Bringing Kieran&rsquo;s character, Roman, to an end was a highlight of my career. </span></p>
      <p><span>Kieran has so much fun with his stylist Michael Fisher and me. He allows our input, but stays true to what he likes and what makes him comfortable! He has a fun time and makes it easy. And honestly, that&rsquo;s how it should be! </span></p>
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Kieran Culkin on Saturday Night Live

Benjamin Parker Thigpen getting Kieran Culkin ready to host Saturday Night Live

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      <p><strong>How can men improve their daily grooming habits? Do you have any tips and tricks for them to make things easier? </strong></p>
      <p><span>This may be a long one. I am very passionate about the importance of moisturising. It&rsquo;s such a common and cliché thing to say here, but it seems like people still ignore this simple step in their daily regimen. </span></p>
      <p><span>When the skin on your face is in a severely dry state, adding moisturiser sometimes isn&rsquo;t enough because it can&rsquo;t penetrate through super dry skin. I&rsquo;d suggest using a mild exfoliant to get rid of that layer of dead skin and follow through with a sensitive skin-friendly fragrance-free moisturiser like Cetaphil or Cerave. Exfoliating the skin can bring dirt and impurities to the surface and the last thing you need is a heavy cream on top of that. Over-moisturising with heavy cream can cause build-up under the delicate skin on our face, which can lead to dermatitis and breakouts. It can also weigh down the skin! </span></p>
      <p><span>The body is also something that is ignored. Again, exfoliate, but rather than using a gentler exfoliant, get something that&rsquo;s a little more aggressive like Biologique Recherche&rsquo;s Gommage P50 Corps exfoliator or Aesop&rsquo;s Geranium Leaf Body Scrub. </span></p>
      <p><span>Over the years, brands just kept making body lotions and creams. While there are serums for the face, brands ignore serums for the body. iS Clinical makes a great serum mist that can go on by itself or layered with a body moisturiser. This serum has ingredients that we use on our face like hyaluronic acid, extremozymes and other essential vitamins. Along with that, one of my favourite body creams is Révive Body Supérieur; it firms and lifts the skin, and improves uneven skin tone, fine lines and wrinkles. </span></p>
      <p><span>On another note, hands are always something I notice in both men and women. Again, they&rsquo;re often ignored. Use a more aggressive exfoliator, like Caudalie&rsquo;s Crushed Cabernet Scrub, to get rid of that dry skin and use a thick hand cream before bed, like Neutrogena hand cream or Aquaphor Healing Ointment&reg;. </span></p>
      <p><span>While these two brands penetrate well, I am also a fan of Revive Skincare&rsquo;s Fermitif Hand Renewal. It is deeply hydrating and protects the skin against further sun damage and other elements with an SPF 15. I hate putting lotion on my hands and then touching my phone screen or anything for that matter, so I always do it right before I fall asleep. </span></p>
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      <p><strong>What&rsquo;s one grooming product men shouldn&rsquo;t leave the house without?</strong></p>
      <p><span>Chapstick. Again, if your lips are in a severely dry state, use a lip exfoliator like iS Clinical&rsquo;s Lip Polish to get rid of the dryness and start using a good chapstick like my favourite: La Mer&rsquo;s The Lip Balm. </span></p>
      <p><span>Two tricks. Burt&rsquo;s Bees&rsquo; Pomegranate Lip Balm has a small hint of colour; for those lips that are so chapped they have a white hue, use this chapstick to get your normal lip colour back to healthy-</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">looking. Another is to use the same healing ointment that you would use on your hands on your lips. Use the Neutrogena hand cream concentrate on your lips before bed and you will wake up with soft lips. Trust me.</span></p>
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            <p><strong>What are some hairstyles for men you can see becoming popular this year?</strong></p>
            <p><span></span><span>I will always be a fan of the grown-out shaved head look or the one-length haircut. While trends like the modern mullet came back in 2023 with medium-long on top and back with short sides, I feel like it&rsquo;s too forced in 2024. Working with your natural texture is always a good look, and keeping it natural with low shine is key. </span></p>
            <p><span>It&rsquo;s hard to say what will be &ldquo;in&rdquo; but it&rsquo;s always a safe bet to go with short sides, fades, messy Caesar cuts, natural texture and messy quaffs. Less forced is always sexy to me. </span></p>
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      <p><strong>As Valentine&rsquo;s Day is coming up, what are some things men can do to look extra special for date nights?</strong></p>
      <p><span>You can always step it up a notch by adding a sheen to your hair, combing over, or opting for a wet look on special occasions. If you&rsquo;re not one for products, try the Oribe Featherbalm Weightless Styler. Think of it as a light moisturiser for your hair. If you need a little hold, it works well with the Oribe Airstyle Flexible Finish Cream. </span></p>
      <p><strong>What do you hope to see more of this 2024? </strong></p>
      <p><span>I would love to see men show effort in their grooming routine, whether it&rsquo;s a new hairstyle, a beard or lack of. Try something new, but most importantly, have fun with it. I mentioned my father earlier. Ever since he retired, he stopped shaving and now has a thick white beard that looks so cool. I see a different side of him when he looks in the mirror; a confidence that he didn&rsquo;t get to entertain while he was working as a surgeon and I think that it&rsquo;s admirable that he&rsquo;s trying out something new at his age. </span></p>
      <p><strong>What&rsquo;s next for you? </strong></p>
      <p><span>One important thing to look out for in 2024 is my new product which I have been cooking up with my good friend and partner, Yanni Boyiatzis. And one last thing I can&rsquo;t wait to share is that my daughter, Isabel Andrade Thigpen, will be born before this article comes out. </span></p>
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Change Up Your Grooming Habits with This Celebrity Groomer's Tips and Tricks

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