The 2024 GQ Grooming Awards

Wonder Valley’s Hinoki Body Wash will do what is expected of a solid body wash—thoroughly cleanse without stripping the skin of its critically important moisture barrier—but also, much more. With its fragrant blend of Japanese hinoki, cedarwood, and Siberian fir, the smooth, syrupy-texture wash is forest bathing, bottled.

If your skin puts up a fuss no matter what you put on it, Suave’s Sensitive Skin Face and Body Wash offers hydrating hypoallergenic cleansing with a zesty lemongrass and moss aroma.

Body acne happens. So does keratosis pilaris (KP) and, yup, ingrown hairs too. Murad’s Retexturizing Body Pads efficiently address all of the above with calming azelaic acid, plus salicylic and glycolic acid, packed into a very handy format.

The skin-care savvy know that vitamin C is a must-have in your skin care regimen for its brightening and antioxidant capabilities. Now, those extend to the body too in this formula from Necessaire, which is meant to be slathered from head to toe. Bioavailable, stabilized vitamin C (a.k.a., THD ascorbate) plus tranexamic acid and enzymes boost radiance and reduce sun spots for a healthy, all-over glow.

It’s called body odor because it’s not limited to just your pits: other parts (see feet and privates) can benefit from some freshening too. Enter Dove Men’s Whole Body Deodorant, which offers long-lasting protection against odor while also playing well with the most sensitive skin types.

If you prefer a stick to a spray, Old Spice Gentle Man’s Total Body swipe-on cream is also meant to be used anywhere you find some funk. It glides onto skin and with fewer than 10 ingredients—and no phthalates or parabens—it’s a clean choice for those discerning customers who don’t want chemicals around.

Antiperspirants have been sitting idly by while we’ve all tried to deal with the “funk” that deodorants can leave behind. The Rock can smell what you’re cooking and so he helped develop the Papatui Antiperspirant, which taps aluminum to plug sweat glands while leaving behind a Sandalwood Suede scent—designed by legendary perfumer Frank Voelkl—that is a mellow and, crucially, doesn’t feel too perfumey.

A good-for-you deodorant? Hume Supernatural’s plant-derived version uses ingredients more common in your supplement regimen, like prebiotics and probiotics, to bolster your skin’s microbiome while keeping you smelling delightful. (We enthusiastically endorse the Vanilla Haze scent.)

Sudsing up with Cire Trudon’s Vixi feels like something of a forest bathing experience with a refreshing woodsy aroma courtesy of bitter orange petit grain, sage, and sandalwood.

Immediately get your hands on Loewe’s Tomato Leaves, which perfectly mimics the verdant scent of tomato vines, and if we say so, embodies the Spanish fashion house’s signature spunk.

The premise of Essie’s Good As New Nail Perfector is simple: it’s your nails, but better. Like, significantly, dramatically, huh-how-did-they-do that better. The ceramide-rich formula corrects yellowing and evens out ridged and uneven texture in as little as one week’s time.

That Hermes, the brand synonymous with luxury at every touchpoint, happens to make some of the most damn fine nail lacquer around comes as no surprise. The brand offers a Pantone-level color palette (we are especially fond of the cobalt Bleu Electrique), long wearability, easy application, and, oh yes, eye-catching bottles that you’ll want to keep as prominently displayed as those little orange boxes.

Seasonal changes, hardcore workouts, a diet without hydrating foods—all these things can show up on your hands. While the options for hand creams abound, finding one that adequately moisturizes without leaving a greasy trail, lasts through many washes, and doesn’t smell like potpourri can be a challenge. Dedcool, the viral fragrance brand, hits all the marks with its thick but quickly absorbing Hand Cream in Taunt, a citrusy amber scent.

We think we speak for your cuticles when we say: We are tired of being overlooked. And all those frequent hangnails are a sign of this gross oversight, one that Paume’s All-In-One Cuticle & Nail Cream can, with its plant keratin, biotin and emollient formula, quickly address.

We’ll spare you the full chemistry lesson, but suffice to say that most shampoos have to change the pH of your hair to get it clean, which winds up drying it out. That is unless, of course, you introduce oil into the formula, which can remove hair oil via the like-dissolves-like philosophy. This formula uses oils and incredibly gentle surfactants to clean hair and keep it moisturized.

Do we need a chic shampoo? One whiff of the juicy Italian bergamot and grassy vetiver of Corpus Cypress Shampoo and your answer will be a resounding yes. But lest you think this is all scent and no substance, the coconut and sunflower oil-rich formula also hydrates and restores scalp health.

Those with thinning hair will do well to lather up with Horace’s Fine Hair Shampoo. It’s formulated using rice proteins to strengthen and volumize individual strands, helping hair to look thicker after a single wash.

The scalp is the new face. Treat it with the same level of TLC. Nutrafol’s Root Purifier Shampoo is formulated with vegan protein and prebiotics to treat the scalp’s microbiome (yup, you have one there too).

To get your shampoo and conditioner tailored to your exact needs, perhaps consider shelling out a bit more for Prose’s Custom Shampoo, which creates your formula to be unique to you—down to the scent profile it comes with.

Olaplex’s Moisturize & Mend Leave-In Conditioner is first and foremost a damn good conditioner for dry and dehydrated hair; secondly, it’s a leave-in that mends split ends and protects from heat and damage; and finally serves as a styling cream that fights frizz and smooths.

Roman Hair Solutions’s 3-in-1 Topical Spray is a powerful (prescription) mash-up of minoxidil for regrowth, finasteride to slow loss and tretinoin to enhance absorption, that promises to get hair back on track in as soon as 3 months. Finasteride gets a bad shake because some users have experienced erectile disfunction; however, our testers like that this blend allowed users to still get the DHT-blocking punch from the ingredient without having it a brutally high concentration.

DTC health brand Hims supplies you with the gold standard in hair loss: oral minoxidil. As we wrote in our review, the compounding pharmacy makes it easy to get this supplement with or without finasteride and if you’d like you can even combine minoxidil and finasteride with tadalafil, an ingredient that treats erectile dysfunction.

To smooth and sculpt short hair or add pieciness, Odele’s Cream Pomade is easy to work with and dries to a matte finish.

Aveda’s Invati Thickening Foam is a styling aid that adds significant volume without weighing down thinning strands.

With mango butter and marula oil, this incredibly hydrating and frizz-remedying concoction ensures that your curls and coils are adequately nourished without feeling weighted down.

GQ‘s October cover star Beyoncé’s Cécred
Hair Oil blends thirteen oils into this lightweight blend that helps strands to feel moisturized and shiny without the use of any silicone.

To add airy volume or create an ideal pre-blow dry foundation, Sachajuan’s Ocean Mist Volume Hair Mousse works its magic without any residual stickiness.

Are we suggesting you spend $500 on a hair dryer? Yes, yes we are. Dyson’s Supersonic Nural is the smartphone of hair dryers with sensors that automatically shift temperature and airflow, a protective scalp mode, and plenty of clever attachments for all your styling needs.

THOM’s Scalp Serum is a soothing treatment made with pomegranate enzymes, pea protein, and apple stem cell technology that quashes inflammation.

Act + Acre’s new 4% Niacinamide Oily Scalp Serum, which taps its key ingredient to help balance oil production so that you get an extra day or two from your shampoo.

Ralph Lauren’s Polo ’67 is a remix of a classic with a bright blend of Calabrian bergamot, pineapple, and vetiver.

Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino is a sensory trip to the titular Italian Riviera town, powered by crisp citrus

Exactly what you’d expect from the beloved minimalist line: Aesop’s Virere rounds out its citrus heart with peppery green spices.

Like brand founder Harry Styles himself, Pleasing’s Rivulets fragrance has range. While you might not think of it as a citrus fragrance, at first whiff its peppy citrus top notes fire off endorphins in your brain; over time, the musky floral drydown settles things just enough to be all-day wearable.

Patchouli gets a bad rap, but in Guerlain’s sophisticated Patchouli Paris, the note is paired with musk, vanilla, and an ambergris accord—it feels like redemption.

For Frederic Malle’s newest, Hope, perfumer Dominic Ropion gave ancient oud a thoroughly modern remake with the help of spicy pink peppercorn, cypress, and leathery incense.

The evolution of Dior’s iconic Sauvage is Sauvage Eau Forte, an inventive alcohol-free fragrance that melds a fougere freshness with lavender and musky wood notes.

Conjured by Pharrell Williams and perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud, LV Lovers aims to bottle the essence of the sun, something they achieve with crisp ginger and verdant galbanum.

Cilantro naysayers, prepare to have your mind changed by Le Labo’s Coriandre 39, which takes aldehydic cilantro leaves for an unexpected ride with lime and musk.

The aromatic woodsy notes of Eau So Vert’s Dos Mil Años—like cypress, cardamom and hazelnut— nod to the ancient Oaxacan tree of life that the fragrance is an homage to.

Open the sauna and let out all the steam, breath in and you’ve got something akin to this grounding fragrance that feels like tra-la-la-ing through the Northern California Redwoods or taking a big breath in of woody mountain air.

DS&Durga’s Big Sur is a wet woody interpretation of California’s magnificent eucalyptus groves.

By Killian’s Old Fashioned distills the elements of one of the most classic cocktails ever shaken into a sweet and smoky, cedarwood-laced liquored floral.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s APOM is a supremely elegant aromatic ambery floral.

With its combination of moss absolute, cedar essence, and a matcha accord, Diptyque’s Temple des Mousses candle will transform your home into a Japanese zen garden.

It’s hard to award a limited-edition holiday release a Grooming Award, but Byredo’s trio of Bibliothèque, Woods, and Sweet Grass is get-it-while-you-still-can kind of good.

For your pubes, there is the Gillette i7 Pubic Hair Trimmer, which comes with two attachable combs and a handy LED light when your overhead lighting isn’t ideal.

For your beard, there is the Bevel Trimmer, a lightweight, ergonomic device with easy-to-clean blades that prevent bumps and irritation.

Your body hair—namely any overgrown pubes—demand regular trims too. But not any bladed device is fit to be so close your nether regions. This trimmer uses a ceramic cutter (it stays sharper longer than metal, which means less needless tugging on the skin) and has a slim and discreet design that meanders easily around any hard-to-reach places.

If you’re a razor devotee, there is, in our opinion, no better option than the Dollar Shave Club 3-In-1 Razor. On the front there are a top-of-the-line six blades, and on the flipside you’ll find a self-sharpening power trimmer.

Smaller than an iPhone, this rotary shaver is convenient to pack, you can shave wet or dry, it charges in a jiffy, and above all, it gives you a close and smooth shave that honestly is so good you might want to just keep this in your regular rotation.

The Grey’s Cleansing and Shaving Mousse is a two-in-one wonder: a luxe antioxidant rich cleanser and a smooth shaving mousse.

The Shop’s After Shave Toner uses gentle acids to exfoliate, brighten, and prevent the formation of razor bumps.

Just a few wee drops of Prohibition Wellness’s Hair & Beard Oil (a blend of coconut, jojoba, hemp, argan, and grape seed) is all your beard needs to resist unruliness.

Lest you think hair fragrance is designated for the hair sprouting solely out of your scalp, allow us to present Bleu de Chanel hair perfume, which is simply divine to dab on facial hair.

Your first course of action for mouth maintenance is a capable toothbrush. Our pick for a solid manual version is Colgate’s Total Active Foaming Clean Soft Toothbrush, which has high-density bristles that gets to hard-to-reach corners.

Quip’s 360 Oscillating Toothbrush is our electric pick for its easy-to-wield rotating and pulsating brush, which cleans in three intensities guided by LED pressure sensors.

Our preferred mouthwash isn’t really a wash at all: Boka’s Restore Tablets are hydroxyapatite tablets with powerful probiotics that are activated by your saliva—they do a bang-up job of freshening breath and soothing gums.

On our mission to give everything in our wellness and grooming routine a chic upgrade, we have finally found a toothpaste up the task. Swedish brand Selahatin’s Steam Will Rise is an anti-inflammatory formula that comes housed in a sleek aluminum tube ready for prominent sinkside display.

For those who say they “floss once a day,” at the dentist but otherwise aren’t actually as thorough, this two-in-one device makes toggling between the brush and water flosser as easy as pressing a button