Easy Ways to Look & Act More Feminine as a Guy

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Plus, simple suggestions for clothing, hair, & skincare

Co-authored by Tannya Bernadette and Aimee Payne, MFA

Last Updated: November 11, 2024 Fact Checked

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Appearing More Feminine

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Behaving More Femininely

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Q&A

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Tips

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Warnings

How you become more feminine depends largely on your self-definition and feelings about gender expression. To appear more feminine, take good care of your skin, update your wardrobe to include tighter-fitting clothing, and shave your facial hair off. To act more feminine, cross your legs when sitting, speak with a higher-pitched voice, and be polite. That’s easier said than done, though. We spoke with fashion, makeup, and skincare experts to help you know what to do to look more feminine. But most importantly, always remember to be confident and embrace who you are!

Being a More Feminine Guy

To look more feminine, shave your facial hair, groom your eyebrows and nails, wear more form-fitting clothing, and use makeup to accentuate your features. Act more feminine by swaying your hips when you walk and crossing your legs while sitting.

Section 1 of 2:

Appearing More Feminine

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1
Keep facial hair trimmed or smoothly shaven. One of the easiest ways to appear more feminine is to remove your facial hair. Use a razor and shaving cream to shave regularly and fend off the 5 o’clock shadow.
- Electric razors tend to leave a little stubble behind. Use a standard razor and shaving cream to get a cleaner shave.
- “Before you start shaving, you can wash your face with something with an exfoliating agent,” Professional Barber Juan Sabino recommends. “Olive oil or coconut oil…would be a base, and just put some brown sugar in it. And you can use that as a pre-face wash to soften up the hair and also get rid of some of that dead skin.”
- Shorten longer facial hair with clippers. Lather up to soften the hair, and then shave with the grain of your hair growth to avoid irritating your skin and getting razor burn, says Sabino.
- Sabino also says to disinfect your razor with a spray disinfectant or alcohol after every shave to help prevent breakouts.
2
Remove body hair to appear more feminine. Plucking and shaving are the easiest ways to remove unwanted hair. Plucking is best for removing individual hairs, mostly on your eyebrows. Shaving is good for your face and body hair, but the hair regrows quickly. Other methods like waxing and using hair removal cream are easy ways to remove hair for a smoother, more feminine look.
- Waxing involves applying hair removal wax to the body part and placing a cloth strip over the wax. Then, pull the cloth and wax quickly off to remove the hair at the root. With this method, the hair takes longer to grow back than with shaving.
- To use a hair removal cream, spread it on your arm, leg, chest or back. Then, wait 3-10 minutes before removing the cream with a damp washcloth. These creams don’t remove the hair from the root, so the hair grows back faster than waxing. However, it often comes back finer than before. Be aware that hair removal creams may not be a good choice for people with sensitive skin.^{[1]
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- Women and feminine people are generally expected to have less body hair, but keeping it is perfectly fine if you don’t want to remove it!
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3
Develop a good skincare routine to maintain blemish-free skin. Find a skincare routine that works for your skin type and budget. Wash your face daily with a high-quality face wash. Use eye cream to moisturize the skin around your eyes. Use a lightweight moisturizer daily to keep your skin healthy, happy, and smooth.
- Wear sunscreen and a hat if you spend a lot of time in the sun. The sun’s rays will damage your skin, making you appear more masculine.
- Professional Makeup Artist Katya Gudaeva recommends avoiding irritating ingredients like chemicals, fillers, and fragrances if you have sensitive skin.
- “Number 1 Rule: Never go to bed with makeup on. Never ever. Very important,” adds Gudaeva.
Tip: If you work out a lot or have a job that requires a lot of sweating, get a good cleanser to clean your pores and refresh your skin.
4
Wear tighter-fitting clothing that flatters your body shape. Men tend to wear baggier clothing than women do, so updating your wardrobe to include some tighter clothing is a simple step you can take to appear more feminine. When lounging around, try some short shorts and a tight tank top or T-shirt to get used to how form-fitting clothing feels. For formal events, try tighter slacks that ride a little higher on your waist and a form-fitting suit jacket.
- Trade in your standard-cut jeans for some slim-fit jeans. Pack the XXL T-shirts up, and get some flattering tank tops and V-neck shirts that are a little more form-fitting.
- Personal Stylist Tannya Bernadette recommends adding a little flair to traditional men’s clothing by accessorizing, choosing shirts with prints, and adding brighter colors to really pop.
- If you have a larger body, avoid going so tight that your clothing is uncomfortable. Pick clothing items that fit you well. Oversized clothing can make you look larger than you are. Follow fashion advice for women who have fuller figures for tips on how to dress a larger body in a more feminine way.
- You don’t have to wear women’s clothing to be a feminine guy, but you can if you’d like! Try wearing skirts, dresses, or flowy blouses if you want to try out some women’s clothing.
- Feminine clothing style is all about fit and color. You don’t have to wear anything tight if that’s not your vibe, but try balancing out your outfits a little more carefully to choose coherent looks, says Bernadette.
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Grow your hair out and style it in a way that works for you. Women tend to have longer hair than men, so growing your hair out will help you appear more feminine.^{[2]
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Research source} Wait 6-12 months for your hair to grow out. Brush it regularly and experiment with flat irons and curling irons to find a hair style that works for you. A ponytail is a simple choice, but you can really do it however you want. Let it hang loose in a simple straight cut, braid it, or tie it up however you’d like!
- Hats can be your best friend when your hair is in that in-between state where it’s longer than short hair but not quite luxurious enough to work with longer styles.
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Wear makeup to accentuate your feminine features. Women often wear makeup to feel more feminine, so it’s a great way to express your femininity. Get a high-quality foundation that matches your skin tone, and apply concealer to cover discoloration and give you an overall healthy look, says Gudaeva. Use blush to brighten your cheeks a little and make your face softer. Use eye shadow to make your eyes pop and give you the classic feminine look.^{[3]
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- If you’re not ready for a full foundation, choose a BB cream or tinted moisturizer to subtly even your skin tone.
- Professional Makeup Artist Erica Coates recommends prepping your lips by exfoliating them and then applying a moisturizing product, like a lip balm.
- Gudaeva recommends using an angled brush with some eyeshadow for a subtle eyeliner look.
- If you’re uncomfortable with wearing makeup, skip it! Your brand of femininity doesn’t need to match everyone else’s picture of what femininity is.
EXPERT TIP

Katya Gudaeva
Professional Makeup Artist
Katya Gudaeva is a Professional Makeup Artist and the Founder of Bridal Beauty Agency based in Seattle, Washington. She has worked in the beauty industry for over 10 years and worked with companies such as Patagonia, Tommy Bahama, and Barneys New York and with clients such as Amy Schumer, Macklemore, and Train.

Katya Gudaeva
Professional Makeup Artist

Make sure your makeup is well-blended. If you don't blend the colors, you'll have harsh lines of color on your face that make the makeup look very noticeable and immature. The goal is to make yourself look pretty, not for the makeup to be noticeable.

Section 2 of 2:

Behaving More Femininely

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To sound more feminine, raise your voice half an octave to make it comfortably lighter. When having everyday conversations, speak with a slight, upward inflection to make your voice sound softer. While it might feel kind of awkward at first, you’ll get used to speaking differently after a week or two!^{[4]
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Tip: Practice at home and when you’re in the shower. Talking to yourself when you’re hanging out at home is a good way to internalize your new voice.
2
Cross your legs when you’re sitting down and sit up straight. Body language is a big element of gender expression. Men tend to sit with their legs spread out, taking up a lot of space in the process. To seem more typically feminine, cross your legs over one another when you’re sitting down.^{[5]
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Research source} When you’re standing, keep your legs closer together.
- Bring your elbows in when you’re standing so that they stay on your sides. Women tend to stand like this more frequently than men.
- Slouching tends to be a masculine move. Sit up and stand up straight to keep your frame straight and appear more feminine.
3
Be more polite to come off as soft and gentle. Generally speaking, women tend to be more polite than men.^{[6]
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Research source} Say “please” and “thank you” whenever you can, and use softer language to express complaints or concerns. Managing your tone gives the overall impression that you’re more feminine.^{[7]
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- For example, instead of saying, “That’s not how you do that,” say, “I might be wrong about this, but I don’t think that’s the right process.”
4
Trust your intuition and listen to your instincts. Women are better at making intuitive decisions.^{[8]
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Research source} To get in touch with your personal vision of femininity, recognize that ego, social norms, and logic are going to get in the way. Leave your reservations aside and start to trust your natural instincts. Be confident that your own emotional truths are worth exploring. Engage with them to develop a better sense of what it actually means to be emotionally intuitive.
- As you learn to ignore your ego, you’ll notice it’s easier to feel like yourself without shading your self-image with society’s expectations for you.
- Being sensitive just means that you accurately identify your feelings and respond accordingly. This is commonly seen as a feminine trait because men are stereotypically perceived as more logical and prone to ignore the way they feel.
5
Accept who you are and embrace it with confidence! Unfortunately, people can be judgmental. If you find people critiquing you or trying to put you down, ignore them. They’re just projecting their own insecurities onto you. Own who you are and be proud of it. With enough confidence, you can make any look, style, or behavior your own!
- Stand up for yourself. If your friends are being cruel, they may not recognize that they’re behaving in a way that’s upsetting you.

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How do I shave my pubic hair?

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Rinse the area for about two minutes with very warm water (take care that the water isn't hot enough to burn or scald your skin). This will soften the hair shaft and make the area easier to shave. You'll definitely need to use some shaving cream or gel if your hair is course and wiry. Go slow, shave in the direction of the hair growth, and make sure you stretch the skin around you scrotum so you don't cut your skin. Remember to go slow and be careful. To prevent after-shave irritation, apply an after-shave gel specifically formulated for the pubic region to the area.

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Isn't it more about your demeanor than appearance?

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That depends on what you define as feminine, but using refined mannerisms, walking with upright posture, and swaying and/or rotating your hips in a forward and back motion could usually be considered feminine mannerisms.

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What if your parents won't accept you doing it, but you really want to?

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This one's really difficult to answer. It entirely depends on who your parents are and what your own goals are when it comes to this kind of thing. If your parents see feminine men as a bad thing, unfortunately all you can do is wait it out. You can still do it without them knowing. Just make sure you behave more masculine around the house. Bring a change of clothes with you if you want to wear feminine clothes when you go out.

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Tips

If you’re known for drinking beer, wearing baggy jeans, and rocking a giant beard, you may throw people off if you show up to the next party like you’re a completely different person. Ease into it if you want to comfortably explore your feminine side without disrupting your social life.

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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Pluck your eyebrows so that they are neat, but don't pluck too much! Work slowly from the bottom, plucking any stragglers. Remove the hair from between your eyes so that your eyebrows start at the corners of your eyes. Use an eyebrow brush to groom and shape them.
Loafers with a low vamp show more of the foot, which is typically considered more feminine.

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Warnings

Be careful about violating the dress code at work. Depending on where you live, it may be legal for your employer to reprimand you for wearing heels, makeup, or having a certain hairstyle. It’s unfortunate, but it’s a reality in some states and countries.

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