From creating a good skincare regime, to looking after your hands and nails, and getting the perfect shaving routine, every groom can up his game for his wedding day with some easy know how. It really isn’t that difficult to level up what you’re already doing. Follow these grooming tips below until the big day and your wedding pictures (and your partner) will thank you for it later.

Skincare Grooming Tips

For the best wedding day skin, you need to go beyond a simple splash of water; great skin comes from doing a little work. This is an easy-to-follow regime that every guy can stick to.

• Cleanse twice daily using a gentle foaming cleanser.
• Toner is optional. Dry skin types can skip it, oilier types will appreciate its pore-minising qualities.
• Weekly exfoliating brightens the skin and removes dead skin cells that can cause breakouts.

Skincare we rate: CeraVe Balancing Air Foam Foaming Facial Cleanser, €11.95/150ml for everyday cleansing that removes oil but does not strip the skin of essential oils, Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Toner, €17.45/75ml, for its pore-tightening effect without disrupting the skin’s barrier, and Clinique for Men Oil Free Moisturiser, €39/100ml, to rehydrate the skin without fear of clogging pores or causing a breakout.

Hair Care Grooming Tips

You might have your hair care routine down to a fine art, but there is always room for improvement. A healthier scalp leads to better hair, and less chance of flakes on your suit shoulders, so there’s no time like the present to introduce a scalp serum to your daily regimen. Add a thickening spray for finer hair, and a styling cream that tames frizz and strengthens the hair against breakage.

• A scalp serum is best used at night on dry hair. Leave-in, it works overnight to improve scalp health.
• Thickening spray is used on towel-dried hair before air or blow-drying.
• A styling cream conditions, controls frizz, and helps set a style better if blow-drying.

Hair Care we rate: The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density, €23.95/60ml, is one of the most affordable and effective scalp serums on the market. Aveda Thickening Hair Tonic, €32.95/100ml, provides finer hair with instant density before air or blow-drying, and Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Treatment, €18.45/60ml, is a great styling cream suitable for all hair types and lengths.

Invisible Sun Care Tips

Sun care isn’t just for weddings abroad; it is an essential product to keep your skin protected and redness at bay, no matter what time of year. The best sun protection for guys is invisible, and a city sunscreen ticks all the boxes. This is an SPF is a sunscreen that provides protection against both UV rays and environmental aggressors like pollution. If you want younger-looking skin for longer, you won’t skip this vital daily step.

• Apply enough sunscreen; the length of two or three fingers is the right dose for the face.
• Don’t ignore the top of your ears or neck for better ageing and fewer lines and wrinkles.
• If outdoors, make sure to top up every few hours to maintain UV protection.

Sun Care we rate: Allies of Skin THE ONE SPF 50 Invisible Sunscreen Gel, €31.45/20ml, is hugely water-resistant and great for gym-goers and outdoor enthusiasts, while L’Oréal Men Expert Hydra Energetic Daily SPF50+ Invisible Fluid with Antioxidant Vitamin C, €23.45/50ml, will brighten dull or mature skin with its added vitamin C. The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Dewy Sunscreen SPF 30, €17.45/50ml, acts as both a hydrator and a sun protector, making it ideal for drier skin types.

Hand Care Grooming Tips

From shaking guests’ hands to those important ring shots on the big day, a groom’s hands have a starring role at every wedding. Good hand and nail care is crucial on the run-up to your big day, and it’s a fairly simple addition to your wedding prep. A single layer of nourishing cream won’t be enough if your hands need a lot of TLC, especially if you do manual work. This is how to restore health and great-looking skin in time before saying, ‘I do’.

• Apply hand cream every time after washing your hands to replace lost moisture and oils.
• Keep a tube of cream in your car, at your desk, and at your kitchen/bathroom sink to remember to use it.
• Look for fragrance and synthetic hand cream if cracked knuckles or peeling skin are an issue.

Hand Care we rate: Grown Alchemist Restorative Hand Cream, €23.45/65ml, is a great hand cream for improving skin health and strengthening nails. Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Fast Absorbing Hand Cream, €5.95/75ml, is a fantastic budget buy that immediately soothes taut or itchy hands. La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Soothing Hand Cream, €8.45/50ml, is perfect for troubled or cracked hands, as it contains no synthetic additives.

Wedding Day Grooming Tips

• If following a good skincare regime, avoid the temptation to add anything new to it in the days and weeks before your wedding, in case of a breakout or reaction.
• Time your final haircut well so that your style has had a chance to ‘settle in’ and not look too fresh.
• Prevent razor burn on your wedding day by using a new blade and applying short, gentle strokes.
• If you’re tired from the pre-wedding festivities, start your wedding day with a cold shower rather than a warm one to perk yourself up.
• Stay hydrated with water rather than alcohol until the essential parts of the wedding are complete and if your nerves are kicking in; deep breathing and some quiet time work better and won’t dehydrate you or your skin. Just remember – you look great!

Check out these 21 style tips every groom should know before his wedding day. It covers everything from buttonholes to having a backup shirt on the day, and why you might need it.

Need inspiration to get you started? For more groomswear tips, click here to see what incredibly stylish real grooms wore on their wedding day!