Everyone knows the bride will look beautiful on her wedding day, but what about the groom? Some tips for guys on looking good.

Skin care

Late nights, too much alcohol, a few too many takeaways in front of the telly . . . and you wonder why you’ve got spots?

Your skin is the first thing to suffer when you don’t take care of yourself and it’ll really show when your wedding photographer moves in for the close-up.

To get yours in top condition for the big day, establish a regular skincare routine several months before your wedding day. It doesn’t have to be time consuming or complicated. The important thing is to make sure you do it daily and the benefits will really show through.

Cleanse your skin thoroughly every day with a cream cleanser or warm water and a mild facial wash. Pat your face dry and avoid pulling the fine skin around your eyes.

Shave after a shower or bath when the bristles are softer and easier to cut. A blunt blade will irritate your skin so never use a razor blade more than five times.

After shaving, use a moisturiser that incorporates a sunscreen with a sun protective factor (SPF) of at least 15. This will protect your skin from the drying and ageing effects of the wind and sun.

Massaging your face and neck gently with your fingertips helps stimulate circulation and boost overall skin tone. During the day, avoid touching your face too much. It can spread bacteria from your hands resulting in spots.

If you get pimples, don’t squeeze them. It spreads infection and causes scarring. Treat pimples with a salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide spot treatment from the chemist. Serious acne is usually treated with a topical retinoid, such as Retin-A, or a course of oral antibiotics such as tetracycline or minocycline and results can take up to a couple of months.

Keep acne under control by washing daily with a salicylic acid based cleanser. Follow with an alpha hydroxy acid based moisturiser, which will help exfoliate skin while preventing it from drying out.

The enemies of your skin are smoking, sun and dehydration. So, if you smoke, give up. If you’re out in the sun, wear a sunscreen and drink plenty of water.

Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables and watch your alcohol intake.

Hair care

Most men pay little attention to their hair. If you’re one of them, now is the time to start doing something about it.

Get your hair into good condition in the months leading up to the wedding by using a good shampoo that suits your hair type and a moisturising conditioner.

Think about the style you want for your wedding day. Get a good cut about a month before, followed by a trim at least a week before.

On the day, wash and style your hair and use gel to keep it in place all day. If you’re going to wear a hat, use a soft wax to hold your hair style. It’s more malleable than gel and will enable you to just push your hair back into place when you take the hat off.

Do you have scruffy eyebrows? Tidy them up yourself or get a beauty therapist to pluck out straggling hairs and give your eyebrows a better shape. Also, don’t forget embarrassing nasal and ear hair. You can buy inexpensive, specially designed hair trimmers for this.

Hands

Another much neglected area, but they’ll be on full display on your wedding day so get them into top condition with some regular treatment.

Push back the cuticles with a towel after every wash and apply hand cream whenever you remember. If you have rough hands or untidy nails a proper manicure could be the answer.