Wholeman Advice

The 15-minute morning routine

Look great in 15 minutes

Follow WholeMan's expert advice and you’ll be ready in no time

8am – Power shower

A quick shower saves your skin as well as saving you time. Spend too long under hot water and your skin can dry out quickly, necessitating the use of body moisturiser. Save time by following this tried-and-tested order: Put the plug in to give your feet a bonus foot wash. Wash your hair with a nourishing shampoo that contains hair-strengthening protein and leave the soap in for a minute to allow it to do its job. Next use a mild facial scrub to remove dead skin cells and to encourage your beard bristles to stand up. Take care to avoid the delicate eye area. Rinse your hair and your face thoroughly. Next, put some shaving foam on your face to give it a minute or two to soften the bristles while you use a moisturising body wash and rinse.

8.05am –Shave time

Now that your softened bristles are standing to attention, shaving will be a much quicker and less painful experience. For full expert tips on the perfect shave, click here. When you have removed all the foam, run your fingers over your face to check that you haven't missed a spot – don't just rely on your bleary eyes. Rinse your fresh face in cooler water to help close the skin's pores. Pat dry with a clean towel and let the skin rest while you brush your teeth.

8.08am –Wash your mouth out

The time you’ve saved on shaving should be spent attending to your teeth – the oft-neglected part of the male grooming routine. For full expert instructions on how best to brush, click here. In short, make sure you floss first, brush for two full minutes with a whitening toothpaste, de-scale your tongue using a scraper, and finally gargle with antiseptic mouthwash.

8.11am – Keep your skin alive

Moisturising is the most crucial part of any grooming routine long-term, as skin aging becomes more of an issue. You will need two moisturisers for the face: a dedicated eye cream for the very fine and delicate skin around the eye area, and a cream for the rest of the face and neck. Try and use one with an SPF to protect against year-round sun damage. If you like a suntan, it is much, much healthier to go fake. Some people also like to use a body moisturiser, especially if they shower often due to sport or if they want to keep a tan for longer and stop the skin from peeling after being in the sun.

8.12am – Hair care

Depending on the style of hair, this is where some blokes spend the most time. And where they make the most mistakes. The key things to remember here are: keep your hair clean, dry it before you style it, and don’t use too much product. Obviously, the simpler the haircut, the easier it is to maintain. It really is worth spending a bit more money going to a decent barber or hairdresser who can help recommend a contemporary tyle that will suit the shape of your face, and who can show you how best to style it. (They can also expertly apply a grey-covering colour or tint with less risk of an obvious accident, if you feel it necessary. Though grey hair can look very distinguished.) Towel-dry your hair first to minimise the damaging effects of a hair dryer which can accelerate split ends. Finish drying with a hair dryer, blowing it into the desired style. A good hairdresser’s tip: if you manipulate the hair to go where you want it to, and hold it there for a few seconds after you have taken the hairdryer away, you’ll find it will stay in position more easily, thus reducing the need for so much hair product. Put a 10p-sized blob of product such as wax or paste into the palm of one hand and then rub it between both palms. Then work it into your hair from the roots up while styling.