One look at Jon Hamm, and you might think (sorry, Beyoncé) that he redefines the concept of “Woke Up Like This.” The man knows how to work a five o’clock shadow and perfectly tousled man strands like no other. But even Hamm takes a little extra maintenance to hit the red carpet looking like, well, Jon Hamm. Diana Schmidtke, men’s grooming expert, prepped him for his Million Dollar Arm premiere, and exclusively shared the secrets to his “classic, timeless [and] sexy” look with us. Ladies, feel free to email this link to your significant others.
Jason LaVeris/Filmmagic
First things first: She agrees that our basic premise (that Hamm wakes up like this) is more or less accurate. “You are right! He needs no extra maintenance, he is one of the most handsome men in Hollywood,” she says. “My biggest challenge is that he looks like Jon Hamm and not [his Mad Men character] Don Draper on the carpet.” That’s the case with any well-known TV actor, she says, as people are used to seeing them as one thing week after week. “Mad Men changed fashion and styles including hair for both men and women. So this is something I especially have to take into consideration when working with Jon as I work with Jon Hamm, not Don Draper.”
That might mean a more relaxed look than he wears on the show (see: Hamm’s 5 o’clock shadow), but ultimately she wants him to go looking as sharp as possible. ” I am ‘old school’ in my approach,” Schmidtke says. “I believe on the red carpet both men and women should look their best and channel old Hollywood and give their fans the glamorous looks we all love to see at an award show or red carpet event … What determines whether or not a guy looks his best has a lot to do with their own inner confidence. A great suit, perfect hair, and beautiful-looking skin are merely accessories.”
Courtesy Diana Schmidtke
So how did she get that “beautiful-looking skin” in the 30 minutes of prep time with Hamm? She first moisturized with ReVive moisturzing cream (and the line’s undereye cream to prevent any bags), which she likes for her male clients because “they are generally turned off from any products that have a strong ‘perfumey’ scent.” Next she dried his hair with a vent brush and flat wrapping technique before warming up Aquage Transforming Paste in her hands and working it through his hair with open fingers. “This is an important step cause most men go at their hair with their palms — or even worse with stick straight fingers, no spaces between!” A spritz of Paul Mitchell Systems “Awapuhi Ginger” hairspray and they’re good to go for the night. (That’s her male grooming kit, above!)
So what can non-Jon Hamms take away from Schmidtke’s must-dos? Cleansing and moisturizing is so key. “For starters they should wash their face twice daily, as well as moisturize twice daily,” she says — and that even goes for guys with beards. “It is most important, even when sporting a beard, that you moisturize the skin under the beard hair. Yes, it takes a little more time to get in there and moisturize under the hair, but you need to do it. The alternative is, that when you shave off your beard like most men do in the summer time, the skin will be dry and scaly under there. Think about that for a second!” We think our guys may be finally convinced.
Did you realize so much went into making guys look great on the red carpet? How do you feel about Hamm’s sexy 5 o’clock shadow? Tell us in the comments!
–Alex Apatoff
