Celebrity Groomer Diana Schmidtke was taking a break during a long day of Oscar prep (she would return to the action to work on clients who were attending the round of evening Oscar parties) when she spoke about taking care of Best Actor nominee Michael Keaton.

Schmidtke has been working with Keaton throughout the Awards Season and she says his style is low-key, unfussy and natural.

“He has the crop hair cut so what’s important is the actual cutting of the hair, your lines have to be perfect,” Schmidtke says.  “He embraces the way his hair is, naturally.  And his skin is just perfect. He takes better care of himself than some 20-year-olds.”

With his easy care hair, Schmidtke made sure that Keaton, in his bespoke Ralph Lauren suit, looked great from every angle.

“This isn’t a premiere where you are just on the red carpet; it’s a 360’ event. This is a room full of superstars and tons of cameras.  I look my men over and ask, did they miss any spots on their neck shaving?  Is there nose hair, ear hair? Is one eyebrow longer than the other?  Is the back of the neck cleaned up?”

Schmidtke used American Crewto groom her men’s hair and La Mer Skincare products. Below is her hair how-to and more on what Schmidtke does for her men:

Step 1:  Start with American Crew Boost Powder on dry hair, working it through the roots to give hair lift and thickness.

Step 2:  Apply a nickel-size amount of American Crew Fiber. Warm it up in your hands and apply to hair from front to back and back to front for even application. This step will thicken, texturize and increase the fullness of the hair.

Step 3: Finish with a light mist of hairspray such as R+CO to lock in the look.

Products: American Crew Boost Power, American Crew Fiber, R+CO Hairspray

GREY MATTERS

“No one greys perfectly but I have to make sure it reads that it is greying perfectly. Welcome to the wonderful land of temporary hair mascaras. You grey in the front first and then on the sides so you concentrate on evening it out so it looks uniform.  You have to use your color background, here.  You are going to stay in more of a lighter brown or medium brown range versus dark brown or black.  In these short lengths you don’t have the option of low lighting.”

SKIN

“I love skin that is highly moisturized and men are always concerned about under their eyes.  I never put full foundation on a man.  I highly recommend that, instead of a bronzer, they go out in the sun wearing SPF for 15 to 20 minutes the day before and the day of the event.  Because Michael takes such great care of himself I had to do very little.  I keep the shine down but you don’t want to be super-powdered down like a woman.” 

TREND

Aside from the possible exception of Mathew McConnaughey, Schmidtke noted that most men had said enough to the scruff and had left their beards at home or had them carefully groomed.

“Mark Ruffalo looked great. His wife looked perfect.  Chris Evans did have a beard but he cleaned up under his neckline.” 

FINAL CUT

“After working with Michael during this whole season, today I finally geeked out and said, it has been such a pleasure to be part of this journey with you.  He is truly a legend.”