The bathroom routines the stars stick to – and the products they swear by.

For decades, women’s magazines have relished in uncovering the secret – and often outlandish – beauty habits of celebrities. Hollywood’s fairest have relied on everything from snake venom to haemorrhoid cream (for crow’s feet) in an attempt to own new standards in beauty. Good genetics and a healthy lifestyle are but minor factors when juxtaposed with the headline-grabbing potential of a nightingale faeces facial or steam-cleaned private parts (we have Ms Gwyneth Paltrow to thank for this detail).

But what of the men? By comparison, their grooming routines are positively mundane. Even at the giddy heights of fame, they tend to be less faddy and considerably more practical than you might expect. As evidence, let us offer up the below, in which we reveal the logic behind the looks of five famous gentlemen, as told to various publications over the years – and the grooming products they rely on.

Long before he overhauled his look for the impending Baywatch reboot, Mr Zac Efron was famous for sporting a messy bedhead. According to Mr Efron, he very humbly “woke up like this”. “Someone said to me that guys are trying to copy my hairstyle, but to be honest, this hairstyle is derived from laziness,” he once told bastion of British journalism Top Of The Pops magazine. “If you really want your hair to look good, just don’t wash it for a day. That’s my secret.”

There is a method to his madness (or slovenliness, depending which way you look at it). Daily shampooing, often with piping hot water, strips your hair of natural oils, which causes the scalp to respond by producing even more oil. Anti-shampoo enthusiasts claim they have a thicker, faster-growing and more luxurious mane as a result of ditching suds.

If you’re looking to go down this route, we’d recommend washing with shampoo three times a week. If you feel like you need an additional clean or two, then invest in a dry shampoo. It’s like Febreze for your scalp.

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We feel we should preface this tip from the seemingly ageless Mr Pharrell Williams with the scientific certainty that “black don’t crack”. Black skin has considerably more collagen and melanin than Caucasian skin, which makes it age at a snail’s pace in comparison.

Regardless, the mogul, now 43, espouses the benefits of cleansing with cold water. “You have to clean your face. You can’t sit around and assume it’s going to be OK,” he says. “I wash my face every day – don’t be afraid to wash yours before you go to bed! My dermatologist gave me the Glytone Acne Self-Foaming Cleanser, which I wash off with cold water to close my pores,” he told Into The Gloss. Along the same lines, we would recommend Dr. Barbara Sturm’s cleanser, which like the glytone is a light, foaming formulation containing exfoliating salicylic acid and a number of natural anti-irritants to prevent redness and inflammation.

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Diddy’s approach to grooming is reassuringly extravagant. He insists on having several products on rotation at once. “My bathroom is filled with so many different toiletries, so every night is a different experience,” he told Into The Gloss.

Having a selection of products on rotation is actually a smart, if rather costly, move. As we have previously explained in our piece on how to reboot your regime, environment, mood, hormones and ageing have the combined power to change your skin’s needs on a daily basis. If you have a cornucopia of serums, oils and moisturisers at your disposal, then all the better.

The other key to his routine is the fact that he uses said products at night. “My skincare routine is mainly at night, just before I go to bed. I wash my face, and I like putting hydrating night serums on – things meant for rejuvenation,” he continues. Nighttime is when the skin’s metabolism is at its highest and cell turnover speeds up. The skin isn’t busy defending itself from environmental aggressors in the wee hours, so employing an overnight product can speed up your face’s recovery process.

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Mr Tom Ford’s daily ablutions are the stuff of legend. His compulsive five-a-day bath habit has fallen by the wayside since becoming a father, though he still swears by the quick fixes in his eponymous grooming line for men, which includes a clever bronzer and a natural-looking concealer.

He did however admit an uncharacteristically pedestrian grooming secret to Mr Porter’s US Editor Mr Dan Rookwood for The London Evening Standard. “When I got up this morning, I was going to trim my beard because I knew I was having this interview and I needed to look good. It’s going quite grey, which I sometimes camouflage with Just For Men beard dye – do not put that in the article!”

Regardless, Mr Ford’s version of “bedraggled” is the average man’s “impeccable”.

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“Your face is your money,” professes comedian Mr Kevin Hart. It stands to reason, then, that he uses a considerable amount of money to keep his face in good condition. Most notably with super-luxe La Mer products. “I use La Mer scrub and after I use the scrub I use the wash. Then, I use a hot towel to clean it off. After I take it off, I then take a replenishing moisturiser and put that on my face. And I cover that with a sealant,” he told BET.com of his alarmingly high-maintenance routine. (We’d recommend scrubbing after cleansing, though.)

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