Sexy scruffs: Is this the end of male grooming?
FORGET designer stubble or full cultivated beards, at last night's Emmy Awards Hollywood hunks Jon Hamm, Kit Harington, Idris Elba and Aaron Paul bristled with untrimmed facial hair
Forget macho workouts, flashing six-packs or stroking perfectly trimmed beards, the latest trend among Hollywood's hunks is to ditch grooming altogether.
Jon Hamm, Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Adam Levine and Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul were all immaculately dressed in black tie, sharp tailoring, dazzling white shirts and shiny new dress shoes.
But above their perfectly knotted ties and bow-ties, all showed off faces full of scruffy stubble that was somewhere between a five o'clock shadow and a full beard.
Perhaps its a reaction to the high maintenance full hipster-influenced beards that have been a favourite for the last year or perhaps, Medieval fantasy-epic Game Of Thrones is to blame.
But this new trend is all about looking effortless and just unkempt enough - any longer and some of these hearthrobs could be heading into ZZ Top territory.
In fact, the GoT team were particularly be-stubbled from writer David Benioff's grizzled, wild untended facial mane to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's light regrowth.
The Danish-born actor who plays Jamie Lannister in the HBO series, looked as though he hadn't shaved for a day or two, while Kit Harington went for an even more unkempt look. The actor, who plays fan-favourite Jon Snow, scraped unwashed-looking hair into a bun while his face bristled with untrimmed hairs.
12 Years A Slave actor Chiwetel Ejiofor also sported a short beard while Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad's Jesse Pinkman, showed off a blonde scruff that was in contrast to his slicked-back hair.
Jon Hamm and Idris Elba have made their names playing irresistible bad boy alpha males, with Mad Men's Don Draper and The Wire's Stringer Bell.
And their devil-may-care dense scruff suggests they've got the confidence not to try too hard on the red carpet and to stick to their signature style.
However, Jon's Mad Men hair stylist Diana Schmidtke revealed that it did take a bit of work to get the best out of his bristles.
"Jon has a great-looking beard, which requires maintenance,” the celebrity groomer, who has also worked with George Clooney and Liam Hemsworth, told the Hollywood Reporter.
“We used the Norelco 9100 Laser Beard Trimmer to make sure it’s the same length, give it a good shape and make sure it has a beginning and an end. It should end two to four inches down the neck, and the neck should be shaved underneath to make it red-carpet worthy."
Liev Schreiber and Adam Levine also kept their two-day growth but made sure their hair was slicked and sprayed into position.
Liev, who's currently starring as fixer Ray Donovan in the TV series, was clearly channelling his bad boy character with his salt and pepper stubble.
And it seems Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco likes a man without a razor as new husband Ryan Sweeting looked as though he hadn't picked up a Gilette since Friday morning. He's merely a week away from the full Hamm.
SCROLL DOWN FOR TIPS ON MAINTAINING FACIAL SCRUFF
HOW TO GET THE PERFECT SCRUFF
1. To achieve the perfect five o’clock shadow, use an adjustable beard trimmer with the built-in guard all the way back, celebrity facial hair stylist Craig the Barber told Men's Health. Clippers with a No1 guard work, too.
2. Trim your hair, making multiple passes for consistency.
3. Clean up your moustache with a scissors or a precision trimmer, removing any stray hairs.
4. Shave or trim any hair that grows below the top of your Adam’s apple using a razor or a trimmer without a guard.
5. If your stubble grows high up on your cheeks, shave or trim the hair just below your cheekbone parallel to your jawline.