It's fair to say that Daniel Craig looks as good in 2022 as he did when he started playing James Bond in 2006's Casino Royale. At 54-years old the chiselled actor and former British GQ cover star has barely aged a day (give or take a few lines around the eyes). He’s also kept the same slicked back, short, back and sides hair style for the best part of two decades.
We called on a crack team of experts in the fields of skincare, haircare and subtle cosmetic surgery to tell us exactly what we need to do to your face and hair to age as well as one the world’s handsomest men.
Skincare
“As men, once you hit your mid-forties, you need to think about three things when it comes to keeping your skin fresh and tight: hydration, cell renewal and environmental protection,” explains Alexander Johnston, General Manager at John Bell & Croyden. “Older skin is more prone to dehydration, sagging and deeper-set wrinkles due to your body not producing as much hyaluronic acid, collagen and elastin. In a few easy steps, you can give you skin everything it needs to slow the onset of time and stay looking younger, healthier and dashing in a dinner suit.”
"All good routines start with a good cleanser. In this case, you want to use different cleansers on
different days. Your everyday cleansers should be gentle but effective. Look for a foaming cleanser that has added AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids) that will remove any dead skin cells that can dull the complexion and will stimulate the skin to renew. Medik8’s surface radiance cleanse is packed full of AHAs and BHAs to gently refine your skin and clear aways any dullness. You can use it every day without drying out your skin.
“To keep your pores tight and your skin smooth, use an exfoliating scrub a few times a week at night time. This will invigorate your skin and ensure that any over night serums you apply will have the maximum effect. Dr Barbara Sturm’s face scrub is top drawer stuff. This exfoliator is packed full of vitamin A and silk extracts to leave your skin smooth and supple, as well as helping to iron out any fine lines and wrinkles."
“Dark circles and eye bags are very ageing – and very easily reduced. Using a good eye cream or serum every morning will banish those droopy peepers, leaving your eyes looking bigger, brighter and bewitching. The skin around your eyes is around five times thinner than the rest of the face, so it does need special attention. Apply the products with gentle tapping motions to stimulate blood flow and encourage absorption.”
"Exposure to the elements, pollution and other airborne particles can cause your skin to lose its
radiance and vitality, cause dark spots (hyperpigmentation) and leave the surface of the skin looking uneven and rough. Using an antioxidant serum that has high levels of vitamin C and vitamin B3 (niacinamides) can reduce the effects these aggressors have on your appearance.
"Apply after cleansing every morning to keep your skin bright and clear. Decree’s Protect Elixir serum is a multi-functioning product that works to protect, hydrate and encourage cell renewal in one easy application.
"Older skin needs a good dose of deep moisturising every day to keep the cells plump and elastic, so a hydrating serum is essential. Hyaluronic acid (HA) and poly glutamic acid (yPGA) are the key here. Both are humectants, meaning they work like a sponge to hold water in your dermal layers.
"The Inkey List’s Poly Glutamic acid is affordable and effective, while Skin Design London’s H serum is made up of HA molecules of varying weight, helping penetrate deep into the skin, smoothing and plumping as it goes.
“Speeding up the natural renewal of your skin cells is the secret to looking fresh and young. Retinol (vitamin A) and Epidermal Growth Factors (EGF), usually derived from plant stem cells, can offer incredible results. Retinol is best used overnight, as it can increase the skins sensitivity to the sun and should be introduced to your routine slowly, as higher concentrations can cause inflammation.
Look for a buffered solutions that incorporates vitamin E or B3 (niacinamides) to avoid any flare ups. Dr Dennis Gross’ ferulic + retinol is one of the best. Epidermal Growth Factors (or Trigger Factors), derived from plant stem cells, work at the deepest dermal layer to reactivate the natural production of peptides and collagen. This wonder-technology actually trains your skin to rejuvenate itself.”
BioEffect’s EGF serum is famous across the world for its ‘fountain-of-youth’ results, while Augustinus Bader’s Trigger Factor Complex (TFC8) is another magic potion that has been clinically
proven to reverse the signs of ageing – and recently to help regrow thinning hair! Amazing.
"Exposure to the sun causes photo-damage to your skin. UVA and UVB break down the skins defensive barriers and cause dehydration, discolouration and, in extreme cases, cancer. Using an SPF daily is a no-brainer.
"3Labs WW Day SPF40 is the gold standard. This featherlight formula not only protects the skin from sun damage, but also hydrates, minimises pores and creates a shield from environmental aggressors. If you buy just one product this year, this is the one to choose.
Haircare
“As a man gets older finding a hair style or version of is all important, explains Joe Mills, founder of Joe and Co and Daniel Craig's former groomer. “Our hair changes texture and in some case thickness and density as we get older so all of these things need to be taken in to account.
“Daniel’s cut works so well with his face shape and hair texture. It has a little height and with the closeness of the back and sides works really well with his face shape and hair texture. Ask your barber or hair stylist for a short back and sides. This should be scissor cut so it is sharp, but not so you can see the scalp. Around the hairline you should have a very light fade. On top you need around three to four inches of hair, which should be blended into the back and sides.
“To style you will need a hair dryer and a vent brush. I recommend the Dyson and Denman brush. To clean hair, apply Kevin Murphy's Anti-gravity spray and then blow dry your hair back from your face with the brush. Your natural parting will appear and then style the top up and back and the sides down and then back. End with a wax finishing product - I recommend Oliver woods black seed wax. Apply a five pence-sized amount through your dry hair and style with the vent brush. ”
Surgical tweakments
“Looking at Daniel Craig, his proportions are perfectly imperfect - his strong masculine qualities make him authentic and rugged,” explains London-based surgeon Dr Raj Acquilla. "The key point with treating men is to maintain their facial masculinisation. Facial Shape Optimisation, rather than permanent change, is better to create stronger features and a more powerful look, structure and angles, thereby avoiding boyish and baby face results.
"Less is more when it comes to treatments like botox for men. Daniel's forehead is relatively smooth, but there is still retention in both the frown and forehead wrinkles. So with a man, typically speaking, I'd want to reduce activity by 60 per cent and retain 40 per cent. This is a unique male ratio so that the customer can maintain their masculine character. We're not after the 'frozen' look here whereby you can't make any expressions.
"Daniel's brows are between 0-5 degrees vertical tilt off the horizontal - so that's only a slight elevation of the brow. You don't want to overdo botox as it can lift the eyebrows beyond five degrees and make them look more feminine. Craig's eye has also got a negative canthal axis which means the outer corner of the eye aims downwards. Of course, the treatment of botox would open his eye up and potentially lift the outer corner, but again, at the risk of feminising.
“Essentially, looking at the three most important parts of his upper face, if botox has been used it has been done with restraint. So the main thing here is by all means have some botox, but don’t overuse it.
"Interestingly, Craig's outer cheekbone is relatively well defined but the central part of the cheek is flat, if not slightly concave, which gives that impression of athleticism. To achieve the same chiseled cheekbones, I would inject dermal filler directly onto the cheekbone area to create definition, but not the mid cheek area to avoid augmenting this area. Too much volume can result in the face looking too feminine.
"A nasolabial fold in a man, like in Craig and also David Beckham, is not an issue so I wouldn’t advocate the treatment of that with fillers. The result would be too boyish which is definitely not the look here. But, interestingly, when you look at his mouth and perioral area, he's got an elongated philtrum (upper lip) compared to his chin. In an ideal masculine proportion, it should be between 1/4 and 3/4, that's the upper lip to the chin ratio. By all means have lip filler but adhere to the ratio.
"He's got a nice dimple or cleft in the midline of his chin which is a very strong and masculine trait. By injecting dermal filler on either side of the midline (the central point of the chin), you can create a chin worthy of 007.
“I think his jawline is adequately defined, but if you’re looking for a similar look, I'd opt for more of a stronger, more angled jawline. Using dermal fillers, you can create a stronger jaw to give a more squared and sharply defined appearance. The angle of the jaw - which is the back of the jawline next to the ear - should be between 90-95 degrees.”
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