Grooming Checklist for Men Before a Date (One-Page List)

Get a haircut five to seven days before the date so it has time to settle. Trim your beard the day before, or shave that day. Clip and clean your nails the night before. On the day, shower, moisturize, brush and floss, and put on clean clothes that fit with shoes that aren't scuffed. One or two sprays of cologne, not five. You don't need expensive products for any of it, and if you handled the early steps, the day-of part takes about 20 minutes. A copy-ready one-page version is at the bottom.

Nobody on a first date is checking the label on your shirt. What people do notice, mostly without meaning to, is whether you look like you made an effort: clean hair, a tidy beard line, fresh breath, clean hands. That reads as "I was looking forward to this," which is a nice thing to get across before you've said anything. It also helps you. Once you know you look fine, you stop glancing at your reflection in the bar window and start paying attention to her. (For the longer-term version of this, see how to be more attractive.)

A week out

When should you get a haircut before a date?

Five to seven days ahead. A brand-new cut tends to look a little too sharp, with hard lines at the neck and around the ears. Give it a few days and it softens into your hair, just better.

If your barber will do a quick neck cleanup between cuts for a few bucks, a line-up the day before is fine. A full cut the morning of is a gamble, especially with a barber you haven't used before.

A basic men's cut at a chain salon or neighborhood barbershop usually runs about $20–40 plus tip, depending on your city. A $75 cut won't help you more than a $30 one from a barber who listens. Bring a photo and say "like this, a little shorter on the sides."

Restock, and start the slow stuff

Anything that needs time to work, start it now:

Check what you're low on (shampoo, body wash, moisturizer, deodorant, razor blades, floss). Buy it this week so you're not in a CVS at 6:15 p.m. the night of.
If your skin is dry or rough, use a basic moisturizer every morning. A week of it makes a visible difference. One application an hour before does very little.
Chapped lips get plain lip balm at night. Winter in Chicago or Denver will dry out your face in a day, so this matters more than it sounds like it should.

Try on the outfit

Put on what you're planning to wear. Does it still fit? Is there a stain you forgot about? Does the shirt need ironing or a trip to the dry cleaner? Much better to find out on Sunday than 45 minutes before you leave.

The day before

Beard

Trim it the day before so any slightly uneven spots have a night to blend in.

Take it to an even length with a guard on your clippers.
Clean up the neckline. Rule of thumb: the line sits about one to two finger-widths above your Adam's apple, and everything below it goes.
Tidy the cheek line so it looks deliberate. Don't carve it so high it looks drawn on with a Sharpie.
Trim the mustache so it stays off your lip.

If you've never shaped your own beard and this date matters to you, have the barber do it during the week-out visit.

Nails

Clip your fingernails short, file the rough edges, and clean underneath. If your cuticles are overgrown, push them back gently with a washcloth after a shower. Your hands are on the table for the entire date. People see them.

Do your toenails too if you're wearing sandals or there's any chance the shoes come off. Bowling, the beach, or an apartment with a no-shoes rule.

Nose, ears, brows

Trim any visible nose or ear hair with a small trimmer. Thirty seconds, and it's probably the most noticeable thing guys forget. If you've got a unibrow, a little cleanup in the middle is fine. Leave the arches alone.

Body hair beyond that is your call. Neat matters more than any particular style.

Lay it all out

The whole outfit, socks and belt included. Lint-brush it. Wipe down the shoes.

The day of

Shaving, if you're clean-shaven

Shave a few hours before you leave, ideally right after a shower while your skin is warm.

Use a fresh blade. Dull blades are how you end up with razor bumps on exactly the wrong day.
Use shaving cream or gel. Water and bar soap don't count.
Go with the grain on the first pass. Against the grain gets closer, and also gets you more irritation.
Rinse with cool water, pat dry, and put on a fragrance-free moisturizer or aftershave balm. If your skin is sensitive, skip the alcohol-heavy aftershave.

Nicked yourself? Press a small piece of tissue on it and give it a few minutes. Then remember to take the tissue off.

Shower and skin

Shower that day, even if you already showered that morning and the date's at 8. A quick rinse after work counts. Wash your face with a basic cleanser; if you get shiny by mid-afternoon, wash it again before you head out. Moisturize. For a daytime date outdoors, use one with SPF 30, or you'll come home from that patio brunch the color of a boiled shrimp.

Then deodorant or antiperspirant. If you sweat when you're nervous, antiperspirant tends to work better put on the night before than in the morning.

Hair

A small amount of product, about the size of a dime for most short hair. Matte stuff like clay or paste looks more natural than shiny gel. Style it once and leave it alone.

Teeth and breath

This is the one where effort shows the most once you're sitting a couple of feet apart.

Brush your teeth and your tongue. Floss.
Skip onions, garlic and coffee in the couple of hours before if you can. If you do have coffee, drink some water after.
Carry mints or sugar-free gum. Use them on the way, and get rid of the gum before you walk in. Chewing through a conversation is distracting.
If bad breath sticks around no matter how much you brush, that's a question for a dentist.

Cologne

The goal is that someone notices it when she's close to you, during a hug say. The bartender across the room shouldn't.

One or two sprays, on the chest or neck. Not rubbed between your wrists, not a cloud you walk through, and not five sprays because the first one "faded." You stop smelling your own fragrance within minutes. Everyone around you keeps smelling it.

Put it on after you're dressed and before you leave, so it has 20 to 30 minutes to settle before you meet. And don't stack scents. If your body wash, deodorant and cologne each smell like something different, switch the first two to unscented. Not a cologne guy at all? Clean and unscented beats too much every time.

You don't need a designer bottle. A drugstore or mid-range fragrance in the $20–50 range is plenty. Go light and fresh for daytime and warm weather, and test it on your own skin a few days ahead, not at the mall at 5 p.m. on the day.

Clothes and shoes

Tired clothes undo good grooming pretty fast. Shirt shoulders should hit your shoulders, and pants shouldn't pool at your ankles. If your favorite shirt has gotten snug, pick another one. Nothing should look like it spent the week at the bottom of a laundry basket; a $25 handheld steamer fixes that in five minutes.

Shoes get looked at more than you'd think. White sneakers should be actually white (a Magic Eraser does wonders), and leather shoes should be wiped down and free of obvious scuffs. Socks without holes, too. Shoes come off more often than you'd expect.

Dress for the place. Nice jeans and a button-down or a clean knit shirt covers most first dates, from a taco spot to a cocktail bar. For something active, like a few of the first date ideas in Austin under $50, dress for the activity and still show up clean.

Thirty minutes before

Last pass, in front of a mirror with decent light:

Teeth. Anything stuck? Brush or floss again if you ate.
Nose. Check it. Seriously.
Hair. A damp hand fixes most of what's sticking up.
Face. Blot oil with a paper towel, and look for leftover shaving cream or a stray beard hair on your collar.
Lint roller, fly up, collar flat.
Phone charged, wallet, keys, mints. Make sure you've got a card that works and Venmo set up in case you split.

Then stop checking. Put the phone in your pocket and think about what you actually want to ask her. If your mind goes blank, what to talk about on a first date has some starting points.

Things not to try right before a date

No new products on the day. A new face wash or beard oil that makes you break out or smells odd is now part of your date. Same goes for a dramatic new haircut; save that for a week with no plans. Whitening strips the day before can leave your teeth sensitive, so if you want whiter teeth, start a couple of weeks out. And I'd skip the spray tan entirely.

Grooming has limits worth being clear about. It helps you make a decent first impression and feel more at ease, and that's about all. It won't make two people click. If she's not interested after the date, that's her decision, and it has nothing to do with your beard line being a quarter inch off. Thank her and move on. How to end a first date covers wrapping up kindly whichever way it went.

Haircut (bring a photo)
Restock: shampoo, body wash, moisturizer, deodorant, blades, floss
Start daily moisturizer and lip balm
Try on the outfit; wash, iron or dry clean as needed

Day before

Beard trim and neckline, or plan to shave tomorrow
Nails clipped, filed, cleaned (toenails if needed)
Nose, ear and brow cleanup
Outfit laid out, including socks and belt
Shoes wiped clean

Day of

30 minutes before

Mirror check: teeth, nose, hair, collar, fly
Lint roller
Phone charged, wallet, keys, mints
Mint now, no gum when you walk in

For more on feeling steady before and during a date, the confidence section has the rest.