Get the fuzz-free bare-chested look

But before revanchist chest-wig wearers damn the new hairlessness as in some way effeminate, it is worth hearing what Elida Reid of HQ Hair and Beauty has to say.

Speaking of male pin-ups, she finds that a greater number of men want to be "more David Beckham than Piers Morgan. We do a lot of men's underarms, chest, back and shoulders and it gets more and more popular as summer comes.

A lot of people think they look cleaner and you can see the muscle tone". Those who spend time sculpting their bodies in the gym, she says, "don't want to be covered in a hair carpet".

What's undeniable is that pressures that have long weighed on women to conform to unrealistic ideals of beauty are now falling on men.

Glenn Lyons at Philip Kingsley's famous trichological clinic in Mayfair has seen an increasing number of younger men seeking help to preserve their hair.

While Jonathon Long of Lockonego offers a combination of Botox, dermabrasion and hair colouring, to shave a few years off a man's appearance: according to him, hair colour techniques have improved dramatically in recent years and the choice is no longer between grey or the orange mahogany look with which so many men tried to hold back the advancing years.

And if you wondered what the acceptable amount of grey at the temples is, Daniel Galvin Jr is mathematically precise on the matter: "Fifteen per cent of grey through the sides of the hair can be a distinguishing feature but when the grey starts to spread this is when people seek my help."

Providers and purveyors are demystifying the experience, too. Instead of peddling complicated pseudo-scientific products, Brent Pankhurst at Dunhill in Bourdon House, who cuts my hair, has come up with a range of packages labelled Short, Medium or Long to denote the sort of hair they are suitable for.

And this no-nonsense does-what-it-says-on-the-tin approach is symptomatic of a perfunctory approach that still characterises male grooming; allowing men to feel that they are involved in maintenance rather than vanity work.

Men also value rapidity and convenience, which has found expression in some interesting ways.

Great Lengths has created a system of hair extenstions called Fast Fusion, which, according to hairdresser Inanch Emir, has found favour with men who want instant highlights or to extend their fringes for a brushed forward look (cue, Bruno).

But while a longer fringe may be desirable, aggressive Dennis-Healey eyebrows are not.

Threading, an old Middle Eastern technique for plucking hair using a fine piece of cotton to lasso unwanted facial hair, has become so popular with men that Blink, a chain of eyebrow bars, is opening its first operation targeted at men in Selfridges later in the summer.

And if this talk of eyebrow management and hair extensions has you reaching for the TV remote to lose yourself in the manly, hairy world of sport (David Beckham notwithstanding), just don't watch the cycling: the Tour de France starts on 4 July.

For a long time I assumed that male cyclists shaved their legs to improve their aerodynamics.

Not so, according to Simon Mottram of Rapha, the upmarket cycle outfitter. He says that there are practical advantages, such as making post-race massages more effective and injuries easier to clean, but also says: "It is a ritual and part of being in the club; it makes your muscles stand out".

Then again it could be that all the Tour de France cyclists know that men with shaved legs look better on the beach.

Man maintenance: Keeping your hair under control

WAXING
The Refinery: Chest/£30; Galaxy (crack, buttocks, testicles and bikini), £120 (www.the-refinery.com)
HQ Hair and Beauty: Chest/£45; Back/£30; no intimate waxing offered
(www.hqhair.com)

THREADING
Blink Brow Bar: Eyebrow tidy/£17; eyebrow groom £35 (male grooming counter now open at Selfridges (www.blinkbrowbar.com)

EXTENSIONS
Inanch Salon: From £100 for short hair (www.greatlengthshair.co.uk)

GREY MANAGEMENT
Philip Kingsley: £190 for a two-hour consultation and treatment (www.philipkingsley.com)
Lockonego: Botox, £225 for one area; microdermabrasion, £80 hour; tinting from £70 (www.lockon ego.com) Daniel Galvin Jr: Tints from £77 (www.danielgalvin.com)

BARBERING
Dunhill Spa & Barber: Short package/£80 — cut and shave; Medium package/£105 — cut, classic shave, scalp massage (020 7853 4440)