No excuses for bad grooming, guys

Servilles' summer look.

Got the yellow tailored jacket? Check. Polo shirt? Check. Skinny jeans? Check. Right, so you're set when it comes to your summer wardrobe. But what about your hair and face?

No matter how good the outfit is, unless you've paid attention to these you won't be able to pull it off.

When it comes to men's hair, this summer it's all about length.

"The biggest thing for guys is that it doesn't matter whether your hair is quite short, there is still some sort of length," says stylist Mana Dave, who won the couleur pour hommes award at this year's L'Oreal Colour Trophy.

"For corporatey guys who normally have something quite cropped through the side, their interpretation of length would be to keep the side edges a bit messy and shaggy and maybe a bit of length through the top."

Men who go more for mid-length would have more length over the ears - "a bit surfy", says Dave. "The trend is the length but there are many interpretations of that.

As well as going longer, texture, movement and wave are all big.

Paul Serville, of Servilles Hair Salons, agrees men will be letting their hair down more this summer.

"Where women go is where men go as well. Women have gone more geometric, stronger lines. So have guys."

The good news, he says, is that the mohawk - made famous by David Beckham, and much copied - is over.

"There are still a few around but not too many requests for that now. The shape is going flatter, down rather than up."

When it comes to colour, men are unlikely to be asking for what their girlfriends have done at the salon. Rather than overall colour, the trend for men is to go for colour in one area, say the fringe.

"Colour is building up. People like [All Black] Dan Carter and David Beckham are pushing that," says Dave. "It's about trying to give shape and a bit more dimension."

More men are now coming into the salon and requesting colour, rather than hairdressers suggesting it for them, he says.

Colours for men this summer are browns, dark and ashy - "natural colours that don't look coloured," says Serville.

So who do the experts consider best tressed? For Serville it's Brad Pitt.

"It depends on the movie he's doing at the time but he's got great hair."

Dave is a fan of Johnny Depp. "He grew his hair for Pirates of the Caribbean and now he's cropped it a bit more mid-length. But it's still below his ears on the sides and a long fringe. It's cool."

His other, somewhat surprising pick of mops is All Black Jason Eaton - he of the blond mullet.

"I don't know if I'd quite go for his version but I like the idea and the shape - the length around the back. It's more the concept and the vibe of it. And he's got the balls to wear it!

"People should start thinking of hair like their shoes or their clothing - it's something you can change, it's not static. Have fun with it," says Dave.

When it comes to skincare, a rapidly increasing range of products are being developed specially for men's skin, according to their age and lifestyle.

"I recently saw in a pharmacy, handcare exclusively for men, so there are no limits in the beauty offerings for men," says Sarah Higgs, group product manager for L'Oreal.

Shiseido launched a self-tanner for men last year and L'Oreal will add to that this summer.

"We are confronting them with harsh reality that some mornings they wake up with grey, dull-looking skin," says Higgs. "Our tanning moisturiser is a quick fix to give the skin a healthy look. It is fast and easy to use, even over three-day-old stubble."

However, Shiseido marketing manager Louise von Sierakowski says though men are embracing the basics of skincare, they are slow to catch on to more advanced products such as self tan.

"I think it's a philosophical change for men as much as anything."

So is the metrosexual trend still going strong?

What started as a grooming revolution for men is now just a way of life for most, believes Higgs.

"Men have a genuine interest in looking after themselves and taking care of their physical appearance, without questioning their masculinity.

"There is also an expectation from society that men pay attention to their grooming," says Higgs. "There are no excuses for stubbies, bad skin and a shaggy crop of hair."