The grooming treatments to help you have a happy holiday .

Call us neurotic, but a day at the beach is not quite as care-free as it sounds. A holiday spent in swimwear invariably demands some strategic grooming, if only to satisfy the surreptitious stares that lurk behind paperback novels and polarised lenses. The brutal light of the sun will expose every cosmetic shortcoming, so it’s in your best interest to use the arsenal of professional treatments on the market to your advantage.

From accentuating shy abs to rehabilitating the things on the bottom of your legs that used to resemble feet, we have compiled six foolproof treatments to help you release your inner Adonis.

Marching through the city in snug, albeit stylish, footwear will have earned you a series of podiatric afflictions from discoloured and brittle nails to corns and calluses. All of which are sure to nullify any style points you earn by donning a pair of Saint Laurent slides.

While nails can be trimmed at home with a decent set of tools, gnarlier talons will require the skills of a professional (and a scalpel and a lancet, and possibly a rather frightening drill). Mr Bastien Gonzalez’s international string of Pedi:mani:cure studios offer a rehabilitative foot treatment that returns hooves to their former glory. Podiatrists can dissolve hardened skin without damaging any living tissue and are capable of buffing nails into a crystalline glow, a result that’s accentuated by way of a polishing paste made from mother of pearl. And you get a foot massage to, er, boot.

Anglo-Saxon complexions will require warming lest they reflect the sun and blind everyone in sight. In order to blend in with the locals – or, indeed, those who are fortunate enough to sport a year-round tan – you’ll need to arrive with a little colour. With tanning beds off limits for health reasons, your safest option is to turn to the bottle.

Fear not, only cheaper self-tanning products create the deep mahogany hue of Mr George Hamilton. Sisley - Paris’ Self-Tanning Hydrating Facial Skin Care creates a streak-free, entirely plausible sun-kissed glow, thanks to two complementary tanning actives, DHA and erythrulose. Just be sure to exfoliate your skin before application and moisturise any dry patches so that the end result is completely even. Apply a thin layer to start with and be sure to cover tell-tale spots around the ears, at the neck and hairline.

Alternatively, a professional spray tan might be your best bet. Not only can a spray reach every nook and cranny, but talented tan artists will be able to define abdominals with clever shadowing techniques. Hirsute gentlemen are better off with a spray tan because the jet can push through hairs to give you an even colour.

Weight loss becomes exponentially harder as you get leaner. Going from toned to insanely ripped means dropping below the 10 per cent body-fat threshold, which is no small feat. Non-invasive procedures such as CoolSculpt can help capitalise on your pre-holiday training by burning through those last few stubborn pounds with its innovative fat-freezing technology.

Developed by Harvard scientists, the procedure exploits fat cells’ vulnerability to the cold without damaging skin or causing discomfort. To achieve successful spot reduction (the upper and lower abs, obliques or even the chin are treatable), therapists place cooling panels on the surface of the skin and dial down the temperature. This causes fat cells to crystallise, die and undergo a natural elimination from the body that can continue for several weeks or months after treatment (a process known as apoptosis). Plan a good three months ahead and studies suggest you can expect up to a 20 to 24 per cent reduction in body fat before you slip into your beach shorts.

Facials may seem like a fluffy luxury as opposed to a pre-holiday necessity. But there are facials and then there are facials. Take Dr Sebagh’s bespoke Signature Facial, available at the Dr Sebagh Clinic in London, from lauded therapist Ms Tine Hagelquist, for example. In addition to incorporating specific items from the good doctor’s cosmeceutical range (Deep Exfoliating Mask, Foaming Cleanser), Ms Hagelquist uses various lymphatic drainage techniques to detox the face and relieve it of any unsightly bloating.

This is followed by a vigorous facial muscle “workout” that, somewhat fortunately, doesn’t involve any exertion on your part. Ms Hagelquist stimulates muscles through effective, if rather unusual, massage techniques that result in an age-defying lift. Skin is left firmer and smoother with a jaw line that’s noticeably more defined. Best of all, the resulting glow lasts a good week or so, making your mug less likely to clear out the kids’ pool in the blink of an eye.

Shedding a few layers of dull skin can have a remarkable effect on your mood and appearance. It also ensures your impending tan will be top notch. As explained in our “How To Tan Like A Pro” feature, sun exposure stimulates the production of a pigment called melanin, which colours the surface of the skin. This top layer sheds every two weeks or so. By giving your body a thorough scrub, all the cells on the surface of the skin will be at the start of their cycle, which will guarantee a more even tan that lasts longer.

Invest in a satisfyingly dense scrub such as Malin+Goetz Peppermint Body Scrub, which contains bamboo and pumice to help shift the hardest of skin. It also features peppermint oil, an aromatherapeutic mood booster that’s mildly antiseptic and clarifying.

Leave manscaping – razor cuts and all – to the amateurs. Laser hair removal is a decidedly more permanent approach to de-fuzzing your back and shoulders (or chest, if that’s your thing). Granted, the results aren’t instant and you’ll need to complete a course of five or six treatments long before your holiday, but it’s worth the commitment if you trim, shave or wax with any regularity.

Lasers work by targeting the pigment in the hair, sending a blast of heat down the shaft and into the follicle, officially putting it out of business. The catch is that hair grows in cycles and not all of your fur will be peeking above the surface of your skin at any given time. This is why multiple treatments are required.

Home devices have appeared on the market in the past few years, but none offers the sheer voltage – and thus the results – of a professional zapping.

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