If you're man has ever complained about how long you take in the bathroom, then read on.

New research reveals that the modern man is more image-obsessed than ever, spending over four years of his life perfecting his appearance. Women, on the other hand, spend three years.

The survey also found that men spend a year and three months of their life in the gym perfecting their bodies - that's six times as long as women, who spend two months.

The nationwide poll of over 2,000 Brits gives an intriguing insight into the regime of a modern man, with the average male spending two years and three months showering and bathing, with women claiming they spend a comparable one year and eight months.

Image conscious men spend the most time creating expertly groomed facial hair, dedicating almost half a year of their lives (5.5 months) to shaving.

Silky smooth skin is also high on the male grooming agenda with general bodily hair removal taking up a month of their lives.

Elsewhere, men spend five months at the hairdressers quaffing their 'do and almost a month cutting and taking care of their nails.

Over a year of a man’s lifetime is also spent at the gym sculpting their bodies and honing their muscles.

On the other hand, women spend 3.1 years of their lifetime on perfecting their looks, comparably less than men, who are spending significantly more time working out to achieve a beautiful body.

Showing that grooming is an important life lesson, almost a third of men (27 per cent) polled said that learning to shave was the top skill passed on by their fathers.

A spokesperson for Dove Men+Care, who commissioned the research, said: 'Grooming has become increasingly important to the modern man. With the rise of male-focused products becoming available, guys are now taking a bit of "me time" to enjoy their shave, style hair and work out.'