Chris Appleton took a well-deserved break from his celeb haircare duties, stripping down to his swim trunks ... 'cause the only thing he was styling was that tan during his scorching-hot Cabo vacay.

There was no shyness here -- Chris had his 6-pack abs on full display while hitting the beach for the New Year's getaway, and of course he made sure to document it in-depth on his social media.

Chris took a well-deserved break from the sun, standing under the beach shower, cooling off after a full day of sand and sunshine -- 'cause even the hottest getaways need a little rinse.

As you can see, he worked up quite a sweat playing everything from volleyball to tennis -- looking effortlessly hot while doing it.

Clearly, Cabo’s the place to be -- Chris is just the latest celeb soaking up the Mexican sun. Check out the gallery above to see who else is living it up in paradise!