This is no country for bald men. Just ask the former Royal Marines Commando recently accused of attacking a fellow diner at a Lloyds TSB masked ball after she called him “Baldy”. Sadly — even for marines, it seems — a deficiency in the follicular department is still considered a physical trait worthy of ridicule. But surely the same cannot be said for those of us lacking in pigment, can it? This is very much a country for grey men — or “silver foxes”, as they like to be known. Look at Gary Lineker, Richard Caring, Stuart Rose or Jon Snow. From sport to business, men have reworked the ageing effect of grey hair into a pewter halo, bespeaking power, wisdom and, we like to think, virility.

Be warned. There are those who see traditional euphemisms for male decline — “imposing” (fat), “rugged” (ugly and fat) and “distinguished” (old, ugly and fat) — for what they are: laughable acts of self-deception at which men excel. These people prefer to call a spade a spade, or “male-pattern lightening” grey hair. W It wasn’t mentioned in connection with the “retirement” after 23 years of the unapologetically silver-haired BBC Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross, but suddenly, it seemed, every other male broadcaster of a similar vintage started touching up their salt’n’pepper dos. Just in case.

Back to black is becoming the order of the day among nervous older males intimidated by each new intake of young, thrusting dark-haired juniors at work, worried that grey equates with over the hill. Except this is black with a difference: it’s not about blanket coverage, but a more subtle touch-up that retains a hint of the distinguished and combines it with a youthful sheen. It’s all thanks to new techniques in hair colouring that give softer, more sophisticated-looking results. In short, it’s changing men’s attitudes to dye jobs.

The New York stylist Suki Duggan has, for instance, christened her men’s hair-colour treatment the Executive Blend, and has seen a 30% upswing in the number of male clients visiting her Madison Avenue salon. All of them, she says, are after a younger, more professional-looking image, and that usually involves touching up the first signs of chalk dust on the temples.

Duggan says her semipermanent treatments involve the minimum of fuss and time to apply. “People want to look young, fit and healthy,” she says. “But they also have a macho attitude. Women colour their hair using foils, but men don’t want to be seen to do that.”

She uses the new generation of 10-minute colouring treatments, designed specifically for men, and often combines them with a manicure or pedicure, all offered in the privacy of a secluded part of the salon to allay the fears of those men who still feel dyeing their hair could be considered effeminate. “People are living longer, but they don’t want to look or feel old,” says Duggan. “It’s okay for George Clooney and Richard Gere to go grey, because they are celebrities and great-looking guys. But for the rest, competition from younger men is real, and my clients are prepared to do something about that.”

In the UK, a similar treatment promising a four- to six-week “cover up” using L’Oréal’s latest male colouring process is offered by Gary Richardson, a session colourist at the Daniel Hersheson salon at Harvey Nichols. Although in his fifties, Richardson neither looks nor feels his age, but the cigarette-ash shade of his hair was becoming an issue. “Then I did a treatment on myself, and I immediately felt younger, more energised,” he says. “It was as if I was walking lighter, taller and more confidently. It was incredible.”

Richardson is now offering the same visible and psychological rejuvenation process in the salon — and it’s less invasive than a face-lift and a lot more fun than a session with a personal trainer. The key, he says, is reducing the contrast between grey and the original hair colour, rather than attempting an old-school cover-up, which can look as false as any toupee.

Further warning for those hellbent on re-creating the natural hues of their younger years comes from the barber Brent Pankhurst, who has recently relocated from Dunhill’s Jermyn Street store to its new Mayfair home at Bourdon House. “I advise my clients to think carefully before colouring their hair,” says Pankhurst. “My philosophy is that it can actually make someone look older, if their skin colour is unsuited to it.”

Adam Reed, of the Marylebone salon Percy & Reed, agrees: “About 10% of my male clients ask for their hair to be coloured. But I will always advise them based on their overall appearance, rather than simply the colour of their hair.” A modern cut with plenty of texture, he argues, can do the same rejuvenating job. He also suggests using grey-friendly shampoos such as L’Oréal’s Serie Expert Silver, which will bring dull, yellowing hair back to life.

A final word of warning comes from the personal stylist and life coach Louise Mowbray. “I don’t think women are too enamoured with all of this,” she says. “ a little too self-absorbed for ‘real men’, and ladies don’t necessarily equate grey hair with a loss of virility. The reality is that dyeing one’s hair requires constant root attention, which will only really appeal to those men who believe that their livelihoods depend on them looking younger — or those who are incredibly vain.”