Like applying for a mortgage, or buying your first pair of reading glasses, grey hair is part and parcel of getting older. While old wives’ tales would have you think it’s your demanding boss, sizeable debt or Machiavellian mother-in-law that results in silver locks, it’s not stress- or lifestyle-related but simply a matter of genetics.

And while some of us – understandably, given how much rides on your looks both personally and professionally nowadays – would sooner give up the ghost than be seen grey-haired in public, there’s really no reason you can’t work greying to your advantage. After all, it certainly hasn’t done George Clooney any harm.

In celebration of silver hair, we caught up with some of the UK’s top barbers and hairstylists for top tips on upping your grey game.

Go Grey Gracefully

“Grey hair is a blessing,” says Brent Pankhurst, founder of barbershop and grooming brand Pankhurst London. “Just ask any bald man.”

There’s little sense in arguing with that; although finding your first few greys might not be something you’d celebrate with a round of drinks, you’ve still got plenty more to work with than your bare-headed peers.

“Silver locks convey a sense of sophistication, experience and power,” says the Master Barber at Ted’s Grooming Room. “And believe it or not, more and more of our customers are not only embracing grey hair, but anxiously awaiting its arrival!”

In fact, so cool is silver hair currently that twenty-somethings are even dying theirs to get the look: “We’ve seen a massive increase in young men wanting to actually dye their hair silver grey or even white,” says celebrity hairstylist Jamie Stevens – so grey’s no longer timelessly stylish, it’s fashionable too.

These days, younger men are actually requesting grey and white hair

To Dye Or Not To Dye?

While the overriding opinion from the hair experts we quizzed was that men, regardless of their age, should embrace their greys, we understand that there are situations when silver isn’t ideal: when you’ve just turned seventeen for example, or if a head of grey hair just isn’t going to complement the hues of your wardrobe’s carefully curated colour palette.