17 AUGUST 2002, Page 59

Q. I observed at the age of 22 that I

was becoming prematurely grey. On the advice of my barber, I began to dye my hair. Some years afterwards I married a young beauty who, to this day. remains ignorant of my vain self-manipulation. I am now 62 and have begun to notice people at parties sniggering about boot polish. What shall I do?

C,v.M., London W1

A. Pay a visit to Jo Hansford's salon in Mount Street, W1, where colourists are renowned for producing 'natural-looking highlights' to enliven dull hair or, indeed, to disguise greyness. The same procedure can be used in reverse, gradually to introduce a suggestion of aging into your own hair so that the full shock of greyness will come as less of a surprise to your junior partner.