First let me introduce myself, I am in my fifties, going grey and growing my hair out.

Although still an apprentice longhair (I would describe myself as being well and truly "in the thick of it"), I have been a club swimmer for nigh on 20 years and know only too well how harsh the chemicals in a swimming pool can be.

Up until a couple of years ago I was a card-carrying member of the Buzzcut Brigade. I had dark brown hair which I kept in a number 2 in the summer and a 3 or 4 in the winter (I live in the west of Scotland where it can get pretty chilly in the winter - mind you it can be pretty chilly in the summer too! But I digress).