Like bartenders, hairstylists get an earful from regulars about their woes, and during the economic downturn Jeff Swaner, who owns Epic Salon in Los Angeles, has been hearing from middle-age men who lost their jobs.

“A lot of these guys had solid careers that they never thought they would leave, and now they’re jumping into new careers and competing for these jobs against younger people,” Swaner said.

Many of these job seekers are, for the first time, having their gray hair colored.

“They don’t want to have age as a barrier, and this is one of the ways that they can look a little younger and feel more comfortable about going in and interviewing for a job,” Swaner said.

Today, about 40 percent of his male clients are having color treatments, more than twice as many as from just two years ago, he said.

Whether it’s because of career insecurity begat by a bad economy or simple vanity, use of hair color among boomer men is, not surprisingly, booming. While the number of men over 18 who color their hair doubled from 1999 to 2010, from 3 percent to 6 percent, among men ages 50 to 64 the rate has grown even more, from 3 percent to 10 percent, according to Multi-sponsor Surveys, a research firm.

But while maintaining the hair color they had in 1965 may suit Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney, most men today prefer to reduce gray, not eliminate it, spurred by marketers cultivating the attitude that a little gray may make a man look distinguished, but too much makes him look extinguished.

First sold in drug stores in 2008, Touch of Gray ($8) was “designed to specifically meet the needs of boomer men who like the respect that their gray hair gives them, but want to reduce the amount of gray so that others can see their vitality,” according to information from the brand.

It is made by Combe Inc., also the company behind the Just for Men and Grecian Formula lines. Domestic revenues for Touch of Gray grew 15.5 percent in the 52 weeks that ended Nov. 28, to $11.3 million, according to Symphony/IRI Group, a market research firm (these figures do not include sales from Walmart).

Consumer Reports sent 11 graying men on its staff home with Touch of Gray, and the majority thought it looked “quite natural” and would buy it, according to a 2010 article in the magazine, which also gave high ratings to another product, Clairol Natural Instincts for Men ($8).

A subtle change

For those seeking professional help, numerous men’s salon products have popped up that promise to remove some gray while stopping short of turning clients into Mr. Spock. In 2009, Redken for Men introduced an in-salon product, Color Camo, that blends away some gray, followed last year by similarly formulated men’s products by Paul Mitchell, Goldwell and American Crew. The treatments usually cost between $25 and $50, well below the car-payment range many women pay for color treatments.

“I’m older, so people expect to see some gray, but you don’t want to give the impression that you’re so old that you’re over the hill,” said Gregory Wood, 65, a lawyer in Los Angeles who has been getting the Paul Mitchell treatment, Flashback, from Swaner every six weeks for about a year, leaving some streaks of gray in his hair.

Over the past year, Richard Limato, 59, of the Bronx, a school district administrator, has received Goldwell treatments, called ReShade, from his Manhattan stylist, Bradley Moreland.

“It enhanced my natural look and made the gray look secondary,” said Limato, whose brown hair retains flecks of gray after the treatment, particularly at his temples.

These new products tend to be demi-permanent, meaning that dyes cover gray only moderately and gradually fade away as hair grows, so they do not leave tell-tale demarcation lines near the scalp. (Darker roots can be particularly conspicuous with men’s shorter hairstyles.) The products also claim to minimize the yellowish or brassy tones that can crop up in dye jobs, since they contain little or no ammonia or peroxide.

The salon treatments are as short as five minutes and spare men the indignity of foils.

At Supercuts color services purchased by men (about 70 percent of the company’s customer base) have experienced double-digit growth in each of the past three years, with about three-quarters of men who color choosing to tone down but not eliminate gray, according to Melanie Ash, senior artistic director.

Going with the gray

But Wendell Brown, senior fashion editor at Esquire, cautions men against any dyeing whatsoever.

“I’m not a big fan of men coloring their hair,” he said. “We’re at a time when gray hair is considered stylish and manly.”

Brown pointed to George Clooney, Anderson Cooper and David Gregory, the host of “Meet the Press,” as examples of “so many guys who are wearing gray well and who have a youthful attitude about it.”

Still, Kyle White, a colorist at the Oscar Blandi Salon, said about90 percent of the men clientle retain at least some gray in their hair, which he recommends. As for the remainder, “those are guys who are maybe a little phobic about aging,” White said. “They would prefer to look artificial than to look old.”