Go Gray in a Different Way.
Quite a bit of attention has been paid to gray hair lately,
prompting many of our clients to ask about how to grow out their natural gray. Celebrities like Helen Mirren, Jamie Lee Curtis, Blythe Danner, Glenn Close, and Meryl Streep demonstrate how beautiful and current gray hair can look among middle-aged and mature women.
We’ve also seen a growing number of younger clients in Salon asking for the latest trend in gray or gray-plus-color shades. These women want to color their hair gray to achieve a certain look, and they have it easy, simply choosing the shade they would like from the color board.
It’s way more complicated for women hoping to stop coloring and wear their natural gray.
Picking color off of a board is not an option, since it will never match your natural texture and tones ranging from salt-and-pepper to silver to white.
Growing out natural gray takes longer and is labor-intensive. Many attempts can look like “I Give Up” on your beauty regimen if not done well. And it will often bring about an older look than the shiny gloss of fresh new hair color. But if you’re committed to going gray, here’s what I recommend to my clients for the most stylish and painless transition:
- The Gutsy Go-For-It: The easiest way to go from color to your own natural gray is to cut short and start from the beginning. Scary, I know, but it is the cleanest slate for your overall look. A super chic, modern cut in the trend of the day can make this option really work.
- The Live-Through-It: This one is much harder since you will sport a growing regrowth line throughout the course of more moderate cuts. We can texturize and add tones or balayage to help minimize contrast. But, depending on your length, this transition can take over a year or more. A number of clients have embraced this as we live through Covid-19 isolation, but they report that it’s still an exercise in patience.
- The Arts-y Look: Some of my clients have opted to bleach to a wheat or white shade that works with their eye and skin tones. They then grow out the gray, resulting in a two-toned approach that can look creative and intentional. Check with your colorist to see if this technique can work for you.
As always, your stylist can guide you through the process of growing out your gray.
He or she can also recommend a new care regimen to make the most of your new texture and color.
I hope you are enjoying HairLine! We’ll be back in touch in a couple of weeks, but meanwhile, I invite you to join our conversation. Please leave your comments and ideas for future topics here.
Regards,
Kenny