Girls Going Gray
Another article in the Wall Street Journal that had my full attention: Seize the Gray, by Rory Satran, on January 19th. This is an interesting piece that speaks about the current fad of women of all ages that are bleaching and coloring their hair to various of shades of gray from silvery-platinum, bluish-gray, to even white-gray…stars like Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande, mature women in the fashion industry, and hundreds of ‘fashionistas’ on Pinterest. #goinggray #goinggrayonpurpose
Are you ready to give it a try? Do you think it is fun and refreshing to go gray ‘on-purpose’? As for me, NO WAY. NO. WAY. EVER. Let me start by saying that I don’t even like gray clothes. It would have to be a very unique piece and on rare occasion that something gray is welcomed into my closet. The color is simply not flattering to the face, not to my skin anyway, and I will venture to say, not to most women.
Avoiding gray hair is not necessarily about trying to look younger – it is about looking your best at whatever age you are. If you are amongst the fortunate to have beautiful gray hair, here are a few tips to be sure that your look is most flattering:
- Makeup is a must; a strong lipstick, a smooth foundation with blush and/or highlighter, maybe a smoky eye. You need to brighten your face and accent your features.
- Get a good haircut and have it updated regularly. Very long, below shoulder length gray hair may be ok for youthful rock stars, but over 40 you will risk looking like a character out of a Stephen King movie.
- Accessorize. You need not pile on sparkles and giant earrings, but ‘noticeable’ silver earrings, chokers/necklaces, even colorful scarves will all brighten your face.
After reading this article, I thought there would be a few different camps on this topic and decided to categorize the various groups:
1 – You are a woman who takes pride in her appearance, you pamper yourself with skin and makeup products, and you are fortunate to look beautiful with your natural gray hair.
2 – You color/cover your gray regularly, but you look forward to stopping at some point soon. It will be ’empowering’ to you.
3 – You have already let nature take its course and cannot be bothered with the time and expense of hair coloring. It is what it is.
4 – You will cover and color your gray forever, even if you have to be pushed into the hair salon in a wheelchair.
5 – You aren’t gray yet but you want to try bleaching your hair to a silvery-gray tone to be ‘in vogue’.
OK, ladies, you know that I am a #4, which one are you??? C’mon, let’s get a conversation going!
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16 Comments
I’m with you! We can park our wheelchairs side by side!
Hahaha!
I’m a 4! Always have been and always will be. I am age 64, and my hair is currently a warm dark blonde. I am working part time and will soon take my real estate licensing exam, so it’s important to me to present my best self in the workplace. However, I try and stretch the time between color to cut down on the expense.
Other than the blond streak I put in the front of my hair I am a number one. That being said, I seem to have my mother’s genetics as far as graying goes and her mom still had more brown than gray into her 90’s.
I’m with you on this # 4 for me
I am also #4. To me, It’s important to keep my hair fresh, youthful without allowing those gray hairs to peek through. Great post!
-Red
#4 all the way!! Some women look great silver and also have a great hairdresser that might help them with the tone. However, gray is not for me. I agree that it’s about looking your best and I love being a redhead!
I can’t even IMAGINE you gray. Your hair is gorgeous! Thanks for the comment!
OK Candy, I’m number 4 with a caveat – I used to go to the salon every FOUR WEEKS to have my all over color done. But I simply cannot sit still for over 3 hours. I can’t do it. So I began asking questions of my hair stylist. What color is that? What are you mixing it with? One time she even had to run to get my color while I sat in the chair, as she didn’t have it on hand????? Anyway, it’s single process. I currently color my own hair at home (the horror, I know.) It takes me 35 minutes (which I begrudge) but my hair is a dark reddish brown. It looks very similar to the color it was in college- mostly brown with red throughout. I still have to do it every 4 weeks, but I’m at home doing other things while it processes. I’ve tried caramel highlights, lowlights, etc. But my hair grows so very fast, that I have roots every. four. weeks. Single process is easy for me. I sometimes still have my stylist do it if I’m tired or can’t be bothered (new stylist whom I LOVE by the way) but it looks exactly the same as when I do it and I still have roots in 4 weeks. I’m 51 years old and I hope NEVER to go gray.
I so understand not wanting to sit for hours in the salon! For the very same reason I dread getting manicures! For my hair it’s about 2 hours, every three weeks without fail. Good for you for being able to do yourself at home. 😉
#4 all the way! my mother looked fabulous with silver hair and others I know wear it with amazing style.
As for me? Never, Ever EVER!! I will be in the wheelchair next to you Candy 🙂
What a business, huh??? 😉
#4 here. I don’t like gray hair at all, on anyone. I just don’t like the color gray and never have it anywhere in my home or in my closet. I color my hair to hide the gray but I do it myself. Years ago I discovered NatureColor. It’s sold in Whole Foods. I absolutely love it – the best hair color around! It’s cheap to do it myself and the color is so natural – never turns red or brassy. It’s permanent but has no ammonia. It’s made in Italy. I can’t say enough good things about it. I mix two colors to give me brown with golden highlights. Yeah, NO gray for me – ever.
Wow, what a great find and such a time saver!
I was a 3 until at age 47 I was mistaken for my 10 yr olds grandma! I’ve been a 2 for almost 5 yrs now and just might end up a 4.
Yay! Come join team 4!!! 🙂