There’s a silver lining to going gray.
More New York women still shy of their mature years are embracing their natural silver hair these days — a bold statement on hair care and female empowerment.
“A woman who has decided to grow out her grays is confident and comfortable in the skin she’s in,” says hair guru John Barrett of the John Barrett Salon.
Most women — 65% nowadays, according to a Procter & Gamble study — alter their natural hair color, no matter what it is. That’s up from about 7% of women in the 1950s.
That makes the decision to go gray an even bolder one than it seems. Not only are silver sirens ditching the dye, but they’re revealing their true selves through hair color.
“Mother Nature painted you, and made you unique,” says model Cindy Joseph, 63, who booked her first global campaign with Dolce & Gabbana on the very day she finished growing out her gray hair. She was 49 years old.
“Celebrate silver,” says Joseph. “I call it silver instead of gray, because gray has a negative connotation. Gray mood, gray day. But silver is considered very special and very valuable. So whatever shade of silver you have, call it silver.”
A burgeoning group of younger women is bucking the norm and letting nature take its course.
“I’ve never attempted to cover up my gray hair,” says Crown Heights stylist Carrie Pink, 34. “The first lone hair appeared my freshman year of college and I just left it alone to flourish. I never looked at my gray hair as something I needed to hide.”
Embracing a physical symptom of aging is in some ways the ultimate feminist move.
“I take issue with the notion that men get to be distinguished when they go gray while it supposedly turns women into unlovable hags,” says Krista Garcia, a 41-year-old writer in Williamsburg who dyed her hair for 15 years before breaking up with her colorist.
Anne Kreamer, who covered up her grays for 25 years before finally committing to silver streaks at age 46, agrees that silver hair is a form of women’s lib. “I love the way I feel uniquely me versus my former cookie-cutter, one-of-thousands, average, brown-dyed, projected simulacrum of some younger version of me,” says Kreamer, a writer.
Of course, going gray also saves time and money. “It’s so much easier now not to have to dye my roots every 10 days,” says Ty Alexander, who runs gorgeousingrey.com, a beauty and lifestyle blog. The 37-year-old New Yorker gave up dyeing her hair 12 years ago. “It was a hassle trying to cover them. It’s liberating in that sense … accepting what you’ve been given whether society sees it as a flaw or not.”
It doesn’t hurt that so many actresses have made gray look glamorous, including beauties like Helen Mirren, Diane Keaton, Sharon Stone and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Joseph, the hardest-working silver-haired goddess, came to embrace the gray far earlier than other stars. “I felt like I’m getting better, not (becoming) some faded version of myself,” says Joseph. “I thought, ‘This is way different than I expected.’ … I didn’t want to lie about it.”
Of course, there always will be women who consider themselves fabulous after 40 because they never let their roots show.
“I’m just not ready yet,” says Patti Boustany, 49, who gets her black hair colored every six weeks and has no plans of stopping. “I haven’t crossed that threshhold!”
How to Ride the Silver Wave
It’s easier than ever to transform dull gray hair into a more shiny, lustrous mane — but you need to listen to the professionals.
1. Don’t freak out as the first roots grow in. Cindy Joseph points out that the first 3 inches of gray hair that show up don’t indicate the actual texture and color that your full head of silver hair will look like. Be patient!
2. Get help. Your colorist might want to start easing you into silver streaks with the help of lowlights or “reverse highlights,” according to Steve Pullan, a treatment technician at Philip Kingsley. “Using your natural hair color is a good first step,” he says. “It softens the gray with a color that’s naturally complementary to your skin.”
3. Maintain a delicate balance. As Patrick Melville of the Patrick Melville Salon points out, transitioning into maturity by way of your coiffure doesn’t mean throwing out all your grooming tools. Silver hair is more “coarse and porous,” which means styling products are key — as are regular maintenance appointments with your pro-gray hair guru.
4. Find the right products. Melville recommends Moroccanoil or argan oil from Schwarzkopf to give gray hair some shine. And Philip Kingsley hair care recently introduced its Pure Silver Collection line, formulated to brighten gray shades and soften any wiriness.
“The collection was developed in response to demand,” says Pullan.
