More people are opting to “go gray,” says Diana Jewell, author of Going Gray, Looking Great.
“The myth that gray hair makes you old is just that — a myth. If you were young, vibrant, active, healthy pre-gray, you’re still going to be that way. It’s all in the attitude you bring to it,” Jewell says. “If you think of it as merely another color choice, you won’t be afraid of gray.”
Journalist Anne Kreamer went gray at 25 and spent an estimated $65,000 on salon color treatments over the next 20 years. She chronicled her journey back to gray at age 49 in the book Going Gray: What I Learned about Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, Authenticity, and Everything Else That Matters.
“Look at an Anderson Cooper or a Steve Martin or men who have historically gone gray early,” Kreamer says. “I think they look terrific and it becomes almost an iconic differentiation for them”. The same can be true for women. But, she says, women have been brainwashed into believing gray is unattractive and undesirable.
These simple tips can help you go gray with style:
- If you’ve been dyeing, consider going “cold turkey” with a chic, short haircut.
- Work with a colorist to weave in highlights and use toners to minimize the transition line between your natural hair color and your former hair dye, Kreamer says.
- Consider updating your haircut, if you’re ready for a new look.
- Take care of your hair. Shampoos with a blue base can help prevent gray hair from developing a yellowish cast, says Jewell. Using a conditioning mask once a month keeps hair well-moisturized.
- Use a flat iron to make your hair look sleeker and shinier. Gray hair tends to get frizzy, and “a flat iron on your hair brings back the luster to it,” King says.
- Remember that beauty is bigger. “Beauty is not determined by the color of a woman’s hair,” the late Cindy Joseph, who was a silver-haired model and CEO of Boom! By Cindy Joseph makeup line, once said. “The ability to take joy in her life is what makes a woman truly beautiful.”
