50 Shades of Not-Gray ... Silver is the New Blonde!

#GrannyHair – Gray Hair Is The Hottest Beauty Trend Of Spring/Summer 2015! 

For hundreds of years, gray hair has been synonymous with being old, being a grandmother, or a sign that a woman is “letting herself go,” and women everywhere have fought to “wash that gray right out of their hair.”  

But that’s all changed. Women of all ages, from 18 to 81, are embracing gray hair. My clients have been calling me, citing this current trend and saying they are thinking about ditching the dye and letting their natural gray grow in. I think it’s great to be brave in rebelling against a society that is so afraid of aging and judgmental of our elders. It is refreshing to see a trend that challenges the notion that only youthful looks can be beautiful.

Having said that, my best advice is: If you want to embrace your gray, remember that your BEST gray may not be your NATURAL gray. Adding a semi-permanent glosser and cool, ashy highlights can improve the color and texture, and, along with a great haircut, is one of the best-kept secrets of stylish gray-haired women. There’s a shade of gray for every type of complexion. Pewter, Platinum, Silver, Ice, Gainsboro, Gunmetal, Ash Gray, Sterling, Charcoal, Slate, Rocket Metallic, Stone, are among the not-so-natural “50 Shades of Not-Gray”. But I’ll address all that in a minute. 

So, how did this trend of younger women going gray emerge?

Jean Paul Gaultier was at the forefront of bringing granny glam into fashion. The models at his Autumn/Winter 2011 show stalked the catwalk with their hair coiffured into striking gray beehives. A year later Kelly Osbourne and Kate Moss both sported silver locks and since then everyone from Rihanna to Nicole Richie have been experimenting with the look. 

But BuzzFeed and Instagram credit the current BIG trend to 17-year-old Kylie Jenner, about five months ago (that’s Kylie, as in “Kardashian” … are we surprised?).  

As of this writing, the poll on BuzzFeed shows this:

#GrannyHair is the new style trend sweeping social media. The below Elite Daily article has shown up on my personal Facebook wall and Twitter feed a dozen times over the past week alone, and, at the time of writing this blog post, this article been shared 387,000 times!

“In an effort to stay eternally young, most ladies usually run to the salon every time they find a few horrifying silver strands in their color-treated hair.

Now, there’s a beauty trend popping up on our greydar: #GrannyHair. This edgy look is redefining the definition of 'going grey.'

That’s right, grey isn’t just for geriatrics anymore.

Thanks to the #GrannyHair movement, a growing number of girls are getting in on the old lady action and dyeing their ‘dos in all sorts of stunning, silver shades.”

Thinking of trying out the trend for yourself? 

Doing Gray the RIGHT Way!

FOUR London's colour specialist Brooke Bohan advises that this isn't the easiest look to achieve: "It can look totally fabulous if done professionally, but beware it is the hardest of all the colours to achieve with no damage to the hair," she cautions.

"The first step is to have a consultation so that a plan of action can be worked out with the client. It will usually take around six months to get hair to the gorgeous grey colour, depending on how much colour build-up the client already has on their hair. You have to grow out as much of the existing colour as possible.

Once the client is back to as much of their natural colour as possible the technique used is to bleach the hair to bring it up to almost white and then put an ash tone over it.

Only go to a reputable colour salon as it is very easy to end up with yellow not grey and demarcation lines where the build-up of colour hasn't been properly removed."

What’s the best way to embrace your NATURAL gray? Glossers (semi-permanent color) add hues of color and shine and can help you achieve a flattering look. If you are already naturally gray, a gloss application will have a very tonal effect as opposed to a solid, opaque color. The gloss will work with the variation of tone that you hair naturally has, allowing for a more subdued shade. Glossers are not as harsh as permanent/regular hair color. A gloss is very acidic and tightly closes the hair cuticle, resulting in a smooth surface texture that will reflect light and have a much softer feel to it. Regular color contains ammonia, which opens up the hair cuticle and deposits color into it, therefore prone to damage the hair, unless you are getting regular deep conditioning or Keratin Treatments. The best thing about glossers is that there's no commitment to it and it's going to fade on its own, within six weeks. So if you want to change your hair color, it won’t interfere with any type of chemical change you may want in the future.

Look fresh, not frumpy -- a great haircut is key to going gray. Celebrities who have opted for gorgeous gray such as Diane Keaton, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Emmy Lou Harris all have beautiful haircuts with a few flattering brightening highlights and gloss treatments.

Maintain your gorgeous gray tones by using a silver shampoo to help brighten and remove brassy, unflattering tones. Gray hair has a natural tendency to have yellow tones, and that is definitely one of the 50 Shades of Not-Gray we want to avoid.

Thinking of going gray? Do it the RIGHT way and call Pat Alessi – Salon 1580 for a consultation: 678-361-4247.

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PAT ALESSI - SALON 1580
10800 Alpharetta Hwy., Suite 240
Salon Lofts, Lofts #11 and #13, Roswell Market Place
Roswell, GA 30076
678-361-4247
pat@patalessihair.com
www.patalessihair.com

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Created by:Susan Leonard, Communications Marketing Specialist, Writer, and Graphic Designer