The Silver Fox Summer Survival Guide

Summer is glorious. Sunshine, long evenings, cold drinks, reckless optimism.

It is also a sneaky little menace to gray hair.

While everyone else is busy pretending they love heatwaves, silver-haired legends know the truth: summer can turn great gray hair dry, yellowish, frizzy, flat, or generally rebellious. The good news? A few smart moves keep your silver looking sharp all season.

1. The Sun Is Not Always Your Friend

Yes, sunlight can make gray hair glow beautifully. It can also dry it out and leave it looking dull. Too much UV exposure is basically summer trying to steal your shine.

Solution: wear a hat, use hair products with UV protection, and don’t bake your scalp like a forgotten potato.

2. Chlorine Is a Plot Twist

Pool water may be refreshing, but chlorine loves to meddle with gray hair. It can leave it dry, rough, and sometimes with a strange tint nobody requested.

Solution: wet your hair before swimming, rinse immediately after, and use a clarifying shampoo now and then. Your hair deserves boundaries.

3. Humidity Turns Hair Philosophical

Gray hair can be wiry, soft, coarse, fine, or all four before lunch. Add humidity and suddenly your hairstyle starts making independent decisions.

Solution: lightweight smoothing creams, anti-frizz products, and accepting that summer hair occasionally becomes abstract art. 

4. Purple Shampoo Is Still Your Wingman

If your gray starts looking yellow or tired, this is your reset button. Use purple shampoo once or twice a week to keep tones bright and fresh.

Important note: this is maintenance, not concrete mixer grout. Don’t overdo it. For product ideas, see our classic list of Top 5 Gray Hair Shampoos

5. Hydration Counts

Gray hair often needs more moisture than pigmented hair. Summer heat only adds drama.

Solution: conditioner, leave-in treatments, and drinking enough water yourself. You are not a cactus. Need moisture help? Start with our list of the Best Conditioners for Gray Hair.

6. Confidence Is the Best Styling Product

Nothing looks better than someone who owns their gray hair. Summer is not the season to hide it under panic dye jobs and baseball caps worn in defeat.

Let the silver show. Let it catch the light. Let people wonder what your secret is. If you’re still making the transition, here are our Tips On Growing Out Your Gray Hair.

Final Thought

Summer can be chaotic, but your gray hair doesn’t have to be. Protect it, hydrate it, tone it when needed, and wear it like the crown it is.

Stay cool, stay sharp, stay silver.

Tips on Going Gray in a Pandemic

Going Gray During the Coronavirus Lockdown of 2020

So you'd always thought that maybe one day you'd let your roots grow out and seeing what all that gray you'd been hiding actually looks like. And now, in spite of you not being ready to see how much gray you actually have, that day has arrived and you're fully going gray! 

You're trapped in lockdown because of the horrid COVID-19 and can't get to the salon. What to do?

Don't color it yourself!   

(All this home dyeing is rather tragic, isn't it?)

Why not let this be your time to see how if you're secretly a silver fox!

This is a stressful time for all, consider letting you gray hair naturally grow out as an act of self care. As we re-prioritize our lives now, some of the lengths we've put ourselves through for beauty don't seem to be as important anymore. Give yourself a break and give your hair the break it's been needing for too long. (Plus, you can always let your hairdresser dye it back if the doesn't work for you!)

But let's not confuse "going gray" with "letting yourself go"! 

You're not going stir-crazy in lockdown or giving up on how you look, you're taking extra care of your hair by re-finding its natural beauty. You're going to make yourself look gorgeous while you go gray. Vibrant gray hair is stunning. 

Your colleagues, friends, and lovers better watch out! 

The transition can be the tricky part. Waiting for the gray to grow out to a decent length to cut off the colored ends requires patience. (Something that lockdown may have depleted you of!) So you might want to wear a headband some days when you don't want the whole office chatting about how gray your roots are on your office Zoom call. Make sure your headband coordinates with your face mask, of course.

If you want to hide your transition so you can do a big "ta-da!" when you finally get back to the office, get a product like hair mascara or a colored hair pencil to color in your roots temporarily. They wash out with shampoo. It's all about making you feel good about yourself, and if that's what you need in the short term then that's what you need. Try a product such as Color Wow Root Cover Up, Roux Hair Crayon, or Bumble and Bumble's Tint Powder.

For men, skip waiting for the roots to grow out and just give yourself a buzz cut. They're the easiest type of home hair-cut, and it's a proven fact that silver foxes with buzz cuts are 75% more attractive. For women, a buzzed head is a striking look that can be both stunning and liberating, but you need a lot of mental fortitude to pull it off and as we're in a time of crisis it might be a little too much for you and the people around you to handle right now. Or, it might be just the right choice for you? We support loving your hair as well as yourself at all times... especially now! 

And even though we are living in unprecedented times, there's one thing we know for sure:

USE A GRAY HAIR BRIGHTENING SHAMPOO!

Special gray hair shampoos and conditioners have been discussed extensively on this site. Get used to adding one to your shower routine. Not every day, just as part of the rotation to keep any yellowy dinge at bay. Start with our list of the Best Gray Hair Shampoos and Best Gray Hair Shampoos for Men.  And don't forget a good conditioner! Gray hair tends to be courser and more wirey, so make sure to condition regularly. 

Enjoy seeing the progress as you grow into your new look. Take lots of pictures. Let this be one of your positive memories from this period of our lives, that you used it to become the grey haired goddess you were always meant to become! 

Stay home. Stay healthy. And LOVE THE GRAY!

New York Times Style Section learns to Love the Gray

The New York Times Style Section has finally discovered Gray Pride. In an article entitled "For Millennial Men, Gray Hair is Welcome", the editors offer this revelation:

"Gone are the days when guys would actively avoid graying hair. For a new generation of adventurous men, dyeing one’s hair gray is gaining traction, appropriating a naturally occurring phenomenon from older men and giving it a millennial twist."

So for men, going gray is officially "trending", and hipsters are now dyeing their hair grey as a "fashion statement." The "Gray Lady" also credits celebrities like One Direction's Zayn Malik, Olympic athlete Gus Kenworthy, and YouTuber Tyler Oakley with bringing the gray look into the public eye.  

Of course, we here at Love The Gray have known this for ages. That well kept, well groomed gray hair is gorgeous on both men and women. And of course, women were already on the forefront of this trend, and the sexism of the NYT's coverage is laid out in this excellent piece on The Frisky: "The Times is a Year Behind on Hair Trends".

"It’s annoying that the 2015 piece on women and grey hair talked about embracing ageing while the men’s piece on grey hair claims that it’s not about embracing aging, it’s just about being fashion forward, making the women’s piece an appraisal of women’s entire bodies while affording men the ability to just have it be about their hair. It’s annoying that the women’s piece got stuck into their “Women in the World” vertical while the men’s piece got put into the Fashion & Style section, as if the topic didn’t belong in the more widely-read section until men were doing it."

And if you're looking for tips on easy ways to color your hair gray check out our post How To Go Gray Fast!

How To Let Your Hair Go Gray - THE RIGHT WAY!

Last week we gave tips on how to get gray hair FAST. But let's get real... 

We're in this loving-the-gray thing for the long haul, not just as a quick and trendy color statement.

 So if you've been looking toying with the idea of letting your dye job grow out and natural gray grow in, here are some tips to help you along your way to being gray and gorgeous.

COMMIT!

It's finally time to become the sexy silver fox you were born to be.

You've had it with pretending, and wasting money on ridiculously overpriced dye-jobs.

So embrace this exciting new hair chapter in your life!

Remember, you've EARNED it!

Gray hair does not make you old. Feeling old makes you old. 

Be one of those fierce, positive people proving that vitality is an attitude, 

not one of those scared fools thinking they can fight off the grim reaper with a bottle of Nice 'N Easy Medium Ash Brown.

All those silly little woo-girls can only dream about one day having a gorgeous gray mane. For you, that day is now!

Now, run to the nearest open window and scream: 

I'M DONE WITH HAIR DYE AND I'M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANY MORE!

BRACE YOURSELF!

It's going to take longer than you think. 
Hair grows about 1-2 inches a month. So calculate how long it will take for your desired length and start mentally preparing. 

At about two months in you're going to contemplate chickening out and racing back to your hairdresser to beg for mercy. Don't do it! It will probably take a good 4-5 months before you have enough gray to see significant growth .

Tell your family and best girlfriends that this is what you're going and that you want their support. Talk with your stylist about what you're doing and ask for suggestions on a good style to wear your hair up. Just don't let them talk you out of letting the gray grow out. You will face resistance, you've been paying their rent with your hair dye!

Accept the grey roots, embrace them. 

They signify that you're on your journey to where you want your hair to be. 

Remember, pepper is no good without salt!

GET A HEADBAND!

Headbands are the solution for many women seeking to cover up the transition area between the dye job and new growth. 
And they work great, so get a few. It may be your new look for a while.

For men, get a buzz cut. Voila, you're gray!

Women, you can do the buzz cut too and rock the short Jamie Lee Curtis look. 

(Haven't you always secretly wanted to have super-short hair anyway?)

USE A GRAY HAIR BRIGHTENING SHAMPOO!

Special gray hair shampoos and conditioners have been discussed extensively on this site. Get used to adding one to your shower routine. Not every day, just as part of the rotation to keep any yellowy dinge at bay. Start with our list of the Best Gray Hair Shampoos.  And don't forget a good conditioner! Gray hair tends to be courser and more wirey, so make sure to condition regularly. 

DESPERATE MEASURES!?

If you just can't deal with seeing gray roots, get a product like hair mascara or a colored hair pencil and color in your roots temporarily. They wash out with shampoo. It's about making you feel good about yourself, and if that's what you need in the short term then that's what you need. Try a product such as Color Wow Root Cover Up, Roux Hair Crayon, or Bumble and Bumble's Tint Powder:


(In your own, current hair color of course!)

We've always felt that it's best to work WITH mother nature rather than against her, so be brave and let's see your gorgeous gray hair! 

Let us know how it goes in the comments below!
Love yourself, LOVE THE GRAY!

50 Shades of Grey Hair

When people talk about colored hair such as blonde they speak with a range of discriptors such as Ash Blonde, Platinum Blonde, Honey Blonde... Blah Blah Blonde!

The stereotype about gray hair is that it's just one color. In fact, gray hair comes in it's own rainbow of hues, from Gainsboro to Glaucous and every gorgeous gradation in between. Let's take a look at some famous celebrities modeling a few of our favorite shades...

SILVER RUST GREY

Anderson Cooper 

(Source:stylelist.com) 

PALE SLATE GREY 

Lady Gaga

(Source: coolspotters.com)

ALTO GREY

Halle Berry 

(source: Squidoo.com)

PUMICE GREY

Helen Mirren 

(source: TheGloss.com)

FLINT GREY

George Clooney 

(source: Askmen.com)

WILD SAND GREY

Richard Gere 

(source: hairopedia.com)

(Come to think of it, George Clooney and Richard Gere might be good choices to play Christian Grey in the movie adaptation of E.L. James' book "50 Shades of Grey"!)

What do you call your shade of grey?

Gray Will Never Be Over

The latest anti-gray ad campaign for "Just For Men" features the tagline: "Gray Is Over".  

(watch the spot HERE)

Let us examine the ridiculousness of this statement.

First off, for gray to be over it would mean that at some point it would have had to have been in.  We don't remember gray hair being socially popular for a very long time! In fact, ever?

Since all hair follicles are on a journey towards gray, it's hard to say that gray will EVER be over.  In fact, it's safe to say that colored hair will at some point be over, but never gray!

Going Gray ON PURPOSE?!?!?!

Local news is shocked to learn some women have not bought into the anti-gray beauty myth.


http://www.nbclosangeles.com/the-scene/fashion/Going-Gray-On-Purpose--141223503.html

The War on Gray Hair

There is a War on Gray Hair.

The beauty industry pockets billions of dollars a year by making you feel bad about having gray hair!

Simply put: There's no money in being gray!  Even hair care giant Clairol, manufacturer of Shimmer Lights shampoo for gray hair, doesn't feature the product on their own consumer website.  They do however feature 129 separate products for "gray coverage".  Shimmer Lights is only available in professional beauty supply stores. (and Amazon.com)

So what can we do?  Don't let them make you feel bad!

FIGHT THE WAR ON GRAY BY WEARING YOUR HAIR GORGEOUSLY GRAY!

Use every product and technique at your disposal to show off how glorious gray can be.  Learn from the great grey manes that came before you.  The best thing you can do is become a silver fox and change people's attitudes about gray hair.  

So get out there and make us hollar at you: LOVE THE GRAY!

Gray (Hair) Is The New Black

Gray Hair is once again chic and in vogue.  So sayeth the elite style tastemakers.

Designer Gareth Pugh matched the gray hair to his gray clothes in his Spring 2010 show. STYLE.COM

Chanel featured gray haired models in their Fall/Winter 2011 print campaign:

Model Freja Beha Erichsen styled by Carine Roitfeld and photographed by Karl Lagerfeld

And now spotted at Madrid Fashion week January 2012, long gray hair in the Maria Barros Show.

Grey hair goes so well with haute couture.
It better, because who else but old rich ladies can really afford the ridiculously expensive clothes?

High Fashion commands you to LOVE THE GRAY!

More Madrid Runway Photos: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2096546/Madrid-Fashion-Week-Models-step-catwalk-grey-hair-Maria-Barros-show.html

Kelly Osbourne Explains The Gray.

Kelly Osbourne, 27, filled in for her mother Sharon on CBS's daytime chat show "The Talk" this week and discussed why she is coloring her hair gray.

"It's something I've wanted to do my whole life. I've always wanted to be young and have gray hair. And i know that's crazy but I don't exactly come from the most normal family!"

Of course, we think gray looks gorgeous at any age. You just have to know what to do with it!

Kate the Gray

Well placed sources inside Buckingham Palace tell the Daily Mail
that Kate Middleton has discovered her first gray hairs!
(Or grey hairs as they say over in England.)

"Now she is 30, even Kate needs, dare one say it, a little helping hand to keep those tumbling tresses in tip-top condition. Indeed, impeccably placed sources have told me that the Duchess has, to her horror, started finding the odd grey hair (‘stress highlights’, her friends joke) and has been having an organic vegetable-based dye and subtle low-lights applied during regular four-hour sessions at the Richard Ward Hair And Metrospa in Chelsea."

- The Daily Mail, January 7, 2012

The Duchess of Cambridge calls it "Stress Highlights"?
We prefer to call them "Wisdom Wefts" or "Smartness Streaks"!
And we say: GO GRAY GREY KATE!
We're sure you have something better to do than waste your time getting your roots dyed in four-hour salon sessions.
Spend that extra time working with you newly announced charity patronages!
Then the UK press might stop calling you the "Duchess of Dolittle"
and you'll be "The Next Diana™" in no time!