Last Updated on 28th June 2022
Since discovering a grey hair for the first time I have been having dreams of being fully white-haired. It’s obviously playing on my mind, so I contacted celebrity hair stylist Vicki Lord for advice, to answer my many questions, and to alleviate my fears.
As a hairdresser of nearly 30 years, I’ve had many clients ask me this big question ‘to grey or not to grey’!? And this isn’t just the more mature clients. Grey, silver and pastels have been a trend for a while and younger clients want to try it out. It is also very common for people’s hair to lose colour to white or grey from as young as early their twenties.
Stress is making more people under thirty reveal those silvery strands slightly earlier than thirty nowadays.
Many people including myself when they come across their very first grey hairs, simply plucked out those wiry little so-and-sos, hoping that the myth ‘if you pluck out one grey hair, two or three will sprout in its place’ is not true… This isn’t true, Phew! But plucking out hair strands is a bad habit. Even though I know that the pop and pluck feels so damn good!
When reality kicks in and you know that no amount of plucking is going to help it is time to hit the colour bottle! The chemist is calling you, looking at all the boxes of promised looks of au natural blonde, vibrant red, fiery copper, chocolate brunette the list is endless! Where do you start?!! Once you’ve made that decision and purchased your ideal dream colour to regain your youth, it’s application time!
Sometimes you can hit the jackpot and achieve your desired look but for some it can be a complete disaster.
The amount of my lovely clients that have been creative with the home boxes that I’ve had to rescue is no end! Either they have turned up in my chair with canary yellow, rainbow bands of colour or even over processed and broken hair. And there was half-craziness during home-dyeing in lockdown periods since 2020.
My advice is to please leave this to the professionals. We work on percentage of grey, It maybe that you only have 10% grey so therefore just a few high lights or low light foils may take the edge off the grey for you. Therefore not committing to a full head colour. If you have more that 50% grey you may be better with full head foils. Although any more than 50% grey I would suggest a full head tint with maybe foils in the parting to break-up the full colour and help those naughty grey hairs showing as the colour grows out.
I’ve had lots of clients that over the years have had these types colour treatments and eventually pose the question “Vicki….. To grey or not to grey’?” that is the question! Well to be honest if Dame Helen Mirren can rock grey hair then why can’t we! If you dare to bear then my advice is to go for an elfin sexy crop, make sure you funk it up with good products and stand proud!
@vickilordhair
Should I dye my grey hair?
The answer is it’s completely a personal choice, but most people choose to dye their hair if under 40, as it is an easy process either at home or in a professional salon. Grey hair in men is considered sexy with the silver fox look, and most women expect men to be greying by their 40’s.
When should you stop colouring your hair?
Again this is a personal choice, and many people chose to stop during lockdown. Commonly most people choose to dye until their 40’s or 50’s. The decision is often related to other visible hair, like grey in beards or eyebrows. If using hair colouring, it’s worth considering how you can transition to your current natural colour, with men having the advantage of being able to have a close shave to avoid visible growing out.
How to wear grey hair without looking old?
Typically, people start going grey in their mid-30s, and most 50 year olds are grey.
What causes Grey hair?
Our hair follicles contains pigment cells that contain melanin, and as we get older these melanocytes gradually die and become more transparent.
Can Greying of hair be reversed?
Sadly you cannot pray the grey away and dyeing your hair is the only option. Luckily hair colouring is an easy process and you would struggle to spot the younger people who regularly use a professional dye.
Are grey hairs caused by stress?
According to studies, stress does indeed cause grey hair by releasing the chemical norepinephrine into the hair follicle.
Can lack of sleep cause grey hair?
Only in that sleep deprivation is linked to stress, which as above can cause the melanocytes to die.
