'These 10 gorgeous grey hairstyles will have you embracing the daring dye next', apparently. But how about those of us who have outgrown the desire to wear artificial hair colours, I wonder?
I meant to publish this post last week. I mean, I meant to write something about an article I had stumbled upon that featured 10 unnaturally grey hair dos. I found myself struggling to find words to describe this all new phenomenon, however. The whole point about grey used to be that, unlike blonde or brunette or auburn, grey is supposed to be impossible to fake. Well, ok. So the proof of the pudding could be that none of the featured dos appear even remotely natural looking; rather they seem intended to suggest an ethereal kind of a quality. Assuming she didn't need to be able to see what any of the rest of cast was doing, this first girl might make an excellent on-screen Titania, in my opinion.
Obviously, nobody really wears their hair like this except for the occasional high fashion photo shoot. Happily, not all of the featured styles were quite so impractical, but, having now had an oportunity to sleep on my own reaction to these shots, I think what was frustrating me so much yesterday was that the writer of the article appeared to have lost track of the idea that the success/not of a hairstyle depends on a combination of things, colour being but one of them. As a general rule, I believe women of all ages can look better if we opt for a style first and for a colour later, and don't fall into the trap of thinking that grey or blonde or brunette or whatever must be worn a particular way or it won't look good.
What was happening for me last week was this, I think: Having embraced my own grey hair for what it is - i.e. no more nor less than my natural hair colour - I felt resentful that, all of a sudden, grey appeared to be being promoted in a way that not even blonde has been for several decades now. I was thinking of that old saying about blondes having more fun, and resenting that instead of celebrating the concept of grey as one of the many very wonderful colours in which human hair comes, the phrase 'the daring dye' seemed to be denying the very existence of us natural greys. If grey is something that can only be acquired out of bottle then what the hell colour is my current do supposed to be, I wondered.
The other thing that bothered me was that 10 out of 10 of the gorgeous ways to go grey involved at least medium length and mostly long hair. What about Helen Mirren's bob or Jamie Lee Curtis' pixie? Honestly, my own experience is that authentically mature hair requires more careful conditioning than younger hair in order to keep it soft and silky looking, which is what long hair needs to be or there's no point to it. It's possible I might be speaking for myself alone when I say this, but, for all that I should totally love to have hair similar to that in the above left hand picture, experience assures me it ain't ever gonna happen; my hair refused to grow that long even when I was a teenager.
Either way, out of these two styles, I find myself I lot more envious of the hair on the left that I am of that on the right, not because I fundamentally dislike the colour on the right but because I don't see it as contributing towards the overall look so much as I see it as overpowering it. The hair on the left could be re-coloured to appear blonde or brunette and not only the model but her actual hair would continue to look amazing, I think. Re-coloured the hair on the right and the model might immediately appear as just one more pretty girl in a pretty dress, appealing in her way but nothing stand out.
The other thing that bothered me was that 10 out of 10 of the gorgeous ways to go grey involved at least medium length and mostly long hair. What about Helen Mirren's bob or Jamie Lee Curtis' pixie? Honestly, my own experience is that authentically mature hair requires more careful conditioning than younger hair in order to keep it soft and silky looking, which is what long hair needs to be or there's no point to it. It's possible I might be speaking for myself alone when I say this, but, for all that I should totally love to have hair similar to that in the above left hand picture, experience assures me it ain't ever gonna happen; my hair refused to grow that long even when I was a teenager.
Either way, out of these two styles, I find myself I lot more envious of the hair on the left that I am of that on the right, not because I fundamentally dislike the colour on the right but because I don't see it as contributing towards the overall look so much as I see it as overpowering it. The hair on the left could be re-coloured to appear blonde or brunette and not only the model but her actual hair would continue to look amazing, I think. Re-coloured the hair on the right and the model might immediately appear as just one more pretty girl in a pretty dress, appealing in her way but nothing stand out.