[Paid for myself] Naturally, I don’t have a great deal of grey hair – there is the odd strand or two but in the general scheme of things, given that I’m nearly 60, it’s not what you’d call significant. That’s just the fate of genetics but I have been dying it brunette (with streaks of bright red now and then) for a long time. I’ve wanted to experiment with grey for ages but making the appointment to take the plunge wasn’t really a big deal – I didn’t put a lot of thought or angst into it at all.
I’ve been going to the same local hair stylist for many years – I long since learned that ‘free’ hair cuts were more onerous than they’re worth and although they’re regularly available to me in town because of my job, I’d rather stay with Kelsey at Hayward Golding where I pay like any other customer. Also, it’s very local to me – five minutes in the car and I can take Dora although I didn’t this time and she’s skilled and lovely.
Although it’s still very new, the thing I can say is that, for me at least, just going for it, rather than a slow transition is the right thing. All roads lead to Rome so I took the fastest route and apart from a 4am wobble after my mum was not exactly kindly accepting of the change, I absolutely love it. Utterly love it, actually. I’ve had an entire career making changes to myself – thread lifts, Botox, filler, acid peels, this and that, so I’m used to being in the spotlight both in print and on social media with that and being very honest about the results (journalist head firmly on for these) because there has to be a point to it all. Maybe my tooth diamond was a mistake (especially on parent’s night where the pair of teachers in front of me had virtually lost the power of speech because they were so busy just staring at my mouth) but you know, you don’t know til you do.
However, there are some things that are immediately clear. One is that I’ll need to keep my tone as warm as possible (Jimmy Coco ID1 is my go-to), my lashes as dark as possible (Fenty Hella Thicc is as black as it gets) because the contrast is so good and I’ll have my lips as red as possible (Gucci Goldie Red is my current crush) because there is nothing that suits grey toned hair as much as bright lip.
People have asked whether I’ll need to change my wardrobe – the answer is a hard no. I can’t live my entire life thinking about what suits my hair so some fashion days will be average, as they pretty much are now, and some days will be great. In a way, all the harder-core beauty experimenting I’ve done before has prepared me well for this in that I’m a little bit detached from my ‘looks’ – I’ve had brow droop, a frozen chin (yes, really) and skin falling off my face and have just had to get on with it so it’s given me broader shoulders for personal change.
So, what I had done at the salon was bleach in very fine highlights (tin foil head) over the main body of my hair that was then treated with an ash toner. I have some brunette, some blond and some grey but because the highlights were so finely placed (skill of the stylist, Kelsey) they’ve all blended together perfectly. Brunette to grey is not the easiest transition because they don’t sit particularly well aesthetically speaking so rather than trying to place grey into brunette it was easier to just lift the majority and let it fall into place, which it has.
From initial reactions, I look very different to other people, but to me, I look the same with lighter hair. It’s not as dramatic to me as it is to others somehow. That’s another tip – be prepared for different reactions – anything negative (I dyed my hair for Instagram is one such comment!) is about them, not you. If anything, grey gives you the opportunity to ramp everything else up. Red lip shy all my life, I can’t think of any other colour I want to wear more at the moment. It’s truly a liberation, a celebration and a recreation that’s all to the (very) good. Sometimes in life you have to jump without looking. The salon, Hayward Golding is very local to me in south-east London but you can find details on Treatwell HERE.