Silver strands?

Most of us will at some point start to slowly see a few grey hairs creep in – some as early as in our 20, while others will only notice the first few greys when we enter our 40s and beyond. Many feel compelled to cover up their greys straight away, hating the reminder that the youth is fleeting and wanting to hang on to the hair colour they know and love for much long er. However, there is also a bit of a grey hair revolution happening too – with more and more women of all ages embracing their greys – which has led to colourists and stylish having to come up with new ways to blend and highlight to do just that. Speaking to Glamour, colourist Tom Smith with Evo Hair, explains that he reckons the pandemic is to blame for us all collectively feeling much more OK about embracing her grey colour. “Since the pandemic, it’s wonderfully more acceptable to show your natural greys," Smith reveals. "Celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow and Sarah Jessica Parker are leading the way when it comes to incorporating grey hair into their iconic hair colours." And although neither Sarah Jessica nor Gwyneth or Jennifer are all grey, they are all starting to blend the grey into their roots and hair – and are looking all the more amazing for it, we think. The technique to be on the lookout for, Smith says, is Herringbone highlights.

Highlighting the greys

The beauty of this way of blending in the greys, Smith reveals, is that it is not trying to hide your silver strands, but rather highlight them, “using a herringbone pattern of highlighting." He explains: "Various shades are woven in among the grey strands, giving a finely balanced mix of warm and cool tones. This really celebrates grey hairs by including them in a hair colour design as an additional highlight shade.” If you are loving this idea, the colourist says you need to ask your hairdresser to include your grey hair into your highlight pattern. Ask for a blend of warm – and cool–toned highlights, he reveals. “Not alternating each shade, but scattering and diffusing the various shades around the irregular pattern of your own grey hair,” Smith says. “Grey hairs tend to arrive sporadically and scattered — some even cluster into streaks, so work with this, rather than fight against it for a hair colour design that is totally tailored to you.”