JAMIE LEE CURTIS, 55, was one of the first celebrities to boldly let her white grow out. For years American singer EMMYLOU HARRIS, 71, has been distinguished by her sultry white locks. Despite—or perhaps because—they proudly embrace their white, HELEN MIRREN, 76, and JUDI DENCH, 86, remain films’ most enduring and popular British actresses.
“The new platinum color is on the cooler end of the spectrum. Rather than the yellowed platinum of yesteryear, these shades of platinum are silvery and smooth,” says Southern Living magazine.
Not everyone’s white or gray grows out gracefully, however, and you may need a visit to the salon to achieve the color you desire. And, depending on how dark your natural color is, it may take several steps. “I have a client with natural dark hair who wanted silver hair,” says Los Angeles hairstylist Jessica Warburton. “When we started, her hair was to her waist. Now, a year later, it’s a beautiful silver but it’s up to her shoulders. You have to know all the possibilities going into the process.”
As the steamy movie suggests, there really are 50 shades of grey—or maybe more. Whichever you choose should be closest to your natural grey so as your hair grows, the roots blend in. Matrix Artistic Director and Boston salon owner Michael Albor points out that lighter grey can fade faster than, say, a charcoal grey. “We might just apply some silver highlights and then tone the hair with a cool toner and get a great, cool, overall effect. Or, if you have dark hair, you can overlay a rich, smoky tone that looks really nice.”
Don’t attempt to play with your dying your hair yourself. Some hair color products can turn green. Listen to your hairstylist. “I tell clients who request silver hair it’s like baseball,” says Los Angeles hairstylist Jessica Warburton. “They have to trust me to be the coach and follow my instructions. If they do, I can make them a star player.”
Bottom line? As Southern Living suggests, “Gone are the days of the harsh yellow-based platinum blonde—it’s time to cool down with a silvery side of platinum.”
EMBRACING HER YOMO
ELIZABETH AKUA OHENE
“Time was when you could tell what stage in life a Ghanaian woman had reached by the way she wore her hair,” Elizabeth explains. “When it came to color, everybody’s hair was uniformly black from birth until old age, when everybody had grey hair.”
That changed in the 1950s when black hair dye was introduced to women in Ghana. In Accra, the capital of Ghana, it was given a name: yoomo b3Ga or yoomo, for short, which translates to “there is no old woman in Accra.”
“In this past COVID year,” Elizabeth continued, “when going to the salon became problematic, I gave up on dyeing my hair and took to wearing a headscarf. Two weeks ago, I out-doored the new white-haired me. I am not sure if I am starting a new trend, but it does mean you will now find one old woman—yoomo—in Accra!”