Silver Locks Project: Styling Silver

I didn’t grow out my silver locks to be on trend, but there I am, at the hair color cutting edge. I say this in jest. The last thing I am is cutting edge.curls front

I’m fascinated by responses to silver hair–that of models and actresses, as well as my own. Among my friends (including most of you, dear readers), I hear admiration for silver locks. C’mon, tell me Emmylou’s hair isn’t amazing. Yet, as I’ve mentioned in other Silver Locks Project posts, I’ve had people question my transition to silver (only a few, and it bothers me not one whit). “Don’t you feel old?” “Why would you do that?” This idea is reasonable. Most silver-locked folks are older. But the reason silver and age are often equated, I suspect, lies elsewhere.

Here’s the thing. As a girl, I knew not one woman who had longer silver hair. For decades, the trend, at least in my world, seemed to be to short, permed hair once the color changed. And a lot of times, those styles looked less like styles, and more like giving up.

My stylist and I figured out some goals when I started the transition to silver:  to keep my hair healthy and to cut as little as necessary. I refused to take the easier route of cutting it all off. I’d spent years growing out my last pixie, and I didn’t want to do that again. I didn’t want to risk resembling the old silver haired ladies I remembered. But cutting to a short bob was necessary.

Now that all the hair is silver, my focus has been on growing it out. I like to braid my hair, and at last I can manage two little pig-tail braids.

Despite my intentions, though, on most days, I’ve been just like the silver-locked women of my youth, taking the easy route as I scramble to hike dogs and leave for work on time. Most days, my styling is limited to running a comb through it and pulling it into a pony tail. Not the height of style. Not cutting edge at all. More like the edge of giving up.

This week I came back from the edge, at least a wee bit. My stylist coiffed me for a fancy gala evening on Friday. I asked for beehive height. She persuaded me to curls and a side sweep, a style that looked elegant and fun. And she assured me that I could learn to curl my hair in a snap.

I realized it isn’t so much about the style of my silver. There are loads of women rocking silver pixies. This entire musing over edges and giving up is a reminder to myself to stay curious, to keep playing.

Guess what I picked up today? Curlers.

Tell me: what do you do to keep yourself from giving up?

Thinking of going all cutting edge and silver yourself? Check out my Silver Locks Project posts.

10 thoughts on “Silver Locks Project: Styling Silver”

  1. The one fight I still have in me is to not fully conform in the way I dress. Surely I would disappear if I did that. I admire women that do not conform, and so I try to be a woman I might admire.

  2. I’ve been growing out my hair for over 18 months now and am FINALLY just about there. Only a few hints of colored hair left at the very tips. First, I’d forgotten how very dark my natural color was, I’ve been dyeing it to a warmer brown for so long and, two, it’s not actually silver yet–I keep trying to find a name for the color it is. Not brown, not gray, not salt-and-pepper, but kind of … a really dark taupe, something wood-like (and remarkably close to Madelinetosh’s Whiskey Barrel colorway). The point, though, is that I love it. So much so, that I can no longer understand what I was thinking of when I started dyeing it in the first place. I’m proud of my years, darn it, and who cares if I’m still just on the younger side of 50? I look good for my age, so why not show it? And I’m loving that, for the first time ever in my life, my hair is not one, solid color. Actual, natural variation in tones. Woohoo!

  3. When I was in high school I used to say that when I was old and grey I would grow my hair long and wear it in a braid wrapped around my head. The thought of growing it out seems so painful, maybe another decade or two.

  4. I’ve been highlighting my hair for years and I’m not seeing small amounts of silver coming through. I actually like it and I don’t want to cover it up. At least, not yet!

  5. I’m not giving up on short skirts! (Or reasonably short of course.) And I think your hair looks gorgeous. I gave up after about 10 weeks and put the color back in. I’m okay with the decision!

  6. Young women compliment me on my hair color (salt and pepper bob with silver streaks) all the time. It’s the men who don’t like it. Giving up is wearing uncomfortable clothing.

  7. Your hair looks GREAT! My own hair started to turn silver when I was 14! By the time I was in my 20s, I was looking like Cruella DeVil (not a good look at 25. . .), so started the coloring/highlighting routine . . . And would still be there had chemo not given me the perfect opportunity for a fresh start! Now, 6 years later, I love my silver hair. I keep it short (looks better on me) — but I go for an asymmetrical cut so I can look a little . . . sassy!

  8. I agree with Margene (as usual). My mom went silver at age 30, in the late 60’s- and has always looked so fashionable. People assumed she bleached her hair pure white to be “mod”. (I remember other kids’ moms asking me about it, which is funny now that I think about it. They should have asked her!). With that in mind I tried to go natural last year but I’m not silver enough and it looked awful. Every time I see you–and especially with the braids- I am inspired.

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