Penelope Wilson
Penelope Wilson
June 11, 2020 ·  3 min read

This Hairdresser Helps Clients Embrace Their Gray Roots by Transforming Their Hair into Silver Crowns

Gray hair is often received with mixed feelings by different people. It’s often regarded as a sign of aging (which is not a bad thing), but people as young as five can have some of their hair covered in beautiful silver. It’s the misconception that it’s a sign of quick aging that makes people uncomfortable about it. When the hair follicles begin to lose the melanocytes responsible for pigmentation, the hair would start to turn white/silver. [1] Gray hair is nothing to be afraid of; it should be embraced and welcomed with an open mind. The age for graying often varies according to race, but half of all people would have total or partially gray hair by the age of 50. 

However, premature graying occurs when a person’s hair begins to lose pigment before the age of 20–25 (depending on race). The general attitude toward gray hair would cause a lot of these youngsters to resort to dyeing to try to hide their gray roots. Premature graying is largely genetic and has nothing to do with quick aging. [2] On rare occasions, it may be caused by autoimmune conditions such as alopecia and vitiligo.

In any case, gray hair is beautiful, and nobody should ever tell you otherwise. Whether you’re five, 30, 50, or 100, if your hair starts to turn gray, it’s something to embrace and enjoy.

This is what inspired hair colorist Jack Martin to come up with a creative idea to help his clients embrace their gray hair. [3] In an interview with Allure, the California-based stylist explains that it all started in 2017 when one of his clients who always dyed from gray to brown wanted a change. [4] She was retired and it was time to be less worried about frequently dyeing her hair. After bouncing around a few ideas, Martin and his client decided to dye the entire hair silver, which meant the gray roots would blend in perfectly and she wouldn’t have to visit the salon so frequently.

The idea was a blast

Shortly after Martin posted the photos on Instagram, they went viral and he began to receive similar requests from new and old clients.

My clients with naturally gray hair come two or three times a year, instead of every few weeks,” he said to Allure.

The process is quite tricky and needs to be carefully done to achieve aesthetic appearance. He begins by using a color extractor to remove all traces of artificial colors and then bleaches the hair for the next phase of coloring. Everyone’s hair grays in different patterns, and Martin carefully analyzes these patterns so he can recreate them on the rest of the hair while maintaining the natural gray roots. 

This is important for clients with salt-and-pepper strands and a better alternative to dyeing the entire hair a mass of silver.

Some clients have salt and pepper mostly in the front and the back is darker, so I match that and add some dark to it,” Martin said. He then trims, styles, and curls up their hair to the final perfect look.

This innovative idea has helped dozens of his clients embrace their stunning gray hue, encouraging more ladies to accept gray hair as a lovely blessing. While the ladies would still have to return to the salon for touch-ups, they won’t have to go so frequently anymore since the hair at the roots would rarely stand out from the rest.

An insightful comment on Facebook read: “These are beautiful! What many people don’t realize is that our skin tone changes along with our hair color. That’s why, when we go grey, we look so much better with our natural hair color.” 

Well, nothing can go wrong with embracing your natural gray. It won’t always be an easy process, especially with popular opinions, but those never really helped anyone live their lives right. Gray with grace! 

Image Credits: @Jackmartincolorist via Instagram

References

  1. Gray Hair Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Going Gray. Yahoo. Donna Fredykin. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  2. Gray Hair at 25? Yes. Here’s What You Can Do.U.S. News. Angel Haupt. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  3. Instead Of Covering Grey Roots, This Hairdresser Makes Clients Embrace It With His Powerful Transformations (35 Pics).Bored Panda. Justinas Keturka. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  4. A Colorist Explains How He Created This Low-Maintenance Gray Hair Transformation.MSN. Leah Prinzivalli. Retrieved June 5, 2020.