by Rhonda Piraino

Created on: May 12, 2008   Last Updated: May 13, 2008

There is an old adage that says, 'gray hair is nature's way of softening your features'. It's a lovely sentiment, but what about those of us who gray early? Do your features really need softening?

Graying early has several causes, such as heredity or outside trauma. In my salon, the percentage of my clients with gray hair is roughly 80%. Of that, 60% are younger than 50.

What does this say?

In our never-ending quest to fight the aging process, we'll do just about anything to brighten, tighten, and camouflage. Open any women's magazine and try to count the number of ads for skin care lines specifically targeted for anti-aging. Nearly every line has an entire system of products to remove wrinkles and dark spots, and to exfoliate and rejuvenate.

Where does hair color fit in this trend?

Think of someone you know who has grayed early. She may have gorgeous white hair, but what color are her eyes? Is she wearing pumps or tennis shoes? Without haircolor, all of our attention is focused on the color of her hair.

Try it yourself; notice women in the grocery store, the mall, etc., who have gray hair. Could you tell the color of her eyes? What clothing she was wearing? It's likely that her hair overpowers most of her other features.

A little color can instantly transform us, and there are several options to use-

1. Temporary, semi-permanent, or demi-permanent colors are a great way to introduce color without commitment. They blend gray hair, rather than cover it completely. Because they don't actually change the hair's natural color, they won't lighten the hair. . Think about a piece of wood covered with stain; you can still see the variegations of the wood itself. You don't have to worry about regrowth maintenance since your natural color is still intact.

2. Permanent color is the one to choose if you want your gray to be completely covered. Ammonia in the color lightens the hair, and the hydrogen peroxide (the developer) provides the oxygen needed to develop the color molecules. If we take another piece of wood and paint it instead of stain it, you know that paint is going to completely cover the wood; all you'll see is the color applied.

3. The third choice is highlighting. Highlighting is a great way to camouflage the gray. Your colorist can add nearly any color and amount you can dream of. Going platinum isn't the only result of highlighting. It can be super-subtle, only a level or two lighter than your natural color. If the highlights are soft, scattered, and not far from your natural color, regrowth maintenance is quite low.

With all the options available to us, we can easily slip away from that gray and, as an added benefit, our hair texture will soften and become shinier, leaving people to wonder,does she or doesn't she?'.

I'll never tell...

Learn more about this author, Rhonda Piraino.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.