Looking through childhood photos, you often see a smiling little girl with bright strands of hair falling carelessly over her face. The locks, bathed only in the sun, are associated with total carefreeness and a time when you didn’t have to worry about your appearance. Then came the first crimson and platinum paint associated with a deep fascination with Madonna in the 1980s. In fact, it was just the beginning of experiments on the head: from cool blonde to deep black. Meanwhile, you scored a love affair with balayage and ombre, which has been popular in recent years. And probably today, looking back, you regret many of these changes, but you are aware that along with your appearance, your personality also changed and your character was formed. More and more often you dream of that carefree childhood, but you have gray hair on your head instead of bright locks. Is a return to nature possible after all?

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Following the fashion

At the turn of the last century, fashion changed on average every 10 years. And it’s not just about styling, makeup or hairstyle. The perception of the body and self-consciousness also changed during this time. From frighteningly skinny, even anorexic models with long thick hair to plus size women with hedgehog hair. Each of us probably remembers British model Agyness Deyn, who took the world’s most famous catwalks by storm with her distinctive short blonde hair. That was the breakthrough. It was 2005 and then everything changed.

Internet instead of newspaper clippings

The old newspapers such as Pani Domu, Viva and Hairdressing Catalog lying on the table in the waiting room have been replaced by the Internet. It used to be that all women wanted to look like Jennifer Aniston. Her hairstyle from the time of “Friends” aroused not only admiration but also envy. Thick hair, falling to the shoulders with a fine fringe and fringed ends beat records in popularity. Now we also pattern ourselves after big names, but Inspiration is mainly provided by Instagram or Pinterest.

A woman is a changeling

One of the most volatile women to date has definitely been Madonna. Her choices have always shocked and often set new trends. There really has been everything on her head: black curls, red waves or long straight hair in natural blonde. But today her appearance no longer shocks anyone. Why? That’s because Madonna has been replaced by other stars who have become idols of younger generations in particular.

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Gray hair - a return to nature and discovery of self. Is it worth it to color your hair? 3

Women also have a completely different awareness and knowledge of hair care. They no longer want to subject them to aggravating treatments, straightening and curling alternately. They want naturalness. Oiling, masks, henna instead of dye are just some of the treatments to strengthen them instead of weakening their condition.

“When a woman changes her hairstyle, she will soon change her life.” – Coco Chanel

As one of fashion’s greatest pioneers, Coco Chanel, used to say, “When a woman changes her hairstyle, she will soon change her life.” And you can’t go wrong with that. Each of us has made a drastic change at least once in our lives, from blonde to fiery red, or long waist-length hair to a classic bob behind the ear. You may have just changed jobs, separated from your partner or moved. A new hairstyle was supposed to be the next step in your life and the next step to discovering your own self. We want to be someone else, and the easiest way to start our metamorphosis is with our hair.

Why do women change their hairstyle after a breakup?

According to the study, women are most likely to decide to drastically change their hairstyle after a breakup. In this way, they want to demonstrate to the world that they have completed a certain stage, but also want to look attractive again. First of all, in this way they show their former partner what they have lost, and secondly… they are already preparing for another date! Even if she thinks it’s too soon, she does it completely unconsciously. A fresh new hairstyle makes a woman feel attractive and confident. He is eager for new challenges and to conquer the world.

Long hours in front of the mirror

Sometimes a woman is ripe for these changes. She looks in the mirror every day and needs a boost to get her going. Today, checking whether she will look good in a new hairstyle is much easier. We can install an app on our phone that will easily transform us into a predatory red-haired tomcat or blonde sexbombs. Among the many hairstyles available, we can choose not only the color, but also the type of cut. If by now you’ve been wondering if you’d be comfortable with the beard bob that Victoria Beckham wore, you just got the chance to do it without leaving home.

From chocolate brown to cool blonde, or how to color hair?

Once you have decided on what hairstyle to choose, you make an appointment with your hairdresser. In a good hair salon, any change is possible. If you’ve dyed your hair chocolate brown or deep black so far, there’s nothing stopping you from going blonde from the salon. This is a treatment called decolorization. Unfortunately, it is not only time-consuming, but also expensive. Depending on the length and condition of the hair, it can take several hours and cost up to several hundred zlotys. In Warsaw, this price can fluctuate around 1500-2000 PLN. But after all, one’ s own happiness and satisfaction have no price. If it makes you feel better, why not?

All the colors of the rainbow

But hair coloring doesn’t just close in on basic colors. Hair salons also offer dyes in all colors of the rainbow. During the pandemic era, when most people moved to remote work mode, hair in shades of pastel pink, purple and orange became fashionable. One could go wild, as confronting the boss about the new hairstyle was not an option. You could look exactly the way you wanted. And I mean that literally. Tracksuits, pajamas, zero makeup, unpainted nails. You practically stopped painting yourself, which made you discover that you feel good in a sauté version. In time, you couldn’t even visit the hairdresser. And later? Later, you didn’t even want…

Is gray hair a new trend?

The pandemic has caused more and more women to take to the streets in a natural version. With roots in my hair and without a ton of makeup on my face. They were increasingly bold in showing off their imperfections, such as scars, stretch marks and acne. All over the world, in virtually every country, closed groups for women have been established on Facebook – Quarantine Outfitters Daily. In Poland, there were more than 20,000 active users on it. Daily exchanges of fashion inspiration straight from bed, “hairstyles” that haven’t seen scissors and paint for several weeks and views on whether it’s appropriate to leave the house like this have given women distance, but also confidence. They knew they were not alone.

Grey regrowth

Over time, the offshoots grew larger. More and more gray hairs appeared on his head. And while many women have been counting down the days until they visit their beloved hair salon again, many have decided to stay natural. Today on the street we see more and more women who have decided to do so. And they are not always elderly women. Often young girls who have prematurely begun to gray also decide to take this step.

Actresses known from the front pages of newspapers have also followed suit. Andie Macdawell was the first to show up in them at the Cannes Film Festival. And she was followed by other actresses Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren or Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon, known from the “Sex in the City” series. In our country, the pioneer was Joanna Liszowska, known until now for her lush storm of blond curls. So will gray hair become the latest trend?

Getting back to nature and discovering your own self

Showing up in public with gray hair can also be a kind of manifesto. Until now, it has been said that women must look young if they want to advance professionally. The battle against time was fought not only in aesthetic medicine offices, but also in hair salons. Women wanted to preserve their youthful appearance at all costs. Also, many well-known actresses began to speak out about the fact that mature women have practically no chance for leading roles. And it’s not even just about the numbers in evidence anymore, but what they look like.

Danuta Stenka already in 2015, during a high-profile interview with the Popular Weekly, spoke about the fact that “When you turn 50, there comes the realization that you are out of the game.” At the time, a mature woman with gray single hair and visible wrinkles was smiling at us from the cover. But at the time, the world was not yet ready for this step. It is ready now.

Hairdressing services getting more and more expensive

However, we can also look for more down-to-earth reasons for the emergence of the new trend among rampant inflation. The increase in electricity prices has caused a snowball effect. The prices of electricity, water, rental of business premises, food, hairdressing materials have increased, thus increasing the price of hairdressing services. Since the beginning of the year alone, it’s about 30%, and experts predict that this is still not the end. In such a situation, many women simply had to give up something, especially if they had previously been going to the hairdresser regularly even every 3 weeks. This allows them to save not only money, but also time.

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Through the eyes of a specialist

The editors of GentleWoman POLAND also decided to ask about it at the source. Our expert, Darek Wojcik hairdresser with many years of experience and owner of DW Creative Group shared with us his insights on the gray hair fashion: “Naturalness, self-acceptance and self-confidence of every woman have given the Silver hair trend a new and so far even stronger meaning. Gray hair emphasizes strength and adds character. Free-hand reflexes, the Air Touch method or Tapir bleaching will allow us to create a beautiful mix of gray hair with stronger highlights in the shade of our choice, while emphasizing and refining our nature. Fashioning gray hair does not always have to mean keeping it 100%. With the aforementioned coloring techniques, we can make the selected shades blend subtly with our gray hair, gently transitioning from the roots to the more heavily lightened ends. We love the effect!”

Grey Blending – what is it?

For a smooth transition from colored hair to gray hair… you can also use coloring! Grey blending is the latest trend in coloring. It involves creating highlights along the length of the hair in the color of the natural regrowth. This way the border between gray roots and dyed strands will not be conspicuous. This is an ideal method especially for impatient people. On average, hair grows about 1 cm per month, so it takes up to about a year to completely get rid of hair dye.

How to take care of gray hair?

However, gray hair also needs to be properly taken care of. On the one hand, the lack of need for regular coloring has made it convenient and practical, but to make them look healthy and impressive they need proven care. The hair takes on a white or gray color because it contains no pigment. Because of this, it becomes more exposed to UV rays. If not properly protected, it can take on a yellow tint.

Grey hair care

We also asked an expert, Darek Wojcik of DW Creative Group, about how to take care of gray hair. “For highlighting and giving hair a silver glow, we recommend the silverati series of cosmetics from the Oribe brand. It was created for gray, silver as well as platinum hair. European silver fir extract contains pigments that offset yellow unwanted tones while highlighting a beautiful and cool shade.”

This means that, contrary to appearances, gray hair is not only ideal for women who are tired of coloring their hair, but also of too frequent hair care treatments. To take care of gray hair all you need is a home treatment with properly selected cosmetics. This is a great idea for long autumn evenings.

I am a Woman, I am a GentleWoman

If you’ve been beating yourself up with thoughts of ditching regular hair coloring and enjoying natural gray hair for some time, don’t wait and do it. As Heraclitus of Ephesus used to say, “the only constant thing in life is change.” Therefore, remember that you are a Woman, you are GentleWoman and you are not afraid of change. You are the one to feel good about yourself. So if returning to nature makes you happy, take that step. You may discover your own self once again in your life.

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