A new trend in hair coloring is emerging

Aug 2, 2010 20:31 GMT  ·  By
Model Kristen McMenamy rocks natural grey hair for the latest issue of Vogue Italia
   Model Kristen McMenamy rocks natural grey hair for the latest issue of Vogue Italia

If a man has grey hair, he’s considered more attractive and perhaps also wiser. Examples of male celebrities with silver hair who continue to top poll after poll with female voters are many, but no one needs to look at all of them because one should suffice: George Clooney. At the opposite pole are examples of women who dare go grey and forego coloring in favor of their natural hair, as The Telegraph also points out.

However, things may soon change, as a 46-year-old model from London is out to set a new trend, one that will allow women to rock silver locks without having to face harsh criticism from others. her name is Kristen McMenamy, she stopped dyeing her hair a few years ago and she’s currently featured on the cover of two iconic magazines that never put a silver-haired woman on the it: Dazed and Confused, and the Italian Vogue.

“When Nicole Kidman was pictured at an awards ceremony with more than a hint of grey among her blonde locks, she attracted plenty of unwelcome comment. But now a top model has broken one of the last fashion taboos by appearing on the cover of a trend magazine flaunting natural grey hair. […] The 46-year-old model, who lives in north London, also features in Vogue, where she explains her decision to stay natural. ‘You can get older and still be rock’n’roll,’ she told the magazine. ‘I thought all that grey hair would make a beautiful picture’,” The Telegraph writes.

“I think there’s beginning to be a backlash to this eternal quest for anti-ageing that has led to so many celebrities looking falsely nipped, tucked and squeezed. Stopping at nothing to look just a few years younger is starting to look dated itself… which is why I think we’re seeing models and younger celebrities embracing things like wrinkles and a smattering of grey. The bottom line is, it doesn’t stop a woman looking beautiful – on the contrary, it just makes her look more attractive by speaking volumes for her confidence,” Nicola Moulton, beauty and health director at UK Vogue, says of McMenamy’s decision to go natural for the cover of Vogue.

Rod Stanley, editor of Dazed and Confused, believes the two spreads with McMenamy with grey hair will literally open the debate on whether grey hair is now acceptable in fashion imagery, with scales tipping towards a definite yes sometime in the future. In fact, The Telegraph also notes, more and more women are straying from traditional colors, like blonde, black or red, and choosing grayish shades, which could mean this is the beginning of a new trend.

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