Real Women Going Grey!

It's inspirational to see how some real women going grey have coped and even enjoyed the process.

If your hair is beginning to take on some silver amongst the gold and you're having a bit of a 'wobble', take some time to consider all your options before you rush for the colorant!

Some of you enjoy the transition and enjoy your best colors all over again, while others choose to color!

Color Analysis can help you to identify your best colors now or tweak an earlier analysis if it's necessary. I'd love to hear how you coped with transitioning into grey - a happy or difficult story?  Contact Me...

Thank you to our 'real women going grey'

Thought I'd lost my Winter-ness!

You have reinspired me re colour and I'm excited. I'd been sinking towards mutedness and lost confidence in my Winterness (Had my colours done several yrs ago and was deemed to be winter or possibly Summer then!!). Have been seeing myself as having less colour in my natural being and had lost sight of the deep, bright, cool emphasis and so my natural colour had seemed diminished. I find it helpful  that you do both tonal and seasonal analysis and that you have gone thro your thinking about both for me. Exactly what I wanted! 

Since your Color Analysis I have reverted to stronger cooler lipstick and to playing with stronger colours again. I feel much better for it and look much more healthy!

Holding my head up now!

"Finding my Autumn color palette has allowed me to move ahead and feel more confident in what I wear with my white hair. I sure didn't like me with the blonde on the photo you tried!

I have had trouble accepting my hair thinking it makes me look older but I am holding my head up high these days.  Louise, Australia

Pamela says: Louise's coloring has come to life with the brilliant Autumn color palette. 

Grey before and after Color Analysis

Before: "Not totally happy with the grey, but tired of coloring and want to be natural. The colors I've worn all my life no longer enhance my features and I feel quite lost".

After: "I absolutely love these warm colors! And of course, they’re colors I wore as a child. I’m so looking forward to seeing your swatches as many of my online friends have raved over them.

Thank you for taking so much time to analyze my colors and explaining your process and reasoning. I’m still taking everything in and looking forward to updating all my clothes!"

Mary chooses to color...

"I delayed tinting my hair until age 50 because I wanted to stay natural. But one day I looked in the mirror and felt old and faded. My colorist matched my natural brown roots and my color became richer. And that's okay it makes my blue-green eyes pop. We tried one shade lighter which turned red and showed silver, slightly darker is better. There's still a hint of my natural gold outdoors, indoors I look brunette!

You can see my hair color change in the photos. I'll keep coloring until I'm 100% gray. After that, the Bright tonal palette will help me transition to gray hair, since it's not too warm!"

One of our favorite actresses...

Denise Black is one of my favorite character actresses and has kindly given me permission to use her photographs.  

I've always been intrigued to see how she happily coped with changing hair color over the years. With vibrant Warm coloring she wears and enjoys her strongest colors as much as she ever did.

Gloria contacted me after confusing results...

Gloria originally contacted me after confusing results from the free color quiz...  The free quiz is generic and of course it can't be completely accurate with so many variables - particularly if you're going through a time of transition.

Gloria was originally determined an Autumn and there was no reason to assume there had been any change, in fact, the photo shows her looking radiant with beautiful amber toned eyes echoing the Autumn colors. She can happily continue to wear and enjoy these colors unless she feels over powered, in which case look to the softer shades of the color palette.

"On my last hair color appointment in November 2014, I just decided that would be my last color and would go "natural". My hairdresser was somewhat negative and didn't think I'd like it but I decided I wouldn't be deterred and was doing it for me. I got tired of going every three weeks to cover the roots and wanted to see how my natural color would look. My husband was very supportive as I continued to have frequent trims at least every 8 weeks and my hairdresser changed her opinion and thought the color was very pretty!

"The first weeks were the hardest and I usually wore a headband to break up the color line. As time went on it started to look highlighted and I was getting many compliments. During my transition I discovered a few facebook sites dedicated to women and men who were and had transitioned, or were thinking about it. All are seeking support of their decision, as well as gaining information on the best hair products to use (shampoo/conditioner) makeup, clothing colors, etc.

My dark brown hair is now mostly my natural color of silver and white, eyes are brown/green, and I think I have medium contrast, although somewhat pale without makeup and blush, I can wear white and soft white, most greys, including charcoal, and a lavender blue also looks good on me.

I feel good about my decision to go natural and my hair seems to be healthier without all of the chemicals"

Carol had a confidence wobble!

Carol found her colors weren't working quite as easily once she turned grey. She had been wearing Autumn shades happily but suddenly they seemed over-powering. Turning grey is life-changing and it can sometimes shake your confidence making you doubt the colors you've been wearing and enjoying 'til now.

If that's happened to you, identify the Universal Colors in your color palette, every color family has a version and they suit just about everyone. Use those as your most flattering colors for a while until you begin to adjust. Even a scarf in one of these pretty colors will bring softness to your face and it will still harmonize with everything else in your wardrobe.

Autumn and the Universal Colors

Eileen still enjoys her Deep colors...

Eileen had been coloring her hair for some years and with dark eyebrows this was still looking good but she began to find it a little harsh, and upkeep a bit of a bore.  No harsh tones now - her complexion has come to life and she's still completely in tune with her deep colors.

"I decided to go with highlighting to 'ease' into a color change. First my hairdresser put heavy highlighting, one step away from the lightest, so the contrast between light and dark would not be so dramatic. I think she said 'like a skunk' and to give me time to adjust to the change. These first highlights, although ash, looked blonde to me and received compliments from others but I was not overly fond of them. On the next appointment I had a trim and added a few highlights of the lightest ash which blended very well with my inch long roots. The third visit was simply a trim. Some of the original dark brown can be seen but one or two more cuts should get me to my complete natural color.  At that point I may decide on a few low lights back into the hair to give it more dimension.  

With this approach I've gone from very dark brown to what you see in a painless and actually enjoyable process. To my surprise I've received many unsolicited compliments. Many have stated that they prefer it to the dark brown and I have to admit it feels more comfortable to me at this point in life and has actually been an outward marker of some inner changes in process for a couple of years. I have learned to listen to my heart and embrace the transformation of life as I travel on my pilgrimage through this land. I've let go of remnants of false teachings from our culture about beauty, ageing and dignity of life at every stage. 

If any women out there are hesitant but feel the tug, I would say 'avante' ".

Bobbie found a new color palette.

Bobbie was determined a Summer many years ago but had been finding colors difficult for some time. Once her hair started to turn grey she took a long look at her coloring again and realized that her hair colorant was causing the problem. 

I've put her photograph in a Cool color circle and she looks years younger already. Most hair colorants contain peroxide and fade often producing a yellowy tinge. Not good for a Cool! The Cool color family gives Bobbie more contrast than the soft Summer colors she was limited to.

"I have green eyes with a gray rim, the inside of my wrist has definite blue veins and if my hair was not colored would be a deeper medium brown. Now with lots of gray I'm in month 3 of the great 'grow out'.

I'm suddenly realizing that the cool shades do make my skin look healthier partly supporting the original Summer analysis and only my hair is off. I think what threw things for a long time was after I had breast cancer 25 years ago my hair grew in much darker and who knows what other changes in skin etc. that chemo caused. I also feel that too many American color consultants are putting too much emphasis on hair color nowadays and forgetting skin tone.

Don't know if this will be useful except maybe what not to do when you're coloring your hair!"

Mollie's story is fascinating, her silver hair glorious!

"I am  64 and lived, more or less, as a winter since the Color Me Beautiful days of the 80's. My father was a fair skinned, black haired Irish/Frenchman and my mother was French Creole. When I was young my hair was near black and I have dard brown eyes with no gold. My complexion is very close to that of Halle Berry; perhaps a bit lighter since getting older and losing melanin. I stopped coloring my hair 2 years ago and now have beautiful silver and black mixed - more silver than black. I know that hair color is not "supposed" to matter when determining season but it can't be ignored when getting dressed and looking at the total picture.

A year and a half ago I had an opportunity to be a training model and was determined a Dark Autumn. Whaaaa? I was truly thrown for a loop since so many of the autumn colors literally make me look sick - olives, golds, beiges and many of the terra cotta shades look like the dickens IMO especially with my silver hair. Not good at all....and I really did try! 

But, I had successfully worn SOME of the dark autumn shades; the purples, deep teals, darker reds and peacock blue tones are very good on me. So I was very excited to come across your website and discover the tonal method. I think this is just perfect for me; a blend of winter and dark autumn feels like "home".

I feel so many women who no longer color their hair become invisible and "old ladies" way before their time and would benefit greatly with the right colors and style.   My fashion icon is Helen Miren - no old lady vibe there!  She was a sexy young woman and is now a sexy mature woman, without being cartoonish".

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Update: "I spent the majority of my (successful) career in the interior design field and am very experienced dealing with color. To be told by an expert in the field that I had been essentially wrong with my own colors all those years made me question myself. Fortunately, discovering the Deep tonal colors (and loving my color fan) has got me back on track and feeling confident once again".

Mollie recommends 'Cafe Gray' where you can share the highs and lows of transitioning into grey with like minded women.