“I feel younger with gray hair”

I’ve always liked to play with my hair, whether it’s changing color or hairstyle. It was a way for me to express my personality and enhance my femininity. The idea of ​​not coloring them had never crossed my mind. It was even inconceivable for me, because society does not really value women over 40, white hair and signs of age. On the contrary, women rather feel compelled to hide their white hair because they think it makes them look younger and better about themselves. I was quite close to this point of view, until the day when an encounter changed my life, on the eve of my 50th birthday.

The click: a meeting that changed everything

I live in the East of France, in Alsace, a region which is often crossed by tourists on motorcycles. One day, I met a German biker: she had long, gray hair, a relatively young face and she was dressed entirely in leather. She had a strong woman side that assumes and I said to myself, “this is what I want to be!”. I was about to turn 50 and something clicked. I decided to stop coloring overnight. I wanted to assert my femininity, to assume who I was and to be as charismatic as this beautiful biker. In 2016, I launched my grey-so-what instagram account and then I meet a community of women who are going through the same thing as me.

In this photo, it’s just before I take the plunge. I find myself pretty and at the same time a little stiff…

The transition: I decided to cut everything

When you want to take charge of your white hair, you unfortunately have to go through a somewhat thankless stage… that of regrowth. I waited to have a good ten centimeters of natural roots then I made an appointment at the hairdresser and I cut everything ! I made a pixie cut (between the short cut and the square), I only had a few small brown locks left on the tips. It’s much prettier, in my opinion, because you don’t stay for months with two-tone hair. Some hairstylists may also offer different techniques to create a natural fade. This allows for a smoother transition.

With my new short, gray hair, I completely changed my look and it looked great on me. But I always had in mind this beautiful woman with her long gray hair. And I said to myself, now that there is no more colored hair, let it grow! During this transition, I received some teasing: “don’t you want 100 bullets for your roots?”. But I have a lot of humor and self-mockery, so that didn’t bother me too much.

The thankless and endless stage of regrowth…

My first short haircut with gray hair!

A new life with gray hair

I immediately noticed that people’s eyes had changed on me, especially that of women. They are more curious and ask me questions about my hair color. I also notice that many men of a younger age group than me follow me on social networks. For my part, this new hair color has helped me to take responsibility for myself and to feel good about myself: I stand up straight, I wear makeup, I take care of myself. It made me stronger. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel more in tune with my age.

I realized that life doesn’t stop when you have gray hair, on the contrary, it opened doors for me. Thanks to my new look and my low visibility on social networks, I signed different contracts in modeling agencies, in France and in Europe. I became a senior model. I shot with Camille Cerf for the Pomme Poire collection, Le Slip Français… it’s skyrocketed in recent years! If I hadn’t fully assumed my gray hair, I might never have experienced this. Modeling didn’t become my job, it’s a little extra beside my professional activity, and it gave me a new breath and a new energy. I advise all women who wish to assume responsibility and leave their gray hair visible.

Sandrine’s 3 tips for coping with her gray hair:

• The interview : I use a yellowing shampoo every other wash to neutralize yellow reflections. White hair is more porous and captures more pollution particles which can dye it or make it dull.
• Makeup : gray hair offers a fairly neutral “frame” to the face, which allows you to dare more things in terms of make-up, a pretty red lipstick, a sparkling blush or a nice line of eyeliner.
• Haircut : to break the aging side of gray hair, I opt for a trendy, modern and well-worked haircut. I love to wear a pretty square or rework the gradient of my cut regularly in the salon.

The eye of the expert: Gianni Coppa, hairdresser founder of the R Factory Paris salon (15th)

I’m not surprised by Sandrine’s evolution and the fact that she feels much better with her gray hair.
A few years ago, we had already observed the trend of returning to natural with the “nappy” movement (contraction of “natural” and “happy”) for frizzy hair. Today, women want to assume natural and accept their age, and they are worn by personalities such as Andie Mcdowell or Sarah Jessica Parker. In the salon, many of them want to stop coloring and display beautiful gray hair and for this there are different techniques:

• Gray blending : this consists of letting 5 to 10 centimeters of roots grow and bleaching all the rest of the hair to recreate white hair and break the demarcation as much as possible. This can be achieved with a minimum of 60% white hair.
• The patina : it’s a bit like the top coat of a nail polish. This technique makes it possible to shade and bring shine to white hair but also to neutralize yellow reflections. It fades in 3 to 5 shampoos.
• Hair contouring : by bleaching a few locks on the contours of the face, you can nuance salt and pepper hair, bring contrast and boost the radiance of the complexion. We can really bring a sophisticated and worked side to gray hair.

Clients sometimes know what they want and often don’t. I direct them to the technique that I think will suit them best. Afterwards, they are always the ones who have the last word.