Men’s Grooming: Dealing With Grey Hair

Men’s Hair: A Grey Area

Much like the ever popular Ask The Expert feature, this week’s grooming topic comes courtesy of a request from one of the loyal FashionBeans readers. But while it’s a personal request, it’s a topic that we’ll all have to deal with at some stage – and that’s turning grey. While it might not top our list of hair concerns (yeah we’re looking at you, hair loss), going grey can be a real concern.
It all starts when the pigment which gives our hair colour stops being produced – making the hair appear transparent. And it’s this transparent hair that stands out as grey amongst the healthy hair, lacking nutrients and often appearing stiff, brittle and dry. But enough geek speak, we all know what grey hair looks like but it’s about how you deal with it that I’m going to explore in this article.

In terms of dealing with turning grey, most people fall into one of two camps. You either see grey hair as a sign of power, maturity and sophistication and embrace your transformation into a ‘silver fox’, or you associate going grey with acquiring a free bus pass and picking up your pension. Not wanting to leave anyone out, I’ve put together some tips for those who love, and those who loathe their grey…

Embrace the grey

While the knee jerk reaction for woman is to reach for the hair dye, it seems that for men going grey isn’t always seen as a negative. Is George Clooney any less of a pin-up since his hair turned grey? No. Is it just football fans that admire Jose Mourinho? Most certainly not. It’s less about going grey and more about your attitude towards it – if you embrace grey hair with the confidence to pull it off then it can work in your favour.
So where to begin? Well first thing’s first if you chose to embrace your greying hair then you’ll need to pick a shampoo that works with your lighter grey tones and not against them. Many regular shampoos can cause grey hair to turn yellow, as the grey hair absorbs the colouration of the shampoo – not a strong look. But luckily there are specially formulated products like L’Oreal Professionnel Homme Grey and Redken For Men Silver Charge designed to enhance the look of your hair, offering moisture and shine without a yellow tone in sight.

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In addition to choosing the right shampoo, your choice of hair style and the styling products you use also have a huge impact on your ‘silver fox’ status. Take grey hair stalwart George Clooney – his close, cropped cut gives him a definite air of masculine charm and accentuates his ‘salt and pepper’ look. It’s all about a short, sharp cut around the back and sides keeping it natural with texture and definition on the top, but this can obviously vary depending on your age and overall style.
As far as styling product goes the key things to look out for are texture, definition and a matt finish. Avoid ‘wet look’ products as they’ll only further differentiate the greys from the rest, and choose one of these styling favourites:

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Cover the grey

Embracing the transformation into a ‘silver fox’ isn’t an option some wish to consider, as many feel that it ages them and doesn’t do their confidence any favours. In this case the obvious path to take is to dye your hair, and when it comes to tackling hair colour I’ve got a couple of pointers that can help you avoid any complications in covering grey that could further knock your confidence.

Find The Perfect Match

If you choose to colour your hair at home, take the time to find the perfect match if you hope to achieve a seamless colour blend. Don’t forget that your aim is to work with your existing tones, rather than completely change the colour of your hair. A strong option from a name you can trust is L’Oreal Excell 5, which has one of the widest colour ranges on the mainstream market. Plus, don’t ever be tempted to skip the instructions under any circumstances, otherwise you’ll only have yourself to blame for poor performance.

Consider Professional Help

While it might seem embarrassing to seek professional help, I cannot recommend visiting a professional salon or barber highly enough. You may have to pay a little bit more for your visit than a bog standard hair dye, but you’ll get the care and advice that could make all the difference. Each salon will use their own individual brands, and have their own price list, but I’d advice you too see what’s out their and reap the rewards of expert help.

Don’t Abandon After Care

Ask any women who regularly colours her hair and she’ll tell you that the quality of the after care is nearly as important as the colour itself. If you abandon a hair care routine after your cover up treatment you’ll start to see grey hair, and poor overall condition return before you know it. A uni-sex salon brand of the very highest quality, Label.m have a great shampoo and conditioner for coloured hair that will ensure your colour lasts as long as your new found confidence.

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Conclusion

Which ever path you take on your grey hair journey there is one constant, so be sure to continue a textbook hair care regime – shampooing and conditioning to keep your ageing hair soft, shiny and in tip top nick. What’s great about FashionBeans is that it gives those of you experiencing the same grooming dilemmas to get in touch and share advice. So if you’ve got any grey hair related tips of your own please leave your comments below.
Alternatively, if you’ve got a grooming related question or topic that you like covered, drop me an email at duncan@fashionbeans.com and I will do my best to help you out in future articles.