Make Gray Look Great

Photo by Melissa Donald

Model: Bernie Mudd-White, owner of Mudd Graphic Design Resources
Age: 54

Choosing her natural gray hair in place of color has made daily hair maintenance much easier for Bernie. She decided to let her hair show its natural color at age 40 because coloring her hair had become a hassle and she didn’t want to put damaging chemicals on it.


Bernie’s hairstylist, Whitney McKenna of Hair Strobel (3120 Frankfort Avenue, 502.899.9113), says going gray (or as we at Today’s Transitions like to say, “silver”) should be done gradually to protect the integrity of the hair. “If I have a client with medium brown hair that is 95 percent gray, I will keep coloring the hair for a little while, but would go a level lighter each time they come in, and I’d add in highlights,” she says. When the hair becomes blonde, she adds a semi-permanent silver color to the hair to closely match the hair's natural gray tone.

If you want to show some gray hair but aren’t ready to abandon hair color yet, Whitney suggests using highlights around the face for softness. Since gray hair becomes more coarse, Whitney says you should use a smoothing product or Moroccan oil with defrizzing properties.

Makeup Matters
Denise Cardwell, makeup artist at Blades Salon & Spa, shares some tips on how she used makeup to complement Bernie’s gray hair.

• Matched the brows to the base color near the scalp
• Applied a light pink topped with a darker pink shade on her lips for dimension
• Used matte colors for her eyes and cheeks
• Used a shadow to line her eyes instead of a liquid liner