From the streets of New York to the red carpets of Hollywood and even the sidewalks of Pensacola, there’s a new breed of sexy women who have grown weary of the endless cycle of dying their maturing tresses.

Check out silver foxes Dame Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep and Jamie Lee Curtis. Even Jennifer Lopez and Elizabeth Hurly have recently been photographed with silver strands peaking out of their million-dollar manes.

“It shows that women are more confident to be themselves,” said Barbara Fennell, a business partner in Experience Salon on Bayou Boulevard.

At 42, she said the natural gray streak peeking out from her dark bangs turns men’s heads.

“Every day, someone says they want my gray streak,” she said. “We have started doing a ton in the salon.”

Going gray is a sign of the times inspired, in part, by baby boomers returning to the flower-power philosophies of their more youthful days.

“You’re seeing it in everything,” Fennell said. “Everyone is coming into the salon drinking water. The whole trend in beauty is healthy. Makeup has shifted from heavy to natural. People are into comfort, even in clothes. Baby boomers are getting back to what is real, and more toward what is important.”

Whatever the reasons, women by the droves are letting their over-dyed manes go silver, white, pewter and every shade in between.

New York hair expert Mark Garrison, who provides hair and beauty trends to fashion magazines such as Vogue, In Style and Harper’s Bazaar, reported in a column in Ladies Home Journal that shades of gray are the newest, attention-grabbing hair color on the streets of the Big Apple.

Thanks to new hair treatments and conditioners, this once-maligned hair hue on women has become a style option that even the most glamorous women are embracing, he said.

Why shouldn’t they want what the Bible calls a “crown of glory?”

Far too long have women had to bear the irrational pressures that gray equals old age, while their graying male counterparts are admired, revered and swooned over.

Who are the sexist men alive? To name a few: silver-topped George Clooney and Anderson Cooper.

Vivacious at 53, Brenda Bischoff of East Hill said going gray has made her feel “classy.”

“I actually had gray streaks when my kids were little toddlers about 16 years ago,” said the real estate agent and Earth Day organizer.

“I’d get them dyed, and then the next day, you’d see roots. It got harder and harder to dye them.”

A few years ago, she reluctantly stopped dying, had the dye stripped and let the streaks go free.

“I had no idea what it would look like,” she said of the silver hair framing her temples. “When I got home, my daughter said, ‘You have wings.’ I like that. I think it’s unique.”

Nowadays, she is stopped often by women who want to know, “Where did you get those streaks?”

“Mother nature,” she tells them.

Mary Womack, a stunning woman of 59, believes Mother Nature had it right all the time.

“My take on it is: Mother Nature lightens your hair as you get older for a reason,” said Womack, who went gray at age 40. “As you get older, lighter hair is flattering to your skin tone.”

The Gulf Breeze resident said gray hair is more flattering than the bleached blonde she used to wear to mask the gray. Before she became salon manager of Studio Twenty-8, she was a client of Rodney Kehl, co-owner of the North Palafox salon.

“In Mary’s case, she was assisting our decorator when we were designing the previous salon,” Kehl said. “I kept looking at her and thought to myself ‘That’s a pretty lady.’ But I couldn’t get by that shock of yellow hair.”

He suggested that Womack forego the bleaching and reveal her natural color.

Mary’s naturally silver hair color is a cooler color than the yellow. That, coupled with a short, stylish hair style, revealed a stunning woman, Kehl said. “She is extremely attractive and fashionable.”

Women who embrace their gray need to do so with the right hair style and the right hair products, Kehl said.

“If you’re going to have gray hair, you need an edgy, dynamic hair style with very definite strong lines that’s right for your face. It comes off very sophisticated and put together.”

“If you have fabulous gray hair and fabulous shoes, what’s in between doesn’t matter,” Kehl said.
Going gray with grace and style

Tips from the experts:

Mark Garrison –
• The first step to a color-free future: Ask for a consultation with your colorist to discuss your hair’s particular needs, and then outline a plan for graying gracefully, which might include gradually decreasing the processing time for your regular single process formula, allowing the gray hair to become prominent gradually, adding lowlights for definition, and adding glosses for shine.
• Be sure to schedule regular appointments to ensure hair looks its best every step of the way to gray.
• Women need to understand that going gray is not your ticket to low-maintenance hair. You may be spending less time with your colorist, but your care treatment and product budget may increase. Gray hair needs constant maintenance and care from an arsenal of specific products to keep it from looking dull and drab.

Barbara Fennell –
• If you’re not ready to go completely gray, try a little peek-a-boo gray. This is done by covering the area you want to go natural and weaving in lowlights with a deeper color.
• Don’t try to grow your hair color out at the same time. Have your stylist weave in some lowlights that are a deeper color than your base color. This will de-emphasize your roots as the gray starts growing in. And the natural gray acts as highlights. You’ve got that natural look of gray peeking through, and it’s sexy
• As you go gray, you may need to update your cosmetics bag with a new color palette that enhances your look.

Mary Womack –
• Consider a shorter hairstyle while growing your locks gray. I cut my hair very short to let it grow out on its own. It wasn’t painful.
• A lot of times, you can control your hair better with products. As you get older, your hair gets wiry and drier, and it doesn’t have the shine as young hair. Pureology Shine Lux has a silver, lavender base and is good on gray. It’s gives your hair shine and hydrates and tames it.
• Avoid the mistake of going darker and darker to cover the gray. As you get older, darker hair is not the way to go.