By Amneris Solano
Staff writer
Norma Cappelletti's shiny silver hair draws a lot of compliments.
"Everybody keeps telling me that it's gorgeous," said Cappelletti, a Pinehurst resident who once served as a Connecticut State Representative.
The mother of four stopped dying her hair brown six years ago and decided to let her natural silver color shine through.
"Finally, you get to an age when you realize your children are going gray, your husband's hair is white. What am I doing?" Cappelletti said. "Why bother? Why not just take the plunge? And I'm glad I did."
Cappelletti is among a growing number of women who are embracing their gray, or in her case - pearly white. While many woman continue to spend billions on hair color to cover gray, those who are choosing to age gracefully say it's not just a matter of convenience. Keeping the gray also shows self-confidence and comfort in their maturity.
Cappelletti moved to Pinehurst from Connecticut in the mid 1980s. When she decided to stop dying her hair, she worked with her hair stylist Billie Ertter, who is owner of Hair Biz @ the Cottage Salon in Southern Pines. Ertter worked with her for months, allowing her hair to transition gradually from dyed to silver through periodic cuts, Cappelletti said.
Now, she said, maintaining it is a cinch.
"I come in once a week and he does his magic," she said. "It's finally giving up the hassle."
Ertter, who has been a hair stylist for 27 years, said more clients are asking him for advice on how to make the switch from dying to embracing their gray.
"Many of my hair color clients are questioning: Should I? Can I? How do I?" he said. "I say if your hair is turning gray and you are ready to embrace that change, then don't listen to the naysayers."
Examples of Hollywood beauties who wear their gray with pride are Jaime Lee Curtis, who sports a silver cropped cut, and Oscar winner Helen Mirren, a sophisticated silver-haired beauty. Other famous women who have made gray trendy are TV chef Paula Deen and singer Annie Lennox.
"Gray or white hair on a mature woman, I believe, is quite refined," Ertter said.
Cosette Nix, a retired English teacher who lives in Fayetteville, went natural about six months ago. Nix said she decided to make the change after getting a haircut that showed off her silver hair.
"The natural color was just really beautiful. I just thought it was very flattering and why pay to change it?" Nix said. "My father is 89, and his hair is pure white. I'm 63, and if mine were to be that white, I just think it would be really flattering."
Nix wears her hair in a pixie cut that she can easily style with a quick wash, a bit of mousse and finger tousling. She credits the ease of styling to having a good haircut by her stylist, Jenina Wacharamai of The Marie David Salon & Spa on Owen Drive.
"In a former life, I had hair down to the middle of my back and I had a French twist and it was very glamorous," Nix said. "This (new haircut) is just nice. Jenina just gives me a wonderfully textured haircut, and that's probably why I think I like it so much."
Pat Collins, who works as a player's assistant at the Pinehurst Resort, is in the early stages of embracing her gray hair. One of her sons, she said, is planning to get married in September in Chicago. She wasn't certain whether she wanted to have gray hair in the wedding pictures, so she's been transitioning slowly by getting a honey color stain that helps her hair appear glossy without completely washing away the gray.
"My dad had beautiful gray hair, (and mine) was coming in in streaks. So I thought, let's just see what it will do for me," Collins said. "I like it. It still gives me highlights. I do have different shades of gray. It wasn't a flat color at all."
Ertter also is her hair stylist. He said using a color stain is good way for women with graying hair to make the transition.
"It's really translucent," he said. "On white hair or silver hair, a wash of honey blonde becomes a wash of honey but still very much gray/white. It just eases that process, and it looks very natural."
Eli High, owner of Eli & Company - An Everyday Celebrity Salon on Ferncreek Drive, said another way to transition to gray is to get a combination of highlights or low lights, which helps to balance your color. High said keeping your hair trimmed is most important so it always looks its best. Regular haircuts prevent dead ends that can make hair look damaged.
"They've got to keep up those haircuts at least every six weeks," High said. "You want to make sure that you get it shaped up."
Keeping your hair clean is also important, said Noelyne Langston, owner of Noelyne Ltd. off Owen Drive. Oils from the scalp or minerals from water can make hair looked discolored, she said. Talk to your stylist, she said, about what products work best for clarifying gray or white hair.
"At-home care is important," Langston said. "You just need to make sure whatever products you're using don't build up on the hair."
Wacharamai, a stylist, at The Marie David Salon, recommends using a violet-based shampoo, which will get rid of yellow tones.
"Be careful not to overuse, or you can make your hair look purple. No worries if this happens, it will go away after a few shampoos," she said.
"Another key to wearing your hair naturally is to take good care of it, by doing regular conditioning treatments," Wacharamai said. "Gray hair tends to be more coarse, so it is important to keep it healthy and moisturized so it will look smooth and shiny."
Suzanne Wright, a retired registered nurse who lives in Pinewild, has regular hair cuts to maintain her shiny silver hair, which contains streaks of light brown. She wears her hair in a cropped pixie cut.
Wright, who is 68 and has seven children, said she started getting gray hair in her 20s. Premature graying runs in her family so she's been covering up her gray for more than 30 years. She had considered stopping hair color for about five years. In November, she decided it was time to take the plunge.
"If I wanted the gray not to show, I was getting my hair colored every three weeks," said Wright, whose husband is a retired Army colonel. "Because I have baby fine thin hair I thought, how can these products - these chemicals - every three weeks be doing my poor pitiful hair any good? Let's do it a favor and at least take the chemical processing out of the equation."
Staff writer Amneris Solano can be reached at solanoa@fayobserver.com or 486-3521.