Silver Hair: Say Goodbye to the Dye and Let Your Natural Light Shine: A Handbook

I pre-ordered this book almost a year ago (back in March of 2017), and am so happy that it's finally out! Although I've already transitioned to my silver hair and just passed my three-year dye-free anniversary, this is such an invaluable resource -- for those who are thinking about transitioning, for those who are in the process, and also for those who have already finished.If you're not familiar with Lorraine Massey, she's the author of  Curly Girl: The Handbook  and the creator of the Deva Curl line of hair products. Her book helped launch the Curly Girl Method of not using silicones or sulfates on your hair, and helped me make the transition to embracing my natural waves when I first discovered her book over seven years ago. This new book does the same thing for the silver-hair movement that her previous book did for the curly-hair movement, and is a wonderful guide to embracing your natural silver hair.The book is organized into several main sections:* The Glories of Being Silver -- explains the benefits of going dye-free* Enlightened -- provides suggestions for how to grow out your hair without adding any chemicals* The Highs and Lows of Transitioning -- explains how you can use highlights and lowlights to help with the growing-out process* Silver Streaks -- explains how adding a few streaks can help make the transition easier* Pixie Magic -- shows examples of how cutting your hair short can help start the process* Dyeing to Be Silver -- highlights (no pun intended) how adding silver can jump-start the transition* Glorious Grey to Stay -- includes homemade recipes to help keep your hair healthy and shiny, especially if you want to avoid silicones and sulfates* Silver Wear -- covers how to select clothes and makeup for your new coloringWhat's great about this breakdown is that it covers all the various techniques that are out there for transitioning so that you can make the best decision as to how you want to go about it. For me personally, when starting the transition process, I had considered adding highlights or going for a pixie cut, but decided in the end to cut about 13 inches off my waist-length hair and to gradually grow it out. The first few months (when it looked like I was just lazy about coloring my roots and had a "skunk stripe," as it's called, going on) were the hardest, but using different styling techniques and cutting off most of my hair made the process easier for me. After initially cutting it to that shoulder-length lob, about ten months in, I decided to get it cut to just below my ears.The last two chapters are especially invaluable, and I also love how many photos are included throughout the book to show what the process looks like on so many different women. Seeing photos provides motivation and makes the process seem less scary. It helps to know what to expect as you start this journey.As mentioned at the start of my review, I just passed the three-year mark of being dye-free. When I made the decision to stop dying my hair at the age of 43, only a small handful of my friends were supportive; most told me that letting my silvers sparkle would age me, and there were only a few books out there that helped with the process. I decided to trust my instincts and stop dyeing, and have been so happy with that decision. Although I have much less grey than I thought I did and it seemed to take so long to grow out, the process helped me learn a lot about myself. The decision to stop coloring is such a personal one; many women stop because they can no longer handle the fumes or because they have allergic reactions to the chemicals in the dye. For me, it started because I wanted to move away from chemical color and had been doing my own henna for a few years, but it had stopped covering the grey. I finally realized that I also wanted to dismantle the stereotype that women can't look chic and youthful when they embrace their greys. Whatever your epiphany or "ah ha!" moment is, this book can help you through those rough patches that are bound to crop up.Here are a few other tips while transitioning:* If you're on Facebook, consider joining some of the grey hair groups that are out there. Checking in and seeing the process and the finished looks helped keep me on course during the process and kept me from wavering.* Take monthly progress photos. It helps motivate you to see how you *are* making progress, even when it may not feel that way. (Warning: when you were dying your hair, it seemed like it would grow so quickly and you always had to color your roots, but when you're growing it out, time seems to slooooow way down! :-) )* Start a Pinterest board of inspirational women with silver locks. When I felt my resolve wavering (and, to be honest, it's happened even recently), looking at those photos helped remind me that silver hair doesn't age you. I still pin new looks and images of silver goddesses to inspire me.* Check out blogs and websites for more ideas. Lauren of How Bourgeois in particular has some wonderful posts about the process, as well as tricks for styling your hair during the grow-out process. Her half-up style was my go-to to help hide the demarcation line.My hairstylist (who does Deva cuts for curly hair) said that Lorraine Massey may also be coming out with a line of hair products for silver hair, and I sure hope that she does!Wherever you're at in your journey, I'd recommend getting this book. The information is so helpful and important, and I know I will return to this book again and again for ideas, just as I do with the _Curly Girl: The Handbook_. Lorraine, if you're reading this review, thank you for shining your light on us and providing us with such wonderful information!

I’ve been coloring my hair since I was 23 and I’m sick of it! (I’m 45 now.) I tried to ditch the dye a few years ago and after 4 months, I cracked and went back to the colorist. While my hair looked ok, I was mad at myself for putting in all that time for nothing. I’ve been wondering when the appropriate age is to stop coloring the greys and you know what...there is no set age. It’s up to you. At first I thought I’d wait until after 50, and then it was when I turn 46. Then after a conversation with my Deva stylist a few months ago, I ordered this book. By page 18, I was hooked on the feeling that while I’m going to EVENTUALLY ditch the dye, I will be utilizing highlights and lowlights to get me over the worst of it.The point is, no matter how you’re going to tackle this change, this book will explain the science behind going grey/silver, utilizing color to attain this goal, or even going cold turkey!By only page 18, I was 100% positive that I’m making the right decision to ditch the dye. I highly recommend this book!!!!

Really enjoyed reading parts of this tonight and all the pictures, tips and stories. I really like this book. 😊👏🕊

I'm completely gray in the front half of my head, but am mixed gray and brown at the back of my head. My stylist has been highlighting and bleaching to get my entire head the same color.After reading this book, I have courage to stop with all the processing and just grow out my hair naturally. Of course, this courage only came after I used a color eraser and a bleach wash to take out what color my stylist had put into my hair. It left me with yellow orange hair with weird roots. Thankfully, the book made a suggestion to mix purple food coloring with your conditioner to tone down brassiness. I am using LorAnn Purple Liquid Food Coloring (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FPXKFQU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) to great effect. Just three drops in my leave-in conditioner is doing a great job of toning down the yellow/orange.I must admit that during quarantine, I have the courage to let my roots grow out. We'll see how well that courage stands once I can go about business as normal. Though all those pictures showing different heads of hair as the gray was allowed to grow in gives me hope that I will stand my ground.

Great book for those looking to transition to grey colors after 60+. It's all about acceptance & knowing who you are in later life stages. I loved it!

I am at the beginning of my going gray journey. I’m in my early 50s and had been dying my hair for about 10 years.This is a very inspirational and positive book. Many of the women in this book had different reasons for going gray but what they all had in common was that they had no regrets after doing it. There are also different ways to go gray from going “cold turkey”to having your colorist assist you in slowly revealing the gray.This book left me feeling good about my decision. The reason I’m not giving it five stars is because African American women were hugely underrepresented in this book. There is only one in the entire book. This was disappointing. Part of what helps you to feel good about this journey is seeing women who look like you. Thankfully there are online resources for this.

This marvelous guidebook helped me transition from dying my hair to my authentic self! I love my grey hair, worn in a pixie cut (a style I've worn since high school) and now wish I had allowed myself the opportunity to go from dyed red to silver! This empowering book is so helpful I have shared with others who are now starting their journey to empowerment!

Good info about embracing all things grey/silver hair - the only such info I have come across in the UK.Lots of stories from ladies who have taken the plunge and ditched the dye!This is a book from America so you can expect lots of soul searching and “I’m now living my best life” comments etc but it doesn’t take away from the fact that this is an interesting subject that deserves more conversations in the UK and it has prompted me to start my own ‘journey’ away from endless, pointless, expensive hair dyeing 🥳Try it!

Really uninformative book. Not what I expected. Have applied for a refund.

Great read to help guide people to freeing their "silver hair."Give it a read then go visit your stylist to figure out which method will be the best attack for your individual needs.

Maybe I should have read the product description more carefully as unfortunately this book is of little use or relevance to me.This book has 191 pages and 148 of them are about how to stop colouring your grey hair and let the natural colour grow through one way or another. As I already went through this stage, and now have naturally silver hair, the first six of the eight chapters were of little use to me.The final two chapters are about taking care of silver hair and choosing clothes and makeup appropriate for silver hair. These two chapters are somewhat superficial and short. The home made recipes for hair conditioners and tonics include ingredients I’ve never heard of in the UK such as green gram and Indian gooseberry juice.This book is very much aimed at the US reader and although there are some nice pictures and interesting personal stories it’s not the book for me and I will be returning it.

Loads of american style chatty testimonial case studies with before/during/after photos - useful, but biased to curly haired women. But lacking in british style text box summaries/tables/diagrams/science. Could have done with an overall table summarising pros and cons of different approaches to embracing the grey. Also needs more detail on make-up/clothing styles for grey hair with different skin and eye tones: this chapter very minimal and disappointing. Some of the 'during transition' photos looked horrendous and the women said they'd covered up with hats for a few months - hardly practical when we spend most of our time indoors with friends/family/work colleagues that we want to look half decent in front off (total strangers in the street are not so much of a concern).