Hot strands: silver-streaked hair

MANILA, Philippines - On my last birthday I decided to gift myself with something unusual — silver streaked hair. So what’s so unusual about that? In fashion, where it is commonplace to see platinum, pink, blue, or any other wildly colored hair, silver streaks hardly seem out of the ordinary…except when they are naturally your own.

I’ve always loved silver hair because it’s a hue that lends itself to a self-possessed demeanor. From a strictly aesthetic perspective, it’s one of the most modern colors around, and to me, is a shade as cool and interesting as platinum. But because of the current prejudice against silver hair looking old and tired, most people — myself included — would just thoughtlessly dye their hair dark every time a silver strand appeared.

Lightening up: Daphne Guinness and Kristen McMenamy

This year though, I decided that I would embrace my silver highlights and find ways to play them up instead of hiding them away. With a little online research, I discovered many fashionable women who looked stunning with their sleek silver coifs, from New York socialite and McQueen muse Daphne Guinness to revived fashion favorite Kristen McMenamy. 

I also found out that in recent shows at Paris Fashion Week, silver roots and silver strands were tinted onto the models’ hair. Talk about fashion inspiration! Silver hair is an accessory all on its own, so from brunette to silver-mane, I’m learning how to enjoy my “highlights” and slowly lighten up one silver strand at a time.