Gray Hair: You'll Like It until eventually Your Turn 30

When supermodel Kate Moss stepped onto the red carpet for the launch of her new bag line in 2010, the Hollywood A-listers gasped in surprise. Taking into consideration that the LA crowd witnesses epic weddings, sham marriages and 6-figure buying sprees without actually batting an eye, just what triggered such a stir in the world of celebrity gossip?

Kate Moss, the planet's most famous supermodel, was sporting gray streaks in her hair.

Well, we say gray hair; the real colour itself is a fairly pale lilac. But nevertheless, the style took off. Gray hair streaks could be viewed on essentially the most on-trend celebrities, hip music moguls and hipsters as they battled for the place in line at the hottest clubs. Evidently young trendsetters were a lot more determined than ever to stand out from the crowd with graying hair, the ultimate tongue-in-cheek rebellion against an older society that employs just about every trick in the book to prevent gray hair in its tracks.

Recent Nielsen studies indicate that we spend a whopping $1.3 billion per year to cover up our gray hair, so it tends to make perfect sense that gray hair would suddenly be embraced by young hipsters. Afterall, is there anything edgier than the power to rebel against one of the final taboos that exists within our image-conscious society? And in the event the fashion elite are embracing the developments - one fashion director at Elle Magazine said the trend was "more subversive than glamorous," while a NY stylist claimed that the look was "all about individuality - and something close to inaccessibility" [La Ferla, Ruth. "Young Trendsetters Streak Their Hair With Gray." New York Times 1 Apr. 2010]

So then what's stopping gray hair from becoming the new mainstream hair color?... The answer's simple: people commence becoming older.

The ageless Kate Moss aside, subversive gray streaks doesn't have precisely the same impression when you start growing them against your will. As younger hipsters start to age into their 30s and 40s, a important shift happens - they grow to be part of the $1.3 billion crowd. Whether it's a result of professional factors or simply just an aesthetic selection, the wish to stop the clocks is definitely an inherent part of the human condition. It's just an inevitable part of growing older. While sporting gray hair streaks now may seem to be edgy and cool thanks to youthful skin and luscious hair, in only a few years time and a few natural gray hairs later, you'll start to appear like everyone else. And in an image-conscious society that's wholly biased against gray hairs, it's enough to make even the hardest of hipsters reach for the nearest box of hair dye.

By all means, rock those pale platinum or lilac locks now - because once you hit 30, those gray hairs will start looking a little less "subversive" or "individualistic"...

...And a lot more like you've missed your latest hair appointment with your colorist!

About the Author:

Frederica Hegney is Moderator of the Grey Defence weblog.

Read our weblog to figure out what leads to gray hair and what particular techniques you could take to slow, stop or reverse grey hair.

You could also follow her on twitter @GreyHairDefence