There's no denying it, gray hair has been the most talked-about shade of the past year. Sure, some people have been googling how to cover it, but the biggest conversation has been how to embrace it or fake it. Either way, some serious gray appreciation is happening.
When we asked hairstylists their hair-color predictions for 2021, almost all of them spotlighted gray. But we've spotted one shade in particular taking off. Oyster-gray hair is the fresh, breezy, pearlescent color trend that's popping up all over Instagram, and it's perfect for summer.
The bright white-gray color brings together platinum blond with shimmering silver tones that look like the inside lining of an oyster shell. The key, though, is conditioning. The ultra-glossy, mother-of-pearl sheen is what elevates this color, which means hair masks and glossing treatments are this shade's best friend.
“This season we will definitely see a continuation of women embracing their gray hair,” says James Pryce, expert master stylist at Larry King Salon. Not only will we be embracing our God-given grays, but according to Pryce, we'll also be faking the gray with a little help from glosses, tints, and dyes.
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There will also be lots of hybrid shades that incorporate natural grays but emphasize them with the help of beautifully applied dye.
“We will see a lot of softer, finer, shimmering balayage,” says Tresemmé lead stylist Aaron Carlo. He reckons we'll see lots of silver shots and sparkling strands through hair to celebrate or incorporate grays. “Loads of people are embracing gray, so we'll see some amazing new ways to enhance the shade with toners and shampoos.”
To coincide with this boom in gray appreciation, the market has seen an explosion in innovation, with brands like John Frieda, Redken, and Moroccanoil all increasing their offerings to protect, enhance, or create silver-gray strands.
Spin-off shades have seen an uptick too. “Mushroom blonde,” a glossy greige, recently skyrocketed on Pinterest, with the search site noticing a 308% spike in users seeking out the shade. Even Bella Hadid toyed with the trend; she took to TikTok over lockdown to share a video of her with gray hair. Granted, it was just a really, really good filter, but with such an enthusiastic response from followers, she might be tempted to make it permanent. Who could blame her with shades this pretty? Scroll on for some of our favorite oyster-gray hair ideas.
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This story originally appeared on Glamour U.K.
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