HAIRDESIGNER TV INTERVIEWS DIANA

This is where the hair pros go for advice, information and current trends. It’s a wonderful website created by Vivienne Mackinder, a major powerhouse in the industry. As a former Artistic Director for Vidal Sassoon and Trevor Sorbie, she developed her expertise for precision cutting and her eye for original hair design, and has earned the title master stylist many times over. Today, she’s always whizzing around to do seminars and events around the country, collecting awards (her latest, to a standing ovation, from the North American Hairstyling Awards for her achievements within the profession, as an artist and film maker), doing runway collections, editorial and advertising, producing her documentary film series about the “legends” in the industry, and managing this sensational website. If there’s a pro out there who doesn’t know about it, go to http://www.hairdesignertv.com NOW! In fact, all of you can go there to see what’s really going on in hairstylist-land. Including this interview, the first of three segments. Although this was originally taped just before our site went up, it’s airing on her site now, and here!

NICOLE SHOWS 'EM

The Daily Mail, a newspaper in England, had a few choice words to say about Nicole Kidman’s itty bitty silvery roots. None of them really nice. She was guest of honor at a star-studded party in Beverly Hills, sponsored by Elle Magazine. And – horrors, to the Daily Mail – she let her roots show. They kidded her about skipping a color appointment, making a “misstep in her otherwise impeccably groomed” appearance, and giving in to the stress of new motherhood. Readers of this article did write in with kinder comments, but it just goes to show you. People think you can’t be glam and gray, too? I think Nicole disproves that! Photo: Splash.

GET THE PARTY STARTED!

Two-time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Pink burst on the scene in 2000, but it was her second rock-based album, Missundaztood, that put her on the map, going gold or platinum in more than 20 countries. Pink took a break after her third album didn’t meet expectations. In 2006, she came out with the tellingly entitled album, I’m not Dead. That did it, re-establishing her as a top global artist. So far, Pink has sold over 25 million albums, with Funhouse due for release this October. Born Alecia Beth Moore in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Pink’s original image was bright pink hair. Saying she never liked that, she switches back and forth, going blonde, white, whatever. Featured on the remix of India.Arie’s song, “I Am Not My Hair,” I guess Pink really proves it!

THE NEW CELEBRITY

According to a new NPD Group study reported in Women’s Wear Daily, our “taste” in celebrities is changing. Now we want “comfort” celebs; those who will come into our home, tell us how to cook, how to decorate, how to live. We prefer good advice to ga-ga glamour. We’d rather have a friend than someone who makes us feel like we should drop about 20 pounds. Could it be the economy? Insecurity about the future? Could we be tired of seeing excess extravagance? Annoyed at re-hab ingénues? Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University, says it reflects the fragmentation of American culture. Whatever the reason, I like it that chefs like Paula Deen (“most trusted”) and Rachael Ray and good-old home designer Ty Pennington have won our hearts. It’s so homey, so, well, comforting. And, personally, I’d trust anyone with silver/white hair!

ROOTS ARE IN!

Us Magazine has captured Jennifer Lopez, several times in fact, sporting about an inch of salt and pepper on her head. She showed up at the ALMA Awards on May 7th and Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People party on May 8th unafraid to flash what is commonly known as the “skunk stripe.” Gee, with new babies, who has time for hair color, anyway? The actress is 36, and rumors abound, she’s joined the revolution! Takeaway point: If you've got roots, flaunt 'em. Never before has the "in" style been so kind to transitioners! Photo: Everett Collection.

THIS REPORTER IS THE NEWS!

While we’re beginning to see a few women anchors and reporters sporting gray hair, they’re definitely in the minority. But Jill Dougherty, U.S. Affairs Editor for CNN International, is a shining example of silver. And what an accomplished woman! Previously managing editor of CNN International Asia Pacific, and, before that, Moscow Bureau Chief, Dougherty covered critical world events, including the presidencies of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, the post-Soviet economic transition, and the conflict in Chechnya. As a former White House correspondent, she was part of the CNN team that won the American Journalism Review’s 1993 Award for Best White House Coverage. But her biggest assignment came when she had to tackle breast cancer. Diagnosed in 1999, she took the appropriate steps, underwent treatment, and covered stories in Moscow during chemo. She reported that her hair did come back, but it was “never the same.” Maybe it’s better!

AMERICAN SALON SAYS GRAY IS SUDDENLY SEXY!

American Salon, one of the most influential magazines for hair professionals, devoted a full-page article to Going Gray, Looking Great! in the April issue. Written by Editor-in-Chief, Marianne Dougherty, "Gray's Anatomy" asks the critical question: "Should you be concerned if your clients want to give in to the light side?" Then offers ample encouragement for salons to take us seriously! She advises salons to order copies of the book for their customers, so maybe one of these days soon, you'll be able to find it at a salon near you! Favorite quote? "Diana Lewis Jewell's Going Gray, Looking Great! is a no-nonsense guide for going gray." Second favorite quote comes from Brad Johns, color director at Elizabeth Arden Red Door, who likens going through transition to re-hab -- he calls it "grayhab!" Oh, don't we know!

Thought you might like to read the article in its entirety, so I’m putting it here.

AARP STAR

The May/June issue of AARP Magazine features Jamie Lee Curtis on its cover. Emerging from a pool, with nothing but a smile and her short crop of gray hair, she’s celebrating turning 50 in an article by Nancy Griffin. Jamie’s all for stripping down to her “essential being,” which includes only wearing black and white, clean living, and clean lines. The actress, author and spokesperson born of Hollywood royalty (Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis) has decided to focus on the things that are important to her: family, charities, and an occasional film role (as long as it doesn’t interfere with her life.) The silver hair? It’s all part of being just who she is.

WHO'S IN THE NEWS? WE ARE!

The March issue of Hair's How Magazine, subscribed to by salon professionals, has an article on helping baby boomers gray gracefully. Written by Naomi Mannino, it urges stylists to really listen to women when they want to go gray, know their products, and come up with creative ways to help a woman transition. As more and more salons discover that the graying customer should be taken seriously, more and more of us will be able to get the cut, styling, and color services we all want. But here’s my favorite quote: “Advise [clients] to check out the book and the website at www.goinggraylookinggreat.com to educate themselves on all the different ways you can help them look great, no matter what way they gray. Check it out yourself if you’re young and unsure of the choices for this market.” I don’t know about the young part, I think some seasoned pros need to look at gray in a whole new way too. But, really, I’m delighted that the word is reaching the professional community, because in the end, we all like being pampered – and respected – in a salon. Visit Hair's How at www.hairshow.us

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC PLAYS NORTH KOREA

That, in itself, is news. The musical ambassadors of the oldest orchestra in the United States played a concert in North Korea February 26th, opening the doors of this closed society just a crack to Western culture. Playing a program of their own choosing, including our national anthem and George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris,” they received an enthusiastic reception and played encore after encore. So what does this have to do with gray hair? Our own great gray, Irene Breslaw Grapel, was playing in her usual position of second chair, as assistant principal viola, with the orchestra. I can always spot Irene at concerts. She is in the chair closest to the audience, second row. But what really grabs my attention is her snow white hair (looking a bit longer now than it did when she was first photographed for Going Gray, Looking Great!) This performance is just one stop on their Asian tour, which includes Beijing and Seoul. But I’m dying to ask her all about it when she gets back, including how did her glistening white crop go over in a land predominated by black hair? I’m sure she’ll have lots of stories to tell. Stay tuned.

IS OSCAR GOING GRAY?

First, there was Judi Dench, then Helen Mirren. Now, Ruby Dee is up for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the Oscar ceremonies for her performance in Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster.” And she’s a great gray if there ever was one. Well, she should be – hard to believe, but she’s 83. Still, the gal knows how to glam, and we can expect to see her looking lovely on Oscar night. Her role as Mama Lucas, the loving mother of Harlem heroin kingpin Frank Lucas, alongside Hollywood heavyweights Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington, is considered pivotal, and has already earned her a SAG award. Will she grab the gold? Adding her very first Oscar to her Emmy, Grammy and SAG statue? Stay tuned. If you’re reading this after Oscar weekend, we’re keeping it up because we like her pic, anyway! Go, Ruby!

THE CLOONEY IDENTITY

As reported by Women’s Wear Daily, February 15, 2008, Just for Men, the bestselling U.S. haircoloring brand for men, is caving a bit to those who want to keep their grays and look great doing it. Now they’re launching Touch of Gray, a five-shade lineup for men who want to find just the perfect shade to give them that Clooney/Cooper/Gere thing. The packaging reads “Lets you keep some gray,” and “Works gradually,” but what I don’t get is – why are the shades called Light Brown, Medium Brown, Dark Brown, Black and Jet Black? It’s like being a little bit pregnant. The president of the company says “It would reduce a man who is 50% gray to a darker color, closest to the color he had previously.” Men, go gray or not! Look for it at a store near you at the end of March. And watch for lots of advertising, too.

BOOZERS ARE COLOR LOSERS?

This is an interesting tidbit picked up from an article in Allure by Kristin Cobb, and also an AOL Health Watch article reported by Chris Sparling on gray hair and alcohol consumption. Seems a study published in Archives of Dermatology (January, 2007) conducted by Australian doctor Albert Stuart Reece suggested a link between gray hair and addiction to alcohol or drugs. Dr. Reece found that 53% of people addicted to drugs or alcohol had substantial gray hair, versus 16% of those who did not have a substance abuse problem. Reece speculated, “women drinking more than 2 drinks each day may be in the toxic zone.” Chris Sparling pulled no punches by stating “regular boozers have twice the amount of premature gray hair as people who lay off the sauce.” He also upped the ante by suggesting that as few as three drinks per day is enough to affect hair color. So what is it? Two drinks, three drinks? Who’s counting? The point is, nobody knows how much alcohol is “safe.”

The crux of both articles is alcohol may damage stem cells that make hair pigment. Well, gang, so do lots of other things. We might as well include smokers here, too. Studies have shown that smokers are 4 times more likely to become prematurely gray (or bald!) Nicotine, when absorbed by the body, constricts the body’s blood vessels. You knew that. But think about it. If you can’t pump pigment or other vital nutrients to the follicles, what do you think happens? Of course, there are always exceptions. I know a 61 year-old man who smokes like a demon, has all his hair, and 99% of his natural color! And even the best of families can have ole' greataunt Millie who drinks a fifth of vodka every day and dies a flaming redhead.

Several prescription drugs can interrupt the normal hair-growth cycle, as well, so hair falls out faster, and you notice more and more gray hair. Even certain vitamins and herbal supplements have been implicated in pigment loss. There’s a long list of possible causative factors for graying in Going Gray, Looking Great!, including things your body’s going to put you through naturally, like hormonal shifts, menopause, and autoimmune diseases. So let’s go a little lighter on those who choose to consume (although, hopefully, not in excess.) Judging from the heated comments the AOL article inspired, people are going to do what they want. And what their bodies do to them in return is part their own doing, part nature’s.

TOO FUNNY TO LEAVE OUT

This wonderful clip was sent in by our Member, Lori (Plinkette). And while you may have seen it in the Café, it’s worth putting in here. Maybe we’re all crazy!

WEIRD SCIENCE

On a day in May, 2004 (just about the same time Going Gray, Looking Great! was first published), Amanda Onion reported on a strange phenomenon for ABC News that was copyrighted again in 2008 by ABC News Internet Ventures. The article mentioned that Chris Gummer, a senior research fellow at Procter & Gamble labs in London, UK, was working on a pill that would prevent graying. Seems he felt this natural process was devastating.

"One gray fiber is enough to shatter a life," said Gummer, "Even if someone has 20 million dark hairs on her head, this single strand can create a tremendous cascade of grief."

Oh, please.

The article went on to report that researchers had succeeded in making an albino mouse turn black in one patch by tinkering with the scalp’s genes. As reported in the last chapter of my book, what they actually did was alter a tyrosinase mutation in a hair follicle gene. (Remember, tyrosinase is the enzyme involved in the synthesis of melanin.) And if you read further, you'll find out that scientists had also created a nice crop of glowing green hair for mice by injecting skin grafts with a glowing green gene. Nice, if you like green hair. Obviously, we’re a long way from delivering a full range of Clairol shades!

The reality is, nearly all your hair follicles would have to be modified to create a full head of non-gray hair. It’s a tricky process at best. And, of course, your skin contains a lot of pigment cells as well, so you could end up with a dark scalp. “That would look horrible, obviously,” admits Gummer. You also don’t want to tweak skin cells so they lose their melanin; that’s what protects us from the sun.

Now we go back to the mice. The albino mice whose hair turned black. Know how long that lasted? Two months. Guess then they'd have to have their roots done -- like any woman determined not to go gray.

But Gummer was optimistic that someday soon getting rid of gray would be as easy as using toothpaste. “I do think we’ll achieve it within 10 years, but the challenges in delivering it will be quite hard,” he said at the time. Let’s see, that was 2004. We’ve got 6 years left – and counting.