The baby-boomer generation has seen a multitude of trends throughout the decades. Perhaps men today have created a new trend; Gray is the new black. The baby-boomer generation has not only accepted that they are entering their golden years, but they are embracing their silver locks. Men have accepted that gray hair represents experience, sophistication, education, power, and wealth, rather than frailty, and debilitation. Baby-boomers are able to embrace their post-retirement lives and expendable incomes, by staying active and traveling. Being old is no longer a burden, rather it is a period of life the baby-boomers are embracing. Looking younger is no longer a worry or concern.
Gray hair forms as a result of a gradual decrease of melanin in our hair follicles throughout our lives. As we grow older the melanin runs out and our hair turns into anything from whiskey white to silver. Not only can’t you prevent from going gray, you can’t stop the on set. Going gray can begin at any time throughout our lives and is based primarily on genetics. Even our founding fathers saw gray or white hair as a sign of authority and respect. These long white haired wigs represented a status symbol that declared them to be powerful and wealthy.
There is nothing that anyone can do to prevent the changes of Mother Nature. Men’s priorities are now set on staying fit. They want to live longer and be healthy. Some men are in denial about their age and try to prevent it from taking over. Dyes and other hair products are being used to create a younger image. Perhaps, some men dye their hair because there is so much you can’t prevent in a time of uncertainty that they want to control everything. Now people have different priorities such as living younger, not appearing younger. They are not self conscious about their looks. If they are feeling better by staying fit, they are acting younger rather than appearing younger through hair dyes.
Baby boomers have created a trend of something to look forward to as we mature. They have put a positive spin on getting older and created a different mind setting from their parents. Even men in their 20’s are accepting their first gray hairs rather than plucking or dying them as a sign of maturity. They are embracing their first taste of sophistication.
Two of the eleven men honored as People magazine’s ‘Sexier with Age’ category have gray hair. Matthew Fox and George Clooney both look better as they age. Since the ‘90s with his early career starter, Party of Five Fox, 44 says he’s “grown up a bit.” Not only has he aged gracefully, he found a way to deal with fame better. Accepting his status, he now feels more comfortable with himself. He now grows his shaggy, gray stubble look for his role as Dr. Jack Shepard on ABC’s hit Lost.
When George Clooney, 48 started his acting career, he played a handyman on The Facts of Life from 1985-86. His costar, Lisa Whelchel said that none of the characters George played back then had any attraction to him. “He has matured physically and professionally very well,” says Whelchel. Former ER costar, Julianna Marqulies says he “just gets better with age.” Clooney received the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ award in 1997 and in 2006. Characteristics of his personality are approachable and humble while still being one of Hollywood’s leading men. He says he likes to keep things simple.
A balding and gray, Sean Connery also won the ‘Sexiest Man Alive” award in 1989. At the time, he joked, “It’ll all be downhill from here!” Harrison Ford won the award in 1998. After receiving the award he asked, “Why this sudden outpouring for geezers?” In ’99, Richard Gere won at age 50. Former costar, Jill Hennessy says that his silver locks “make women melt.” This movement of mature men being honored with the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ award is very much alive. These men appear more stylish as they age. People have accepted these men to be tasteful, sophisticated, well groomed, and well dressed. Perhaps these are the new requirements for being sexy.
The acceptance of gray hair is only growing as we get older. Taylor Hicks, 33 won Season 5 of American Idol. Shocked that America voted for him to be the next American Idol, he told reporters after he won, “I didn’t have any idea that America would embrace gray hair as much as they have.” Alexandra Seuthe, who writes an online blog about celebrities hair styles, says, “His hair and his talents are authentic and I think that is why he won. I strongly feel that Taylor’s hair was part of his charm and individuality, and I am very happy that he kept it after rumors that he was going to dye it.”
Taylor Hicks is part of the generation of men who are prematurely graying. He has turned it into a hip idea of maturing through authenticity. It is refreshing to see something that is a fact of life accepted as beauty rather than trying to change it back to its original form of youthfulness.
Richard Gere and George Clooney’s transition over the last decade from dark to gray started the trend for people like Taylor Hicks to break through with America’s acceptance. CNN anchor, Anderson Cooper has also been responsible for this outbreak of acceptance. Like Hicks, Cooper prematurely grayed starting in his teens. He expressed to Details magazine in 2003, that he had trouble accepting his mix of gray and white hair when it became all white. Now, he welcomes his silver hair with shine, saying it holds substance in the TV news business. He wrote, “In fact, in just about any line of work being prematurely gray is an advantage.”
In the Grooming section of GQ’s article “Gray Is the New Black”, they explain how it works for leading men and newscasters and how it can work for the average male. They ask the reader what they will do when they start to go gray. Going gray earlier is better. There are two types of men: the worriers and the acceptors. The worriers look for hair coloring treatments feeling that grays will increase their youthful years. The Acceptors don’t do anything about their grays except using some pomade or gel to supply moisture to the wiry hair. Pro golfer, Corey Pavin looks much better since 1984 when he sported jet black, curly hair and a mustache. Since then, he has been going gray. He got a crew cut and shaved his mustache. Now he looks remarkably better at age 50 than he did at 25. Keeping it short is a much better look for men going gray. Former Georgia Tech basketball coach, Bobby Cremins, and Newt Gingrich all sport longer hair which tends to be more wiry as it grows. This wiry hair is due to the hair losing its pigment thus becoming drier as well.
Maintenance is another reason and advantage of not dyeing your hair. After dyeing your hair, it is another concern of how fast it grows back to slave to your roots. Especially if you are dyeing your hair in its entirety (making it appear more artificial) would require constant attention. It will continue to be a repetitive process of worrying and dyeing. Another issue involving dyeing your hair is the effect of dryness.
There are some celebrities that are old fashion and break the cycle of going gray. Wayne Newton is known for his jet black do, performing regularly in Las Vegas. Keith Hernandez, former baseball star and Walt Frazier, former basketball star are spokesmen for the hair dye product, Just For Men. They encourage men to dye their hair and use fear as an aspect of their “R-E-J-E-C-T-E-D” campaign after a man strikes out with a woman. They blame their gray hairs as a sign of being elderly and unattractive.
Just For Men uses top technology to target only the gray hair for a natural look, leaving non-gray hair alone. Its target result is to get your own, original color back. Just For Men makes it easy for men to get their original color hair back in a convenient time manner and using a combination of Vitamin E, protein, chamomile, and aloe in their formula. With these ingredients, it protects your hair while you color it, making it thicker and healthier-looking.
Some things in life are inevitable. Priorities for men of what they can change in life are living more youthful, not appearing younger. The mind set of the baby boomers are more accepting with their age because they do not feel their age. Men have created a trend that benefits their lifestyle with not worrying about their hair becoming gray. Instead of looking elderly, a man with gray hair is a sign of respect through sophistication, power, and wealth. These qualities are signs of maturity with the next generation following this trend and accepting their silver locks gracefully.
In Robert Renn’s Complete Book of Hair Coloring, published in the late ‘70s, has a very different approach to what beauty is. “Most people think that looking well is only a matter of beauty and is not a question of self-respect, assurance and confidence. To be educated in how to get this kind of confidence at home and how to make the most of what you’ve got-whether you are male or female, young or old – is what beauty is all about. People who weren’t born beautiful can learn to make themselves more exciting and more together, but beautiful people need a little help too.” Attitudes towards beauty are constantly changing. Today, I believe beauty is about self-respect, assurance, and confidence. You need to have these qualities to accept maturity and embrace your gray hair. It is no longer to be questioned if your gray hair makes you look older. It does and now men of the baby boomer generation have created a trend to be proud of their age and gracefully be admired by their children. Something to look forward to...
- Your Style Guy
