Problem: Frizzy, no style
Yamuna Zake, 52
Bodywork instructor
First gray sighting: "By the time I was 15, I already had an inch-wide streak in the front."
Her reaction: "I always thought it was cool. It never occurred to me to dye it. But it occurred to everyone else. I can't tell you how many times people looked at my hair and said, 'You should do something about that.'"
When she went completely gray: "In my late 20s, the love of my life dropped dead. I turned gray very fast after that."
Why she'll never dye it: "When my daughter was younger, she told me she was ashamed to be seen with me because of my hair. So I used a shampoo-in color, and it turned a hideous eggplant. It took me a year to grow it out; I just kept cutting it off till I was all gray again. I love it natural. It's who I am. I love being in my 50s and looking my age and being in great shape."
Juan Carlos' solution: "Yamuna's hair has a coarse texture, so she needs to use a daily leave-in conditioner and then apply a serum or spray that controls frizz and adds shine. She should use a deep conditioning treatment once a week, leaving it on for as long as possible, or even overnight."
From the
October 2007 issue of
O, The Oprah Magazine
