Yvette and Yvonne Durant, 54
Executive assistant; writer
First gray sighting: Yvette says, "I was 17. I couldn't really see it; it was underneath the top layer." Yvonne says, "I was 26 years old, and I saw a strand in the front near my face."
Their reaction: "We figured we were going to be like Mother, with a beautiful gray streak."
Why Yvonne stopped dyeing: "The mascara I used to touch up the haircolor around my face came off on my boyfriend's jacket. That was it for me."
Why Yvette didn't stop: "When Yvonne and I went out to dinner, people would ask if she was my mother. I thought, 'Well, that's what happens when you let yourself go!'"
But then she did stop because: "My hair was breaking off from the coloring and the straightening. It was just very unhealthy. So I'm letting it grow out. It's about half grown out now, and I try to cover up the different colors with a headband, or at least by wearing it slicked back."
And now she knows what Yvonne already knew: "I get more attention from men. I think they like it."
Rita's solution: "I would have liked to lighten Yvette's ends a bit to decrease the contrast between them and her growing-in gray, but because she's afraid of exposing her hair to more processing, I simply used a violet shampoo and a clear gloss on her [and Yvonne]. The shampoo brightens the gray and reduces yellow, and the gloss gives their hair a healthy shine."
Might that brazen route be right for you? Get the right makeup to amp up your gray!
