Press - NBC News - Lena
Lena Ott, founder and color director of Suite Caroline Salon in New York City, similarly saw many clients with new perspectives on their grays when they reentered the salon this past year. "The majority saw themselves, saw their roots, saw everything and said, 'You know, I don't mind it,'" Ott said.
Ott, who dyed the wigs for the Dolce & Gabbana show in Venice this summer, also believes gray hair can make for a flattering and even fresher look for many women. "It's almost like natural highlights but in a silver tone," Ott said. "I'm fascinated by it. I'm intrigued by it. I think it's beautiful."
Letting gray hair flourish can also be done with the help of a colorist. Ott, for example, uses the french hair painting technique, Balayage, to blend a client's grays with the rest of their hair color. Friendly to all hair textures, it's a process that can also bring intentionality, and even sparkle, to a client's look. "I like working with the gray versus trying to eliminate it," Ott said.
Rather than trips to the salon every two to three weeks to dye gray roots, blending also requires less time in the salon because it builds upon a client's existing grays. "There's nothing empowering about feeling like you need to do your hair every two weeks," Ott explained. "I always try to steer clients in that direction because I know that you're only going to become more gray."
