Gray hair is something that happens to 99% of us at some point in our lives. The other 1% go from their natural hair color to white. We have seen clients come to Kosmos Hair Salon who have started graying in their late twenties but also as some in their late sixties but is not something to be abhorred although the silver wisps seem to be dreaded by women everywhere. The cause of this graying? Your hair is simply building up too much hydrogen peroxide.

You out of the bottle blondes may be a fan of hydrogen peroxide, which incidentally is produced naturally in the human body,  but it interferes with melanin, the natural pigment that colors our hair and skin.

Your body also produces the enzyme catalase, whose job is to break down the hydrogen peroxide into harmless water and oxygen in our bodies. But as we age its ability to convert the hydrogen Peroxide diminishes and the catalase production tails off, leaving nothing to transform the hydrogen peroxide in the body into chemicals the body can release naturally.

So, as hydrogen peroxide builds up, we go gray and the natural hair color is lost. Today, however, in some circles gray hair is considered to be sharp, sophisticated and dare I say it even sexy. So if you decide to let your hair go au natural, here’s how to achieve the perfect gray hairstyle.

While signs of gray are perfectly acceptable to some women as a signal of wisdom and confidence those pesky silver strands can be a big problem to others. You can stand and fight or let nature take its course, here are a couple of tips you should know about going gray.

If you have strands of silver and white but have not yet reached the salt-and-pepper stage that George Clooney so proudly shows off, where graying is anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of your hair, an option is to have your favorite Kosmos stylist turn your grays into beautiful highlights. We can do this in one of two ways: transform your harsh-looking, slate-colored gray hair into a prettier shade that goes with your natural color, or we can put a glaze on your hair so the healthy strands shine and the grays simply look like natural, Florida sun-kissed highlights.

When your hair turns more than 90 percent gray, it’s time to consider going all the way. A beautiful head of snowy white or really pretty silver hair can be so attractive on women, but only when done well. What people then notice is not that you are gray, but that your hair is alluring and feminine. The silver fox look is really best achieved in a salon, plus you will need to invest in special shampoos and conditioners designed to keep your sensitive white locks from turning brittle or yellow. So when that time comes, and it will, remember to ask your Kosmos stylists’ opinion on the best option for you.