Silver foxes: Rihanna is latest celebrity to go grey

It seems it’s never been cooler to be old before your time. Emma McCarthy on how Rihanna is just the latest hip young thing to go grey
24 July 2013

Rihanna’s never been one to shy away from making a statement, particularly when it comes to her hair. But after the fire-engine red curls, the ginger-tinged cockatoo crop and the raven pixie chop, even we didn’t see this one coming — BadGal RiRi’s gone grey. Taking to Twitter and Instagram last week, the 25-year-old unveiled her ashy new ombre grey locks — a frosty pale hue which she has dubbed “Brrr”. “New colour ice greyish, call it #brrr,” the Barbadian singer wrote alongside the debut snap, followed by another in which she declared: “Grey is the new black! Blondies, it’s quiet for y’all! #brrr”.

While it is not certain what prompted the change from her honey-blonde locks, which she has championed since the start of her Diamonds World Tour earlier this year, inspiration may have come in the shape of Nicole Richie’s white-painted hair at this year’s Met Ball after Rihanna tweeted that she was the best-dressed celebrity of the night.

But despite the new granny-chic ’do, everyone’s favourite “toxic pop princess” doesn’t seem to be dialling down her wild antics any time soon. A week-long procession of particularly risqué outfits — including a red leopard-print Lycra catsuit and a transparent white string playsuit — have seen to that.

Of course, RiRi isn’t the first celebrity to beat nature to it. Pixie Geldof, Lady Gaga, Ellie Goulding, Marina Diamandis and Kelly Osbourne have all famously embraced premature grey, while 19-year-old Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards is the youngest yet to join the grey fray after she let her purple-tinged locks fade to smoky platinum earlier this month. But while those below the mid-twenty mark can take to blue rinse with ease, anyone older may want to give it a little more thought before reaching for the bottle.

“Grey hair on a young person is unexpected, so it’s ideal for those who want to push boundaries and make a statement,” says Luke Hersheson, creative director and session stylist of Hershesons. “I wouldn’t recommend steely violet grey to anyone older because it’s hard to wear, but brighter, almost-platinum white is much more flattering.” A case in point — a 36-year-old Kate Moss, who in 2010 experimented with blue-toned “graylights” (which lasted a mere 24 hours).

So far, Rihanna’s new dye job has received its share of mixed reviews. But judging by the 3.8 million likes on Instagram since last week, it seems at least to be a firm hit with her fans.

COOL AIDS FOR GOING GREY

1 Keep it clean: Pure Silver Shampoo from Philip Kingsley, £15 (philipkingsley.com)

2 One day old: New Iced White Urban Colour Chalk from Fudge, £5.99 (fudge.com)

3 Whiteout: Virgin Snow Hair Dye from Manic Panic, £10 (urbanoutfitters.co.uk)

4 Lighten up: Silver Crazy Colour Liquid Colour Cream from Renbow (£4, crazycolour.co.uk)

5 Great condition: Slika Quick Silver Revitalising Cream from Richards and Appleby, £5.99 (pakcosmetics.com)

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in