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10 Ways to Style Gray Hair That Show Off Your Shimmer

Whether you’re newly graying, fully gray, naturally gray or bleached and toned silver, here are ten different ways to style your strands in a way that lets your color shine.

The One Mistake Women Make When They Start Going Gray


ways to style gray hair linda fargo
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1. Tousled Bob

A la Linda Fargo, who makes a strong case for letting your grays come in completely. The chin-length cut coupled with soft waves throughout give finer strands extra body and bounce.

ways to style gray hair javicia leslie
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2. Sleek Lob

You could also go a bit sleeker and longer with your style like Javicia Lesile here, who’s rocking a below-the-chin cut in a silvery tone with darker roots, which add dimension around her face.

ways to style gray hair helen mirren
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3. Contrasting Accessories

Dame Helen Mirren shows us the powers of a few well-placed accessories. We love the way the thick, black headband pops against her snow-white hair. (The graphic sunnies tie everything together nicely as well.)

ways to style gray hair kelly hu
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4. Face-framing Layers

When you have incoming grays around your face and along your hairline, try some face-framing layers. As Kelly Hu demonstrates, the layers can make silvery strands look more intentional, especially when blended in with a few loose curls.

ways to style gray hair sibley scoles
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5. Swept-back Shag

Sibley Scoles shows us how it’s done with this swept-back style and choppy layers. Come through, silver shag!

ways to style gray hair jane fonda
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6. Feathery Layers

Jane Fonda looks resplendent in her one-shouldered jumpsuit and feathery grey ‘do. The graduated layers and bangs frame her features just so, while also adding plenty of volume up top.

ways to style gray hair cynthia erivo
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7. Close Crop

Here’s Cynthia Erivo rocking the summer cut of our dreams: a crisp silver crop. Does it get much cooler than this? We think not.

ways to style gray hair lily tomlin
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8. Defined Curls

Fact: Curls and grays pair exceedingly well together (not unlike Lily Tomlin and her friend, Jane Fonda above). Keep your spirals well-defined with the right styling regimen and products.

ways to style gray hair elizabeth mcgovern
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9. Slick Chignon

Would you expect anything less regal from Elizabeth McGovern? Her silvery streaks add a shimmery depth to the rest of her strands, especially when pulled back like that.

ways to style gray hair joani johnson
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10. Straight Down

Cast as a Fenty model at 67, Joani Johnson and her voluminous silver strands shine all on their own.



Jenny Jin Headshot Vertical 2023

Beauty Director

Jenny Jin is PureWow’s Beauty Director and is currently based in Los Angeles. Since beginning her journalism career at Real Simple magazine, she has become a human encyclopedia of...