Ready to ditch the dye? Embracing natural silvers can give us a new lease of life says grey hair model and pro-ageing influencer Silvina Neder.
Interview: Ellie Smith
Grey hair
Silvina remembers the moment she decided to stop colouring her hair well. ‘It was September 2015,’ she explains. ‘It was a work-from-home day and I was meant to be at my desk. My grey roots were growing out and I decided to risk it and squeeze in a trip to the hairdresser – I could still answer phone calls and emails.’ When her boss called asking her to come online for a video call, she panicked – she still had foils in. ‘I just thought, what am I doing? I’m risking my job for colouring my hair. I was putting concealing my greys in front of so many more important things. I didn’t want to waste time or worry about it anymore.’
Today, it’s hard to imagine Silvina with anything other than silver locks. And since 2015, it’s not just her hair colour that’s changed. She left her career in market research, took up grey hair modelling and has since launched a grey haircare brand – Silvina London. Talk about a better second half!
She credits much of this transformation with the increased confidence that came from embracing her natural colour. ‘When you stop concealing something that’s part of you, like your grey hair, it’s very empowering,’ she explains. ‘And it’s not just me that feels this way, women in my Instagram community tell me the same. When you show the world how you look – normally, naturally – it really boosts your confidence.’
We sat down with Silvina to learn more about her pro-age philosophy, her advice for others thinking of growing out their greys, and top tips for keeping white hair soft and shiny.
Tell us more about why you decided to go grey.
I’d thought a lot about going grey throughout my 40s but, at the time, I was living in Argentina and there’s a lot of pressure on women in that culture to look as young as possible. But I began to notice that women with grey hair look very elegant – like Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. I loved that look. I also started to think if gold – or blonde – is an acceptable colour, then why not silver? But at that time I didn’t dare. Whenever I mentioned it to others they’d say ‘No, Silvina you’ll look old – don’t do it!’
What changed your mind?
When I moved to London in 2015, I was working very hard at my full-time job in market research, while studying and trying to learn the language. It was a hard time. I also discovered that London is very expensive. Colouring my hair was suddenly costing a lot mor
