Silver Sister Spotlight with Maryam

June 29, 2018 ·

Happy Friday Ladies, I am so excited to feature Maryam Remias today as one of our fierce Silver Sisters. I found Maryam on YouTube a couple of years ago and loved her spunky attitude and fun beauty videos. Let me introduce her to you.

Maryam lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband Eric and eight-year-old daughter Arianna. Maryam creates makeup, beauty and gray hair videos on YouTube and Instagram. Her favorite thing is to hang out with her family at the beach. She loves Persian food and Korean BBQ. It’s safe to say she’s a major foodie.
Before her YouTube career, Maryam had a corporate job working as a graphic designer. When she had her daughter, she decided to stay home with her, but because of her workaholic nature, she needed to do something else besides being a stay at home mom.

At first, her hobby was collecting makeup and binge-watching YouTube videos. At the time Maryam was silently going through depression and was feeling very lonely, and YouTube was her escape. Her husband suggested she start her own YouTube channel rather than watching other people’s videos. Creating beauty videos began as a hobby but now has become an exciting career path for Maryam. The community of supportive women encourages her to keep going.

Q: Gray Hair is becoming a huge movement right now, when did you start embracing your gray?

I discovered few strands of gray on the crown of my head at age 19. At that age, I related gray hair with being old. So, I refused to let anyone see my gray roots, and that’s when hair color and I were inseparable.
Through my mid 20’s, I had developed skin allergies to hair colors. I knew something was wrong with coloring my hair, but I wasn’t ready to show my gray.
It was in 2014 that I started to embrace my gray hair journey. What led to me embracing my grays was that I was tired of coloring my hair every two weeks and the skin allergy on my scalp had gotten terrible.
I remember the day when I thought that growing out my gray hair could work for me. I had looked up gray hair on Pinterest and found beautiful older women with naturally gray hair. Also, pictures of young women with colored gray hair that looked fantastic. That’s when I started to become curious about how I would look with gray hair.
I spoke to my husband and showed him the photos on Pinterest. He was supportive, and we both wanted to see how it turns out. I’m very thankful that it became a trend because it gave me the courage to stop coloring my hair.
So, I started my transition journey and embracing my gray hair in 2014.

Q: You have a YouTube channel where you teach women about beauty and style did you feel insecure doing videos with gray hair?

I was insecure in the beginning about doing beauty videos as a 40-year-old woman with gray hair. It was scary to put myself out there and get out of my comfort zone. I was also going through so many ups and downs with transitioning to gray hair.
The only way I could deal with the emotions was to talk about my gray hair transition on video. I used my YouTube channel as a vehicle to tell my story and share my journey with others.
I figured by sharing my story I would help someone going through the same situation and hopefully make an impact in their life. Check out my Playlist HERE

Q: How do you encourage other women to start their gray hair journey?

The way I encourage other women to start their gray hair journey is by sharing my story and sharing tips on how to get through their transition. I give the resources that helped me transition to gray hair. I also share the videos that I’ve made about gray hair on my YouTube channel.

Here are a couple of resources that I used on my journey.

• Looking up “Women with Gray Hair on Pinterest” – You’ll find many beautiful women with gray hair with different skin tone and hairstyles.
• I also recommend joining Gray Hair Facebook groups – They are a very positive and an encouraging place for anyone going through the transition.
• Lauren from How Bourgeois was an inspiration to my journey to gray hair

Going gray is not for everyone, and the only way you know for sure is to try it out. You may fall in love with your gray or silver hair and never think about coloring again.

Q: Do you feel that gray hair is a trend or a movement?

It was a trend for younger people to dye their hair gray but that trend seems to be going away.
In the past six months, I feel that there is a movement of natural gray hair. I’ve been seeing lots of women with gray hair on social media sharing their transition journey or just rocking their beautiful gray hair.
It became undeniable when a few months ago, Maye Musk became the new face of CoverGirl. I also knew that beauty industries view of women with gray hair was changing when beauty companies started to reach out to work with them.

Q: Social Media can be harsh at times with the negative comments. How do you handle negative comments about your gray hair?

It can be very harsh. I’ve gotten my fair share of negative comments on Instagram but very few on YouTube. What’s weird is that I get negative comments from women close to my age, but the younger generation is more accepting.
I don’t answer negative comments because the people writing them are looking for attention. I believe that the more focus you give the negativity, the more you receive it.
My hope is for everyone to embrace their uniqueness, no matter what their hair color, size or age. We all have a voice and story to tell, and we can all learn from each other.

Check out Maryam on Instagram and YouTube where she shares beauty for women over 40 and tips on transitioning to gray hair.

Silver Sister Spotlight with Hayley

May 18, 2018 ·

I am very excited to feature Hayley another Silver Sister from Australia; I am obsessed with booking a flight to this gorgeous country in 2018. Hopefully, I can make that happen.

Hayley is from the beautiful Gold Coast In Australia and has two gorgeous kids and happily married. When Hayley was younger, she worried about what others thought of her and suffered from body image issues, but after having a large cancerous tumor removed from her abdomen when she was twenty years old, it made her realize life is too short. Since then Hayley has tried hard to live in the present moment which is sometimes easier said than done. Hayley finds that Yoga helps her with living in the present and she makes practicing Yoga a priority.

Before having her kids, Hayley worked as a makeup artist and still uses her make up skills by volunteering with The Look Good Feel Better program that teaches and helps women battling cancer to know how to apply makeup and work with their skin after chemotherapy and radiation. When Hayley is not working, she loves to study Italian, and she currently sings in an Italian choir for fun. Traveling and learning about different cultures is one of her passions.

A few years ago she came across pictures of young women with natural grey hair who looked amazing. She thought, what if Mother Nature got it right? What if my natural hair color suited me? So she stopped dying it and has never looked back.

Q: When did you first start seeing gray hair? What were your initial thoughts?

I saw my first grey hair twenty years ago when I was sixteen! I wasn’t too fazed but a little surprised if anything thought it was funny. Being that young, there was never a feeling of “Oh no I’m getting older.”

Q: Being Australian do you feel Australian Society is more accepting of gray hair compared to America?

Australian culture is influenced by America, so I think the beauty ideals are similar. I have had overwhelmingly positive feedback and not one negative comment about my hair but Australians are pretty laid back, and if someone didn’t like it they’d never tell you to your face. I do feel like we see a shift here in what’s considered beautiful and diversity is genuinely embraced.

Q: How did you become a gray hair model with Silver Fox Management?

I read an article about Silver Fox Management and it caught my eye as my husband called me his Silver fox. I thought why not? I sent a photo in, and they replied. Silver Fox Management said they would love to sign me on. I’m also with Extra Edge talent, I’ve been doing some extra work with them they too are big fans of my hair, and it’s uniqueness. A casting director told me recently “Don’t ever color your hair; there’s no one else that looks like you!”

Q: You seem to be very passionate about supporting women, can you tell us how you share and encourage women to embrace their beauty?

I think a woman supporting other woman is powerful; we need to boost each other up. I also have a ten-year-old daughter; I want to be the best role model I can be for her. Embracing and accepting your true self and living an authentic life is a message I like to convey. It goes beyond hair and what we look like it’s celebrating our differences and experiences that make us unique. A few of my friends have recently stopped dying their hair, they don’t have grey hair yet, but they colored their hair because it’s just what they felt they had to do. I’m not against people wanting to dye their hair by any means but if women say to me that they are sick of going to the hairdresser every four weeks I encourage them to give it a go and see what happens. Nothing to lose!

Q: What has been the hardest transition personally for you going gray?

I had very long dark hair, so I chopped it off to above my shoulders. I didn’t feel like me without long hair, but It didn’t take long to grow back. At first, I was worried what people would think, but as I went along, I cared less and less. You have to rock the skunk look!

You Are Not Broken Just Bent

May 7, 2018 ·

One of the many reasons I love spinning is that my mind runs free. I can think clearly, and many blog posts were created right in the saddle mid-song. I am inspired by music and working on my body so much that I filmed a video on my Peloton Hack if you haven’t seen it check it out, I save you thousands of dollars with this hack, and you get a sexy summer body, you’re welcome.

Copyright: Rick Gomez Photography Top: Polo Ralph Lauren (similar here) Pants: Oscar de la Renta vintage (similar here, here and here) Shoes: Frontline 105 by Tamara Mellon

One of the songs on my ride today was by PINK called “Just Give Me a Reason”. I have heard this song a million times but never actually listened to the lyrics. Isn’t that so typical? I am listening to the song and most the time humming what I think are the words, and yet I am missing the entire meaning of the song. Pink sings about being not broken but bent, how incredibly beautiful is this statement? I go around thinking I am broken because I haven’t been able to conceive, I go about figuring I am broken because I went gray early on in life. Thinking this way is incredibly harmful self-talk a topic I have been researching and found this book to be very helpful. It has shown me ways to understand why choosing healthy positive thoughts is crucial to balance and happiness.

As I was climbing my hills this morning I thought back to a show I saw on how they make steel drums. That captivating sound that only a steel drum can make doesn’t come easy, there are multiple steps from stretching to create enough space for the notes, pounding with a sledgehammer to create the concave shape (sounds painless lol), cutting, burning the list goes on. Without all these steps to refine the steel to make beautiful music, it would just be ordinary steel. I started to think that if I didn’t experience infertility, I wouldn’t have been stretched, refined, put under the fire to ignite my desire to help women with their journey, to get to know myself and what I was capable of doing. Going gray in my thirties was just a little bend in my steel, a refinement if you will.

Ladies, look at what you think are imperfections in your beauty, your life as just a little bend something that makes you different and unique. That is how we each enrich the lives of everyone that gets to know us. No two women will have the same bends in their steel; no two women will have gone through the same process of refinement. Honor that, own that and set yourself free. This summer every time you see or hear steel drums you will think of how one-of-a-kind, special and deserving you are to the world.

Silver Sister Spotlight with Shelly

May 4, 2018 ·

For Our Silver Sister Spotlight, this week is on ‘Dr. Shelly,’ a college professor who teaches undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of instructional design, adult learning, and instructional technology at a large Midwestern university in the U.S. She is married to her high school sweetheart and best friend, whom she met when she was just 14. “We have two beautiful children that I adore with all my heart, both teenagers.” Her latest hobby is training her first-ever pup – a Goldendoodle named Ted – to become a therapy dog at the local Children’s Hospital. “Just looking at Teddie makes people chuckle; I hope he can bring joy to the children and momentarily allow them to escape their illnesses.” She also enjoys just about anything outdoors, including her butterfly garden, snorkeling in tropical waters, yoga, hiking, boating, and relaxing at the family’s lakefront cottage.

I was so taken back when I found Shelly on Instagram because her hair is so dramatic, fierce and tells a story. It takes a strong woman to bravely embrace her gray hair transition. Shelly reminds me of a mix between an extraordinary woman that was in my life when I was a child and Julia Roberts. When you look at Shelly’s gray hair journey documented on Instagram the beginning pictures have a lot of weight and uncertainty to them. As Shelly progresses, embraces and allows her hair to almost develop like a butterfly you can see the pure light that radiates within her. Bold, Fierce and Owning her beauty. Ladies, this too will happen to you. I am so happy that Shelly agreed to be featured on Beauty Reinvented, her hair has a story to tell, and we can learn so much from her journey.

Q: At what age did you start seeing gray hair and what made you decide to ditch the dye?

I saw my first gray hair when I was 18 years old. Without blinking an eye, I bought a hair dye kit, and that was the beginning of three decades of dying. At that young age, it was already programmed in me that gray hair was something to hide. We must change this mindset. I found my daughter’s first silver hair last month. I have encouraged her to think about not coloring her hair, should more silvers appear. Let’s encourage our beautiful daughters to love their whole selves to be confident in who they are, not in who society tells them they should be.

Q: You have a very powerful transformation. How did you feel when you started seeing the white roots?

I was admittedly horrified. Society has deeply entrenched us to think that silver hair on women is unattractive, yet men are more distinguished with their gray hair. It is ingrained in women that gray hair is ‘old, ugly, shameful and that we should go to great lengths to hide it.’ I have made significant strides in my evolution of how I perceive hair color. I now see the white, silver, brown and steely gray as unique and now that I am 11 months into my journey, see a complete picture of what the end will look like and I cannot wait! There is no one else in this world that has my unique blend of natural highlights and lowlights. I am 100% unique now! No more hiding, no more shame. It feels so good just to accept it and move on.

Q: Did you find that society was shocked by your decision to be authentic with your hair color?

I was really worked up about what people would think, but the truth is, people truly do not care about other people’s hair. Most ignore it. Some are confused. Some think it is intentionally dyed to look this way. One man said, “Wow, you must have paid a fortune for that hair color!” I have heard a couple of ignorant comments. But what I love most is when I catch another woman glancing at the new hair growing out of my head because when she smiles back at me, I am 100% certain I have encountered another Silver Sister in the making, and I hope I have given her pause to consider accepting her silvers.

Q: What do people say to you about your hair?

I have had more compliments in the past year than I have ever had in my entire life put together! One woman chased me down in a furniture store to tell me how gorgeous she thought my hair was, and she ended it with “And I’m a hair stylist so I should know!” Random women and men have stopped me to tell me they like my hair. I stand out now. I am different than any other woman I know in my age bracket. I am a Silver Sister who has broken that bloody awful cycle of dying my hair and feeling the need to dye my hair every week because of the white halo that emerged about five days after every dye. What kind of quality of life is that? Every seven days I was embarrassed to go out because my roots were visible and it looked awful. I have had a humiliating year at times with a really awful demarcation line, but it was worth the trade because I am free now, and empowered. I am no longer held down. I have a greater quality of life, and I have so much more time to enjoy my life because I have broken this vicious dye cycle. I lived for the dye. It dictated my life. It was like a drug that I needed a hit off of to make me feel good. I am coming up on my “Silver Anniversary” – the one year mark of having a healthier body and mind since ditching the dye. I am so happy to be in this place.

Q: You have mentioned in your Instagram posts that your body became very ill from the toxic dye. Can you tell us what symptoms you had?

My body started to systemically reject hair dye in ways one would never directly correlate with hair dye; and now that I no longer dye, my symptoms have almost all disappeared. It started with digestive symptoms and food intolerances a few years ago and then moved to eczema of the eye. Every time I colored my hair, my scalp burned for days. After my last professional salon dye 14 months ago, my scalp was so damaged that every time I brushed my hair, electrical shocks were sent to my eye. Within 24 hours of my last home dye on May 6, 2017, my body went into anaphylactic shock, and for days I carried an Epi-pen with me, even slept with it, I was so fearful. I could not eat anything without my body reacting; my body was red, swollen and itchy; my scalp on fire; my heart raced for weeks every time I ingested any food or drink. I honestly thought that my hair was going to kill me. My body was outraged, and it finally drew the line in the sand. Enough was enough. (And no thank you to all who have recommended the natural, organic hair dyes. I’m done!)

Our skin is our biggest organ, and when you make it absorb the toxic chemical frequently found in darker hair dyes, Paraphenylenediamine (PPD), it can have a dangerous impact. I fear the damage I have done to my body with dying my hair so regularly, and for so long, as it has been linked to cancer (American Cancer Society, 2018). Educate yourselves before starting or continuing on this journey. There are options!

Q: How have you dealt with the anxiety and self-doubt that gray hair brings?

I do believe that “gray anxiety” exists and it can be depressing, debilitating, and frightening for some. We have started a gray revolution because we want to empower women to embrace who they are, to reform beauty standards, and to learn to accept and love themselves as they are. I think many women mourn their youth so ditching the dye in a way, becomes symbolic of accepting we are growing older, that we are not immortal. And similar to mourning, I think there are stages we must work through on our journeys – shock, sadness, depression, and eventually, acceptance.

After recognizing that “shaming” my hair in front of my kids was only perpetuating societal views on going gray, I refrained from speaking negatively about my hair ever again. I relied heavily on my biggest supporter, my husband, who tells me every day how beautiful he thinks I am. I decided to be openly gray this time and never used the temporary hair colors to diffuse the demarcation line; for me, it made going public even harder after hiding and then revealing the hair again. I also found great strength in the Silver Sisters who are part of my Instagram family. They are the most evolved, loving, compassionate, and supportive women. They are a close-knit group; they accept you when you fail, shower you with love when you need it, inspire you with their confidence; and humble you with their honesty and vulnerability. Many of the Silver Sisters are professional models, who are showing the world it’s okay to age; it’s okay to be gray. Nikol, you are one of these women. Thank you for your inspiration to the gray revolution and reinventing beauty!

For more inspiring pictures follow Dr. Shelley on Instagram @ Silvertransitions.

How To Get a Gray Attitude

April 25, 2018 ·

Ladies I get it, going gray is not fun no matter what your age. All the stereotypical statements go through your head that people say from “I am so old,” “Grandma Hair,” “Frumpy old lady.” You name it you’re thinking it. So what are you to do? Default to what society says is beautiful and young? Allow your negative self-talk to keep you from being true to yourself? Or keep on dying your hair, so it looks entirely unnatural for your age? Maybe give up and add more toxins every two weeks so that you can feel accepted? I think NOT.

I know gray hair is not for everyone, but I don’t think I need to remind everyone that Beauty Reinvented is all about women that WANT to go gray.

Photo Credit; Rick Gomez Photography

When you are feeling down, and very unattractive how do you pick yourself back up and get in the game? How do you feel confident when all your peers are sporting golden locks or rich chestnut hair? I have created a list for you ladies to print out and post to your mirror or somewhere you will see it on a daily basis. I am your biggest cheerleader because I felt everything you are feeling. I didn’t have a gray-haired role model that did videos or wrote a blog about it when I was first going through this crazy gray transition over two years ago.

When your gray hair journey gets hard, and you are at your last dark hair strand NOW that’s when you need to push for your gray and own it even more. You need to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself “This too shall pass.” Ladies, it’s a hair color that means nothing except for a bold, fierce and downright powerful attitude. If you dyed your hair pink, purple or green like a lot of women, not just teens are doing do you think anyone would care? So why do they care about gray? Think about that for a second.

Here is the plan, read this list below, print it out to give yourself the encouragement you need to get through each day. I promise you it gets more comfortable you have to commit and not look back.

I designed a couple of hats like the one I am wearing in this photo that is available on my website. Perfect for the days where you are just like I can’t take it anymore. It’s a fashionable statement to help you through the growing out period. You have seen me wearing this hat a lot on my Instagram. I love how I make a statement without having to say a word.

Ladies with a Gray Attitude

April 18, 2018 ·

Let’s face it you have to have a fierce attitude when you go gray. Now, this is not a negative attitude, it’s not an unattractive attitude it’s an attitude that shows confidence and self-worth.

PC: Rick Gomez Photography

From my experience, I felt very uncomfortable when I first decided to ditch the dye. I would look in the mirror and separate my hair and say OMG what are you thinking? What are you doing? I would flip through magazines and see hair campaigns with girls my age sporting gorgeous brunette glossy locks and then I would see commercials with girls in slow motion running with their beautiful freshly dyed hair waving at me. I felt so alone, so weird and so unattractive. Can you relate?

“When Society Says NO, You Say YES!”

PC: Rick Gomez Photography

In life, we all know the saying it’s not what happens to you it’s how you handle it or something along those lines. I decided to start looking at myself as lucky, lucky that I had hair, lucky my hair was gray, lucky that I could be an inspiration to other women wanting to embrace their gray hair. That’s when it all changed for me and my gray hair and I became friends. How long did this take? Probably a good year into the transition. What made my hair journey so much easier is that I didn’t try and stay the same with the style of my hair. I cut it to a chic bob and kept cutting it every six weeks so the black dye would quickly disappear. You can’t half-ass going gray you are either in or out. There is no “Let me kind of see how this looks” or “Oh I will just do gray a little bit.” Cut your hair and get over it. It’s not cute to have hair on the ground and gray roots that will never catch up. That’s, where the fierce part comes in you, have to grab your personal gray movement by the roots and go for it. Ladies hair does not define you and cutting your hair is a necessity to your gray hair journey.

“You Can’t Half-Ass Going Gray, You Are Either In or Out.” Nikol Johnson

Maybe you have a boyfriend, spouse or partner that is not supportive. You and only you have to Own Your Beauty. Your gray hair journey is not for anyone else to decide Period. You are running this race no one else. So if you don’t have a support system head on over to my private Facebook group called Beauty Reinvented and join the other ladies that are going through the same thing you are. Remember it all starts from within.

Creating Personal Style with Gray Hair

March 28, 2018 ·

Going gray is a bold move, it’s not the most comfortable transition. So many thoughts run through your mind, “Am I old now?” “What are people going to think?” “Does this mean I can’t have fun?” “What are people going to say?” I have been there and had all the thoughts you do. It doesn’t matter if you are in your thirties taking the leap or you are in your eighties gray hair has a particular emotional tie to the age that none of us can escape.

PC: Rick Gomez Photography

Going gray means you need to transition into a new style. You need to look at your hairstyle, your nails, your makeup colors, your wardrobe style and colors. If you see this transformation as an upgrade an adventure to the new you I guarantee you will have a good time. If you look at your gray hair in a negative light and feel that change is hard and not worth it, then you will have a hard time going through this process.

PC: Rick Gomez Photography

I styled this Escada jumpsuit specifically for this photo shoot to show you that being bold is a choice. One could say that I am in my forties now and it’s inappropriate to wear such a deep plunging neckline, and some could say that I am too old to pull off this style. It’s what you say to yourself that matters. Do you think it’s inappropriate? Do you think you are too old? That’s what matters. If you have been following me for awhile, you know my style is classic I mostly wear Ferragamo, Oscar de la Renta, Escada with a JCrew T-Shirt or St. John knit suit thrown in there. My basic daily uniform to go to work in is a Ferragamo scarf with a black top and black slacks. I would wear this Escada jumpsuit to an elegant cocktail party any day.

“Why Be Status Quo?” ~Nikol Johnson

How do you feel about your style right now? Is your closet overflowing with clothes that are outdated, worn, frumpy, too big, too small? What does your wardrobe look like? What does your wardrobe say about you? Can you walk into your closet and say you feel that every piece is fantastic? I can, because I spent the last year curating my dream wardrobe. I bought a bunch of books to help me figure out this process from The Curated Closet, The Little Black Book of Style to 365 Style. It takes time and patience to understand the woman you want to be and dress.

PC: Rick Gomez Photography

Personal style is an art. Once you master the techniques of smarter purchasing, being a more selective shopper and making the most of your budget you will never look back. I would walk into my closet each morning and take inventory of what I didn’t love. I would make mental notes until I was ready to pull the items and either donate or consign. Speaking of consignment I started selling my closet on PoshMark in June of 2016 and to date, I have sold over $2,800. I have taken the money that I earned selling items from my closet and invested in classic designer pieces. Shopping doesn’t have to be complicated when you take the time to have your entire wardrobe be only clothes that are high quality, fit you properly not only look amazing you feel like you can take on the world.

Gray hair changes your style game because what you once wore and worked for you most probably won’t work now with your new gray/silver/white hair color. Why be status quo? Why not make a plan and set some styling goals. Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself that will help you design your style from The Curated Closet.

What was your favorite outfit that you wore during the last two weeks and why? How did that outfit make you feel?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy were you overall with your outfits during these past two weeks?
Describe your style in three adjectives.
How easy is it for you to choose an outfit in the morning?
What type of occasions do you have to dress for?

Out of all the books I read, I would highly recommend The Curated Closet it’s a simple system designed for you to quickly discover your style. I found it incredibly helpful and easy to implement.

Ladies if you are going gray and want to rock it you have to take a look at your style. Spring is the perfect time to upgrade and refresh your entire wardrobe. Make every outfit celebrate your unique personality.