Yes you can ditch the dye and still look chic. Here’s how . . .

Sex And the City star Sarah Jessica Parker, 57, has asked that the world stops referring to her as ‘ brave’ for sporting (partly) grey hair. the actress remarked: ‘ I can’t spend time getting base colour every two weeks. Can’t do it. nope. too much,’ noting that no one makes a fuss about the whole head of grey belonging to her friend Andy Cohen, a male U.S. talk show host.

SJP is not the only high-profile woman who has championed a ‘grey hair, don’t care’ attitude. Dawn French, Andie MacDowell, Salma hayek, helen Mirren, Jamie Lee Curtis, Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep have all released their grip on the dye bottle — and look all the more spectacular for it.

It was baby boomers who gave society its fixation with greydodging. the post-war generation sought to be forever young, and it did so strand by faux-pigmented strand. As the late nora ephron wisecracked: ‘there is a reason why 40, 50 and 60 don’t look the way they used to, and it’s not because of feminism… It’s because of hair dye.’

now, as Gen x beds into its 50s, there is a lot more silver about. Did lockdown kill off the root touch-up? Dry-cut hairdressing genius Michael Van Clarke thinks so.

‘the pandemic taught us that we didn’t have to hit every grey with peroxide,’ he tells me.

‘Instead, women are starting to cultivate a more natural palette, where 50 per cent of the hair might be kept virgin, with a positive impact on texture. Ironically, embracing some grey is a lot less ageing than the old harsh blocks of colour.’

Another irony is that men appear to be dyeing more as women do it less, with both genders meeting in a middle ground of ‘blending’ rather than whole-head tinting. the colour then fades as it grows out, rather than leaving a telltale demarcation line.

For my money, this relaxing of our regimes has also been spurred by a greater acceptance of ageing in general, not least the menopausal years.

If fiftysomethings can be honest about their hot flushes, then they can be honest about the salt- and- pepper streaks that come with them.

over at Josh Wood’s atelier, colour queen Veronica Wysocka tells me: ‘ We’re having this conversation in the salon on a daily basis. It’s no longer even about whether grey is cool or not, but why we as women feel we have to colour. We’ve been sold a line that hiding your grey is about not giving up on yourself, not letting yourself go. But it takes huge time and effort, while regrowth can make you look bald.’

these days, it’s 50/ 50 as to whether Josh Wood’s clients want to conceal their silver — and that’s at a salon globally renowned for its colour.

A lot of blondes are doing an SJP and adding highlights but not a base tint, ending up ‘gronde’, or greyblonde. In the case of brunettes, they tend not to fake their former shade, as this often results in blocky bands of regrowth and stark contrast at the roots.

rather, they’ll go a bit lighter, then work in highlights and lowlights (a darker base colour) to create a natural-looking range of hues, with an element of silver included.

Both methods for each hair colour are designed to grow out and evolve.

this will always give you a fresher look than if you cling to the past, like some retro drag act of one’s younger self.

Grey hair can feel parched. ‘Without pigment, the analogy would be an empty straw,’ says Veronica. Moisture is key to looking luxe.

She rates the redken Color extend Graydiant Shampoo ( now £ 17.55 for 300ml, look fantastic.com) and Conditioner (now £19.35 for 300ml), which neutralise yellow undertones.

She also loves the Josh Wood range, telling me: ‘[Ultra luxe haircare brand] oribe is good if you want an expensive treat, such as oribe Gold Lust repair And restore Shampoo (£50 for 250ml, spacenk. com). But, genuinely, I’m happier using our Josh Wood Colour Miracle Mask (£ 19, boots. com) and Blonde Gloss (£ 19), in Champagne for warm tones and Icy Blonde for cool.’

I may not be a silver sophisticate yet, but these days I’m actively looking forward to it.