Aquage's Luxe Collection: Ageless Beauty on Gray Hair

Classic beauty is ageless—clients who choose to embrace gray and silver tones gracefully means big opportunity for stylists to give clients textural options and style versatility.

“As a hairdresser, you need to help clients and their aesthetic identity—that’s what you do for a living,” says Luis Alvarez, co-founder of Aquage and VP of creative and education. “If a client says, ‘I’m at this point in my life where I want to play off my gray,’ then it’s my job to help you do it in the best way possible.” This look was created by blowstyling first with SeaExtend silkening oil treatment to tame—as gray hair needs extra surface control and increased pliability. 

As a salon owner and long- time Aquage Master Artist, Shelly Devlin knows the secret to every great style is in the prep. All styles were thermally set using Aquage Beyond Body or Aquage Working Spray. Whether you’re creating an elegantly effortless top chignon or a soft, smooth look, sealing the cuticle while protecting against heat makes for a polished presentation. “Gray hair tends to be more coarse and wiry, flying different directions,” Alvarez says. “But with the right styling products, you aren’t limited to just classic looks—you have options.”

“Some people say, ‘A woman past a certain age shouldn’t have long hair.’ Here are multiple styles that prove they’re absolutely wrong.” —Luis Alvarez

“Extreme contrast can look aging,” Alvarez says. “Compressing her tonal range will have a soft effect. If she’s primarily white, lighten darker tones, pairing it with slightly gray next to middle gray or pair black with shades of dark charcoal and lighter gray—tone the whiteness to make it softer.”

Here, Devlin stretched the texture with the new Aquage Remolding Elastic, and, opposite, Aquage Finishing Spray for strong architectural shape.

Hair: Shelly Devlin for Aquage 

Photography: Luis Alvarez 

Makeup: Wanda Alvarez 

Fashion styling: Patric Chauvez 

Production: Don Wismer 

Location: Photopia Studio