Dawn French reveals a bold new haircut at 63, as she grows out her greys

Dawn French has revealed a bold new hairstyle on her social media. The 63-year-old actress and comedian has shaved the underside of her hair, known as an ‘undercut’. She is also growing out her grey hair. Alongside her picture, French wrote ‘Going lighter bit by bit to happily welcome the grey...with an undercut surprise! Hello there woman in her 60s.’

The pandemic certainly sent those of us who colour our hair in one of two ways. We were either desperate to get back into the colourist's chair once lockdown lifted, or we decided that now was the time to grow out the greys once and for all, like French.

So what is the best way to grow out greys? ‘There are alot of products that help you blend out grey hair,’ the leading colourist Josh Wood tells us. ‘Root touch ups like a blending brush can help extend any grey regrowth. The only real way to grow out grey is, no pain no gain. There are a multitude of salon treatments like baby lights or micro balayage that can start to help bring threads of grey through the tinted brown hair, but you do need at least a 5-8 cm root to be able to blend effectively.’

As for the undercut, which is a punk hairstyle, Wood says, ‘it is certainly a brave move. It is a very effective way of removing coloured hair to expose natural grey, but it isn't for everyone. It's a statement in itself and allows for more dramatic colour results.’ However, Wood says there are other ways to cut out colour and expose grey without being as radical as an undercut.

‘If you don't want an extreme undercut sharp graduated or graduated layers then remove the bulk of the hair without the buzzing underneath. One thing for sure, cutting your hair short is a sure fire way of getting your natural grey quicker.’ If you want to experiment with temporary colours on grey hair, it can add a more contemporary look. Wood’s Colour Glaze product comes in beautiful pink and peach tones which can lift grey hair beautifully, and they can help to smooth the often brittle, dry texture of grey hair.

‘We are seeing a lot of women embracing their greys in the salon, and it looks great,’ adds the hairdresser Bobby Collier, from the Larry King hair salon. ‘Dawn is obviously wanting to grow the grey out without losing her bob look.’ Collier expects French will cut a French pixie cut style down the line, once the top section of grey hair starts to grow out. ‘The undercut is a quick way of eliminating some colour and some weight if you’ve got particularly thick hair,’ he adds.