Nicole Petty, hair expert at hair extension brand Milk and Blush, spoke to Express.co.uk about how a shift in beauty standards has meant that Queen Letizia has started to embrace her grey hair. She went on to advise how middle aged women like Letizia can begin to do this themselves at home – and how easy it is to maintain bouncy, thick, and shiny hair, even if it is greying.
“Queen Letizia of Spain is reputable for her beauty and grace,” Nicole said.
“She has naturally long, glossy, dark brown hair that cascades past her shoulders, styled with loose waves for an effortlessly glamorous look.
“However, post-pandemic, Letizia has been showing off subtle silver tones around her roots at public engagements.
“The Queen’s decision to embrace her grey roots is possibly due to a shift in beauty standards now encouraging women to celebrate their natural beauty and features.
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“As an influential woman, she may feel her job is to set an example and encourage other women to wear their natural hair with pride,” Nicole added.
It is likely that Letizia no longer wants to dye her hair as doing this often can cause the hair’s texture to change, and even break.
The Spanish Queen’s hair is, however, thick and healthy-looking, and so perhaps Letizia does not want this to change.
Nicole continued: “Regular hair dyeing is a time-consuming process that can be damaging to hair long-term, as it dries it out and causes breakage.
“The royal has always been praised for keeping her hair in excellent condition and likely has a full-time stylist to attend to her locks with regular trims to maintain its natural thickness and shine.”
Regular trims can help hair to grow, and can be easily accessible at all – there is no need to go to an expensive salon if all one needs is a trim.
As for her “bouncy mane”, Letizia’s hair style helps with this, creating the illusion of thicker locks.
“Her bouncy mane can be attributed to the soft curls she often adds to the ends of the hair for extra texture and width,” Nicole explained.
“And when she wears hair in a sleeker style, extra body can be achieved using a round brush while having a blow-dry for a smooth but volumised look.”
Letizia has let her grey strands squeeze through her darker locks, but Nicole advised a subtle greying for those who don’t want to go all the way.
“If Letizia wants to make her greying hair more subtle to blend seamlessly with her darker tones, she should try grey blending,” the hair expert explained.
“This colouring trick combines balayage and highlights to create a more natural gradient for grey tones and is a smooth transition for those experiencing the first signs of grey hair.”
For those wanting to try grey blending at home, Nicole continued: “The first thing to consider is the condition of your hair. If you regularly dye your hair, it may take a few salon visits to lighten or notice the difference before reaching the desired result.
“Ask your hair stylist to strategically place highlights or lowlights around your head from root to tip, and finish by painting a shade closest to your root colour with a freehand technique to accentuate grey tones and create a multi-dimensional look.
“When selecting the highlight tones, your stylist should be able to advise you on the best colours that blend with your natural hair.
“Natural blondes may opt for lighter and warmer shades, whilst darker hair would suit grey-tone brown and black shades to blend with grey roots,” the expert added.