Hanging on to old styles.

In an ever changing world of hair styles, colors , cuts, texture and more I find, even at my old age, a fascination with what can be done with hair.
Very few of my present clients will ask for the pastels, or rock the vivid colors, but I wish they did.
Anyone who knew me years ago, knows I would be a veritable rainbow if I could. Gray hair has a life of it's own though and is not condusive to brights or pastels. Hell I have a hard enough time going one week before the crap comes through. That's a post all of it's own though.

One of the hottest colors right now is the silvery white blonde ( at my age, we call that gray) but it is gorgeous when done on the right head. Add a few lavender pieces and my tongue hangs out at how beautiful it is. My clients usually say " Isn't that awful?"  "Can you imagine someone doing that to their hair?" when all the time I'm drooling wishing I could do it.
Not all mine are that bad, but as many of my clients and I have grown old together, I have discovered how strongly women hold on to their hairstyles.

Client: Thelma   Age: 72  Hair type:  Thick, straight, steel grey  Hairstyle: Roller set ( ugh)
I started doing her hair when she was 64. As I have always at some point or other had ladies with roller sets, this one was a thorn. I was hard to roll her hair, took a long time to dry and while it looked good,  I thought something else would look so much better.  Fast forward 5 years. Conversation in salon about women who hang on to hairstyles never wanting to change. Thelma asked what I would do if I could change it. I would cut it short, over the ears, give her the volume on top she needed but make it much more stylish. She said "Go for it" Once I got over the shock I started cutting. The salon was watching as was Thelma. It looked fantastic. Thelma looked in the mirror and said "We'll see how it does through the week"  While I wanted her to jump for joy at the new style I also knew she was the type of person who didn't throw out compliments and needed time. Of course everyone gushing over her about how much younger she looked and how much better it looked, added to the possibility she would come back the next week appreciating the new look.
I don't think she ever flat out said how much easier it was, but she kept it for a few months. After about 4 months she started letting it get longer and longer until it was close to her own style.  I never said anything because this is a "comfort" zone for many women.  Try something new, then gradually go back to the old style.  While she never again let me cut it as short as I did the first time, at least we got away from roller sets and it was a much softer looker.
May she rest in peace now. She was a wonderful client.  She would have rocked silver and lavender.