Last updated at 11:41 PM on 11th October 2011
As a look, it used to be the ultimate fashion faux pas nasty black roots spreading over your scalp like a dirty stain, screaming to the world: Look at me, Im a bottle blonde whos too poor and lazy to go to the hairdresser for a touch-up.
Hair like this was previously confined to students, bikers and teenagers going through particularly bad break-ups.
But, recently, this style has been spotted on the heads of certain older, well-turned-out and affluent ladies who could easily summon a stylist to their side with a click of their manicured fingers.
Friends... with dye: Jennifer Aniston
Model look: Kate Moss's grungy style
Madonna, 53, Gwyneth Paltrow, 39, and Elle Macpherson, 47, have all been spotted with what looks like several months and inches of dark re-growth.
And rather than being caught by the paparazzi putting the bins out or dashing back from the school run, these women have been photographed at premieres and award ceremonies boldly showing off their Lily Savage-style roots with pride.
But, according to top hair stylists, there could be an underlying reason for this sudden surge in slatternly behaviour.
Why? Because these stars want to show the world they dont have grey roots. And they are going to great lengths to prove it. After all, despite her age-defying body and taste for younger boyfriends, shouldnt Madonna, in her mid-50s, be showing roots of a far different shade? Grey, for example?
Blonde ambition: Age-defying Madonna
Strictly natural? Tess Daly's perfect tresses
Instead, these canny celebrities are deliberately dyeing their roots dark to help maintain that veneer of eternal youth.
And its not just A-listers who are using this trick. According to celebrity stylist Richard Ward, having their hair dip-dyed is appealing to more and more women in their 40s and 50s. They come into salons asking for their roots to be dyed a much darker shade than the rest of their hair, with a gradual lightening of the colour towards the tip.
The dip-dyed, sun-kissed look is very much a fad at the moment, says Richard. And its just as popular with older women as it is with younger ones. Its quite grungy, trendy and a definite fashion statement. To me, these women are saying they want to keep up with trends with the added element disguising the fact they are going grey.
I dont know how realistic a prospect it is for women in their 40s and 50s to expect people to believe their dark regrowth is natural. After all, it is extremely rare for a woman in her 40s not to have any grey whatsoever, let alone a woman in her 50s.
The Body's (dark) hair: Elle Macpherson
Glad not to be grey: Gwyneth Paltrow
But there is no shame in a woman wanting to stay looking young for as long as she can. And if its done well, it can look very effective.
THE DIY WAY TO GET THE LOOK
There are plenty of DIY products to give your greying roots a darker hue without paying a fortune at the hairdresser.
Nice n Easy Root Touch Up Permanent Colour brush, 4.28, Boots
A precision brush which, unlike normal wash-through hair dye, allows you to apply a darker shade to your roots only where you need it.
Oscar Blandi Pronto Colore Root Touch-up Pen, 14, amazon.co.uk
Another temporary colour, which is painted on to hair.
Root Essentials dry colour root touch-up and rejuvenation system, 19, myroot essentials.com.
A semi-permanent, brush-in powder applied direct to roots of hair.
There are very few women who feel ready to go grey in their 40s and 50s. If you get to your 60s and 70s and find you are lucky enough to have grown a shock of white hair, it can be fantastic.
But Ill always dissuade clients against going grey before their 60s.
I would advise older women to go for a subtler gradation in colour: the dark roots only work with the whole rock-chick look, which requires dressing in a certain way.
Jo Reid, senior colourist at John Frieda, says the dark-roots style also appeals to older women with grey issues, as it is much easier to maintain than highlighted hair, and presents a much more modern look than all-over blocks of colour. The dark at the roots, sun-kissed style is one Cindy Crawford (46 next birthday) has adopted for years, long before its recent popularity, she says.
So next time you look in the mirror and see those dark roots growing through, dont despair. Youre not lazy. Youre just bang on trend.
