Inanch Emir, founder of INANCH London, shares how she created Olivia Coleman’s transformation using a bespoke blend of naturally curly grey extensions
Olivia Colman's striking long grey hair has been turning heads - and behind the transformation is award-winning celebrity hair extensions specialist Inanch Emir, founder of INANCH London and Gold Class Hair.
Rather than covering or disguising Olivia's natural grey, Inanch's approach was to embrace it – enhancing the beauty, movement and individuality of her existing hair while adding luxurious length and volume.
To achieve a result that looked completely authentic, Inanch worked with naturally curly Gold Class Hair extensions, individually creating a bespoke colour blend specifically for Olivia.
The finished shade was not taken from a single grey extension colour. Instead, four different shades of grey were carefully mixed and distributed throughout the hair, recreating the natural tonal variations found in greying hair.
The extensions were then applied using ultra-discreet micro bonds, allowing the different grey tones to be positioned precisely and seamlessly throughout Olivia's own hair.
The result is the long, softly textured silver-grey hair now attracting attention around the world – while retaining the character and natural beauty of Olivia's own grey.
"For me, the most important thing was that Olivia still looked completely like herself," says Inanch. "We weren't trying to hide her grey hair – we wanted to celebrate it. Natural grey hair is never just one colour, so I blended four different grey shades to create depth and dimension and to work harmoniously with Olivia's own hair.
"Using our naturally curly Gold Class Hair was also key because the texture needed to feel as authentic as the colour. By creating very small individual bonds, I was able to place the different tones exactly where they were needed. The aim was that nobody should look at Olivia and think 'hair extensions' – they should simply see beautiful, naturally long grey hair."
A New Approach to Grey Hair Extensions
The transformation also highlights a growing change in attitudes towards grey hair.
Where extensions have traditionally been associated with adding conventional blonde, brunette or highlighted lengths, Inanch believes women choosing to embrace their natural grey should have access to the same possibilities.
"Grey hair can be incredibly beautiful," adds Inanch. "Women shouldn't have to choose between embracing their natural colour and having the length or volume they want. The secret is recognising that authentic grey hair contains many different tones. When you reproduce those nuances correctly, extensions can become virtually undetectable."
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