When former beauty executive Evelyn Wang stopped dying her graying hair in 2015, she didn’t think it would lead to launching a hair-care brand. But when she began to fully embrace her silver tresses, she noticed a white space, she said.
“I was going through this process where I had my [hair color] stripped out, which weakened the hair I grew out, so I was looking for products that would work for me,” said Wang, who has worked in high-profile beauty roles at L’Oréal Paris, Milani, Neutrogena and the Estée Lauder Companies. “There were a few older formulas, and there was a purple shampoo brand people were advising me to buy — it was the same brand people use on white dogs in dog shows. At that point, I was like, ‘There are a lot of people with gray hair, but there’s nothing on the market [for them].”
As Wang explained, caring for gray hair — often colloquially referred to as silver hair — requires specialized formulas. When the hair begins to gray, it loses melanin, which makes the hair follicles more sensitive to heat and UV damage. “[Gray hair] is also more porous, so it makes it easy for moisture to pass through but harder for the hair to actually hang on to that moisture. That can cause dryness, frizzing and textural issues,” she told Glossy.
In 2019, Wang began researching and developing her own products, which led to this week’s launch of The Silverist, a hair-care brand made for people with gray hair.
On Wednesday, the Silverist exclusively launched on its e-commerce site with three hero products all priced at $32. They include the Lustrous Rituals Buildable Tone Shampoo, which the brand describes as a “non-purple,sulfate-free shampoo that offers gradual tone correction.” There is also the Smooth Harmony Shine-Infusing Conditioner, which promises to “deliver the silky shine and smoothness silver hair craves.” And the Holistic Benefits Leave-in Hair Serum, said to offer “the brand’s highest level of heat protection, and also condition, hydrate, detangle, smooth, pump up shine, volumize, soften and leave hair healthy looking.”
As a new-to-market brand targeting graying hair, the Silverist is competing with brands including SEEN and Oribe, both of which have released collections in the category. According to Wang, however, the ingredients are the brand’s differentiator. In every formula, there is a blend of saccharides, said to protect hair from heat. There’s also amla seed oil, karanja seed oil and sunflower seed oil, all of which contribute to the nourishing of gray hair strands and the scalp and provide shine and smoothness, Wang said.
The brand will announce its launch across its social media channels. In addition, Wang will be spreading education and useful information on gray hair through TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Lives. Wang said, pre-launch, the live strategy proved successful as upward of 9,000 consumers would join her live chats.
In addition, Wang plans to tap women above 40 with gray hair to participate in future campaigns, photo shoots and influencer gifting. Though the Silverist’s products are unisex, Wang said one of the core missions of the brand is to highlight the normal, yet often stigmatized, process of aging that women experience.
Brands are increasingly paying attention to Gen X and older generations. On August 15, Dove launched “Beauty Never Gets Old,” a 360-degree campaign highlighting women over 60. And in May, the clean beauty brand Merit tapped longtime Vogue creative director Grace Coddington (age 83) for a campaign announcing the newest shade of its Satin Signature Lipstick.
According to previous Glossy reporting, the spending power of consumers over 40 is steadily increasing. A 2024 Capital One Shopping survey found that, in the 12 months ending in March 2024, 85% of Gen X consumers shopped online. And 9.52% of Gen Xers reported shoppers online at least weekly.
In terms of what’s next for Silverist, Wang said expanding into retail channels is the ideal next step. “I’m exploring specialty beauty retail first, and then eventually, I may expand it to other channels.”
