Just the other day one of my clients told me about this video on graying hair. I was thrilled to see that there is support for our decision to go “au naturel”
Enjoy this video and please share your thoughts and stories in the comments section. Together we can support our sisters in their decision to stop dyeing their hair.
I started going gray in my 20s. Plucking them one by one soon became a losing battle. And so the coloring of my hair began. I finally had to switch hair dressers to let my natural colour shine through. Every time I broached the topic she would tell me that I wouldn’t like it and that others of her customers had tried it and hated it.
At 50 my father fell, broke his hip and spent several months in hospital before passing away. Coloring my hair was not on my priority list and so I just dyed it myself. I don’t know what I did but it came out quite blonde. Perhaps it bleached out due to the summer sun. At any rate after my Dad passed on I decided to see what my hair looked like. Within 3 cuts the blonde was gone and I was silver and pleased with my new look.
So this is the question at hand. You see my partner is a graying hair lady. Loves her gray and wants to keep it that way. Now myself, well that is quite a different story. They will take me down kicking and screaming holding onto every last strand of dark hair that manages to work its way through the forest of gray. So the question remains: gray hair color – really?
It’s not enough that women and men struggle daily to cover up every last inch of gray that seems to pop up in a new multitude of places every day. Now they are trying to sell us on the idea of coloring our hair gray? Please, I’m shuddering as we speak.
Now this isn’t to say that I don’t think many people (including my best friend and partner) look fabulous in their gray hair. It suits them perfectly and they are embracing their natural beauty. But…..the idea of actually using gray hair color to make it even more gray is a bit daunting.
But looking at the pros and cons of this dilemma, something sort of “smacked” me in the face you could say. One of my all time favorite singers (funny how no one gets older except you in your mind) Tom Jones was performing at some special event honoring someone. So anxiously, I awaited, chips in hand, recliner in full tilt, remote positioned and then – OMG – is THAT Tom Jones?
Yes, my worst nightmare had been realized. Tom Jones got old. Now, looking back on what happened made me realize something. As I watched and listened I was uniquely aware of something happening to me. I was drawn to him again….not because he was that handsome, virile, stud of a man (be still my heart) with a voice that could melt ice but because he was comfortable with who he was and unaffected by age. Yes, he let his hair go gray and with that graying came a sense of grace and dignity and, dare I say it “coolness”.
Tom Jones was still cool. Gray, yes, but cool and handsome as ever. Seems like he grayed overnight but it suits him well.
So did he take out the gray hair color and make the ultimate switch all at once? Seems like it but it could have happened gradually. But either way, it opened my eyes to a new generation of gray hairs out there.
Maybe I should just stop fighting it and just buy the bottle of gray hair color and go for it. Growing it out would be a painful process for me; don’t think I could take watching it sprout daily so yes, gray hair color does seem to make sense to me as I write this.
Am I a convert yet? No. It will take some time and gentle prodding. Any thoughts from the already liberated crowd or the “take me down kicking and screaming crowd”? Would love to hear the pros and cons from those who are struggling regardless of age or gender?
Should I set myself free? Or continue to be me (or sort of me?)
