Sandwiched
Thousands of men and women in Central Indiana will be flocking to their barbershops and salons for some much-needed “corona hair” relief next week. Many women will get back to their coloring routine, which in some instances includes covering gray hairs.
I’d like to throw out a different idea – embrace them!
I’m a former hair color fan. After discovering my first gray hair at age 27 and crying over it – which looking back now seems silly – I faithfully colored my hair. Red, light brown, dark brown, using a box at home or visiting the salon, I did it all for years.
My mom, who has absolutely gorgeous gray hair, did the same thing thanks to my dad’s, um, “encouragement.” A decade or so after he passed away, Mom finally said, “I’m done, I’m in my 70s and I’m not fooling anyone.” She told her stylist “Enough!’ and let those beautiful grays come through.
I became more environmentally conscious in my late 30s and didn’t like using chemicals on my hair anymore, so I decided to try henna coloring. I tried the globby concoction a few times, which looked and smelled liked dirty seaweed, but the results only lasted a week or two.
Soon after I turned 40, I thought, “Why am I doing this?” I like a simple routine in all aspects of life, and spending the time and money to color my hair didn’t make sense anymore. When my best friend Stacey commented that my grays were coming in “beautifully,” that made it official. I decided to stop and haven’t looked back.
Granted, I have light brown hair, which makes the grays look more like highlights – lucky me. But as I approach 50, I’m finding that I genuinely like them. In fact, when a hairstylist acquaintance commented to me in church that she’d love to color my hair, I replied, “No thank you, I like my hair just the way it is.”
And in recent years, my attitude has become trendy! More women are embracing their gray hair and using new products to make it look and feel fabulous. You can find all sorts of ways to ease into being “beautifully gray” online.
More of us are fed up with society’s general feeling that looking and getting older is “bad.” Remember, growing old is a privilege denied to many (author unknown).
On the flip side, if you disagree with me, I support that as well. If you feel better coloring your hair and don’t mind the time and expense, that is awesome! I just want to make certain you’re doing it for the right reason – for you and no one else.
Now more than ever, we all need to feel a little better and happier. One of my favorite sayings is “You do you.” If you love coloring your hair and don’t want to listen to this darn columnist, keep it up. But if you’re tired of the coloring routine, stop and see what happens. You just might discover a beautiful new you.