I have had a constant dilemma with regard to greying hair. At 55 I have been continuing to colour my hair even though it goes against my commitment to live a simple life and avoid using anything that contains nasty chemicals.....I have tried organic Henna which was a disaster...but friends and family have continued to tell me that grey hair is too aging and that I will add 10 years to myself.....but surely there is an age where it is socially acceptable to be grey.....why is it that most women feel the need to continue to colour, shave and pluck hair that naturally wants to remain how it is. We have been conditioned to conform to a model of appearance that probably has no place in free thinking individuals. I am so over trips to the hairdresser to colour the regrowth of grey hairs that increases with every visit...it stings my scalp and is a very uncomfortable 40 minutes.....why do I continue to do this?....I suppose I am still conforming to what is expected in mainstream society.....obviously vanity and a bit of fear about how I will look with grey hair....but I think it should be OK to let nature take it's course and let my reluctant follicles age gracefully....something so simple appears to be a real hurdle for me....when there is so much suffering and heartache in the world how does my hair colour even rate a mention.....I just need to get over it and go grey...
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| Jamie Lee looks fantastic with grey hair and it seems so natural |
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| Judy Dench always look great but of course grey at this age is expected I think. . |
Suzie I am only 36 and until the beginning of the year had been dye free for a while and was happy to be sporting a few grey hairs. I never worried about it until a friend commented that I needed to get my grey covered. Then the hairdresser talked me into a colour and boy do I wish I hadn't. It went against my beliefs but I still got talked into it. Ever since then I have regretted it and am now working my way back to having no dye again. For me this means that I will get it cut short for summer and that will get rid of a lot of it. But there seems to be a lot of stigma about it so I have decided that from now on I will complement ladies with lovely grey/greying hair. I figure we all love a compliment and why shouldn't grey hair be considered attractive.
ReplyDeleteI agree Fiona. It shouldn't be such a big deal but somehow there is an expectation that women should hide the fact that they are getting older. I want to embrace getting older not hide from it.
DeleteIf you're ready to go gray, I'd say it's OK now. I've been back & forth with that one. My first gray hairs began showing up at 17, and after some comments from people, I began getting highlights in my mid-20's, to help cover them. In my mid 30's, I let it go gray, which was pretty much totally at that point. When I was ready to begin dating after my divorce, in my late 40's, I started coloring it (at home), with my Mom & sister urging me on. I will say I did look quite a bit younger with coloring. I think about letting it go gray again, but my man is not keen on the idea, so I continue to color, which I agree is a hassle. I use ammonia-free color, which doesn't sting my scalp. I had also tried henna and some of the all natural ones, but with total, resistant gray, they didn't work well. Good luck with your decision. I'm sure you will be beautiful, whatever you decide.
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