Gray Haired Nightmare
Each time a gray hair pops up on my crown, I lose my shit. Okay, I am not so dramatic, but I am a serial plucker. I could not bare to see my before pictures of my hair. With only a couple visible gray stubs every now and then, this approach is manageable for the time being, but not sustainable. Having gray hair was a nightmare specially when I would look at any picture of mine Pluck one strand and a couple of days later it will feel like you have unleashed the beast. And hence not too intrigued in spending the rest of my life coloring my own roots. Highland Fashionista.
What do we do when grey hairs creep in, and finally take over? A lot of other people have complex relationship with graying and aging generally. Some use it’s is like a badge of honor and a few may consider placing their monthly hair appointment over emergency dental operation, which I completely understand, too.
Therefore, I spoke to seven individuals to hear their gray hair stories to direct my path. From eschewing cultural norms to fearing a lover’s rejection, here is what they would to share about going gray.
Su Jit, 33, story of gray hair with Lupus
I got my first grey at about 23, when I began real life – job search, real job, balancing side job, moving in with my soon-to-be-ex. I figured it was stress related. The matter is, I’ve lupus, and thus baldness is a very real fear. The moment I entered into my prime years of life, this fear of baldness and grey hair seeped into my life. I thought my life before and after gray hair will be extremely different.
You know how we all shed from the shower? ! The way I see it, we just have our hair for so long, regardless of what kind of hair we are born with. I lose enough at the shower, at the bathroom, sleeping, and to lupus to carry on to each precious strand. I will keep the hair that I’ve until I cannot anymore, thanks!
Lucy, 48, on the pressure to look picture perfect.
About three decades back, I started doing henna glosses to color my grays. I had Started gaining weight after recovering from a bout of disordered eating, so perhaps I was subconsciously rebelling against the idea that I was letting go. A variety of people expressed their disappointment that I was not staying healthy. The irony obviously is that I am staying healthful, not lean. So, I suppose I compensate for that perception by not letting my hair to go gray. I stopped taking pictures. The ones I did take were more like a comparison, a gray hair before and after picture flip book.
Black females are under so much pressure to be a picture perfect. We are criticized if we do not meet white standards of beauty, then criticized much more harshly if we cannot attain that look naturally. Mocked for wearing wigs or extensions, but if we proceed natural, we are advised for this, too. I end up believing that other black females are the best judges of my appearance. My gray hair stood up in any picture I took.
Duaa, 30, on rebelling against Sudanese beauty ideals.
Once I first started going grey at 15, I thought, what have I done wrong in my life to deserve this?! Did I wrong someone? Did I angry God? When did my life go so wrong? But come to think of it, it is genetic. My mother, also as a teenager, has had gray hair. She would get mad almost each time she would see my hair because it appeared like an indication of me never really caring for myself and not really being aware of my own dressing habits. American beauty is usually about being delicate – the “no make-up” make-up look and embracing the natural. I did not want to dye my hair. I embraced it with open arms and be true to who I am. However, Sudanese beauty is the complete opposite.
You need to look like you have tried. You need to look well groomed, professional; your make-up always must be impeccable. Someone like me, who is Really lazy on my approach to my style or caring for my hair – it really clashes with my mother, my aunts, and my female cousins from Sudan, because they are perfect. They make sure they are perfect, and it can take hours to attain that before they could even go out anywhere. I think generally being natural is beautiful. The older I get, the more I am accepting of the way I look and who I am, and I cannot alter this. Here is my gray hair before and after picture.
Do you know Rogue from X Men? Each seven to nine weeks. I try never to miss a date, unless it is something significant comes up, such as my mom’s funeral.
My gray hair Story
Last summer, I want to get dental surgery fourteen days before a 3-week vacation to Europe. They only had one opening – at the same time as my baldness. I did not want to postpone the operation and be in pain on my trip, but I also did not want to be gray hair in any picture that I would have forever. I am a little ashamed to say I want to think about it, but that I did choose the dental operation. My backup plan was to buy semi-permanent dye in medium auburn. I figured it would simply wash out and I would see my hairdresser when I returned. To begin with, it was NOT moderate auburn, it was crayon red. Great for them. Being pleased by the way one looks is very important. I expect they was. I am with mine.
Victoria, 32, on global adventures in covering gray Hair.
I have had grey hair since I was 17, and I have been dyeing it from the age of 20. It is something that is always been a little odd and almost embarrassing. Most of my career has been working in odd regions of the planet that do not have easy access to reputable salons. I worked remotely in conflict zones – areas such as the West Bank, Kosovo, Iraq, and Jerusalem.
I have had weird hair disaster since every civilization treats hair a little differently. In Jordan, I went to some very fancy resort salon that I figured could have a high understanding of English so I could explain what I desired. They understood English, they simply did not listen to what I desired. They turned my hair orange and after that did not take the dye from the back of my throat, so my neck was dyed black, my hair was dyed orange, then they tried to do a semi perm on me. I came out looking like an orange poodle.
In the last 6 months, I let my hair grow, and I started noticing how incredibly grey my hair has become. I’ve about 50% grey, nearly white hair, and 50 percent superb black, black hair. The women in my family have bright white, very pretty hair, so I thought, why not see what happens and allow it grow naturally for some time and see if I really like it? I would basically black hair, but I lightened it significantly and gave it an ash blonde glaze in order that everything kind of mixes in a little bit better and it is not as clear as it grows out.
Raquel, 34, on learning to own grey hair
About 10 years back, my mother had breast cancer, and one of the unwanted effects of the chemotherapy were that she lost all her hair. However, it grew back completely undamaged, and silky and lustrous, and this stunning silver color. She has kept it that way, in short harvest, ever since, and she looks fantastic. Folks stop her on the street to compliment her on it. She also, I think, since her illness, had a far healthy relationship to her aging and age.
I do, I love it and maybe I feel somewhat jealous. I wish I did not care much or could nurture some sort of badass chic with my grey tresses.
Alejandro, 40, on silver foxes and silver vixens
I was 35 when I found my first grey hairs. My first reaction was, NO NOOOO. I am getting old! However, I do not feel old. So, it does not make sense. It was not something I was prepared to deal with, particularly as a lately divorced man. I was worried women would not be as intrigued in me when I had grey hair.
Firstly, cut the hairs. However, increasingly more turned up, so I started using only for Guys to cover this up. I met my now wife not long afterwards. I was embarrassed to admit that I was doing this. However, I began to notice the so-called problem was getting worse.
So, I decided to find out her view on men with gray hair by showing a picture to her in Burning Man when we are feeling vulnerable and sincere and kind to each other. It took me a very long time to spit it out. I talked about the way she was younger than me, and also the way I’d experience modifications to my entire body as I get older and the way I wanted to discuss these issues with her. She was convinced I would cancer. I finally said that I had found a gray hair and I was wondering what I need to do. She was relieved that is all it was, she burst out laughing and said, Keep it! I do not care.
Guys with grey hair is sexy! Shocked! My thoughts are that men and women are treated differently because of their grey hair, however. I hope I am wrong, but I believe some guys do not find grey hair in women to be attractive, and women feel more pressure to dye their own hair and withstand aging. This do not seem that is fair. I find women who allow their hair to go grey irresistible and beautiful. Here is my gray hair before and after picture.
Never will I forget it was my Freshman year in school and a man sitting behind me in one of my classes pulled a hair out of my head, showed it to me. And just like that pointed out my insecurity, “Did you know you’d a grey hair?”
Kim’s story
I dyed my hair frequently for the next thirty years. That meant a chair in the cabin every four months, and for a week ago and a half, I would use hair mascara. That worked great, except my pillowcases and shirt collars had brown stains on them and once I had come in from a run, I would have to mop my hair part to maintain the mascara from running down my head.
Lovely! So then this was a visit to the salon every 3 weeks and once I just got so sick of spending half of my Saturdays and essentially all my paycheck on my damn hair, I chose to begin dyeing at home. I did not trust box dye from the pharmacy, so that I spent hours on YouTube figuring out how to mix salon quality colors with unique levels of developer.
Though I purchased expensive color, bowls, gloves, and brushes and I just started coloring in the home every two ½, weeks. I would recruit my boyfriend to find the origins in the back of my mind where I could not reach. This was a source of fantastic humor for the both of us one day he looked at me went on to say that he thought I ought to just go grey. I think it would look cool! I’d love to add here that he is 16 years younger than me and I am so thankful for the Millennial open thoughts about hair color! I said, but there is not any way in hell that I am going grey at 48 and maintained dyeing. But I have been thinking about it.
