Letting Nature Take Its Course

Hair is a woman's vanity. If it's curly we want it straight. If it's straight we get a perm. If it's blonde we go brunette. And brunettes know blondes have more fun! Media plays into our insecurities and tells us all the things we need to have vibrant, silkier, more manageable, dandruff-free, softer, full-of-volume manes. It's all to pad "their" pocketbooks. I am convinced. 

I began going gray several years ago. Actually I have no idea when I went gray. I've been coloring my hair for over a dozen years and have lost track of the natural shade of my locks. I've been dark brown, ash brown, auburn, orange (big mistake) and a bigger mistake of eggplant. I've used highlights and enjoyed a bit of a blonde streak.

Four months ago I said, "enough!" I had no idea what my true color was nor how much gray was in my hair. I needed to find out. So I stopped purchasing the Garnier box of medium-brown and let the roots grow out. Since I keep my hair fairly short it was merely a matter of weeks for the gray to show through. I'm now at the point where a few tips are marked that medium-brown and the natural silver streaking is more evident than the unnatural color. 

Now for the vanity part...sometimes I look in the mirror and shocked, say, "Who is that old lady?" My daughter gives me a hard time every other day, asking me to color. My younger sister exclaims her disappointment and vows to always color her hair. I sigh and turn into my resolve to allow the silver to dominate. Then a week ago I was encouraged.

Mommylife.net is letting go of the coloring and going gray and posted a link to a website: goinggraylookgreat.com. Whoever started it highlights the process of going gray, but not just highlights it - celebrates it! 

There's a freedom in letting the natural return. It's empowering, it's freeing, it's becoming more comfortable with the skin I'm in. It's accepting my age. It's embracing the wisdom I've gained through my almost 48 years. It's still shocking. It's a new look. And it's ever-changing. 

This picture was taken five years ago - 

head full of color and streaks!

Embracing my true colors!