Shades of grey are everywhere
You may recall my recent column on the blessings of aging along with some of the cons. Along with decades of laughing and smiling (and too much time spent in the sun) come wrinkles, and I’m OK with some of them but not above fighting the deeper ones as best I can without resorting to a facelift – that’s just way out of my comfort zone.
One part of aging is the appearance of grey hair. I’m fortunate to be a natural blonde because I’m only now seeing patches of silver or touches of gray around my temples and in the roots of my part line. I’ll be honest: I hate it. Really hate it. My hair is naturally curly/wavy/frizzy and grey hair is notoriously even more wiry than my natural hair. I fought the frizz most of my adult life except back in the 1980s and early ’90s when “big hair” was in – boy, do those old photos bring out the laughs now! Once “sleek” hair came into vogue in the late ’90s and early 2000s, I was in a pickle. Blow-outs, flat irons, keratin treatments, smoothing serums – you name it, I have tried it. I have other friends who embrace their curls and spirals, but working in television for decades came with constant “advice” or direct orders from many news directors to have a smooth, sleek coiffure since the bosses thought it looked “more professional.” My, how the times have changed!
Now that I’m retired, I actually have the freedom to wear my hair any way I want it – any length and any color – for the first time in my adult life. What I won’t be doing is wearing my hair grey, at least not now. Social media and magazines are overrun with photos and videos and testimonials of women enduring the “grey hair journeys” while giving up coloring their hair and letting natural grey and silver take over their heads. For many years, I have had very light blonde highlights and a dark blonde touchup at the roots for a softer looks (and recently to cover patches of grey).
Nowadays, that’s too much work. I thought I might just let my patches of grey blend in with the lighter blonde highlights and dark blonde natural hair, but after several months I saw a photo of myself and was horrified. I just don’t look like myself with patches of grey or like how it washes out my face.
I’m opting to touch up those grey patches with dark blonde here and there. I’m all for any woman (or anyone) wearing their hair however they want it. Grey, black, purple, green or totally gone. For me, I just can’t see myself getting on board with the “grey blending” trend just yet.
Maybe I’ll change my mind in a few years – that is, if my mind will actually let me realize that I’m over 30.
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.