50 “shades of grey”, yes that is the best description.
I have been brave, I have stopped colouring my hair completely. Avoiding the colourist has been a tough process and one that has required more perseverance than I would have thought. Letting go of traditional ideas, changing habits and forging into the unknown is challenging. I know that hair colour is very insignificant in the grand scheme, but for some hair is a very defining feature.
Why the 50 shades of grey?
Mostly because I found myself admiring those women who had taken the step towards grey and liking how they looked. One month at a time was my mantra, promising myself that colour was only a phone call away. I have survived nearly a year without picking up the phone.
It should also be said that the transition to grey is much easier with fair hair. Going grey does require several steps over time; cold turkey is never pretty.
My hair has always been important to me; it is a security blanket of sorts.
I have worn my hair reasonably long for some years and a regular cut, colour and blowdry are as natural to me as getting up in the morning. It’s how the relationship with my hair has worked. Removing one element of that routine has been hard to maintain. I have been tempted so many times to re-colour, to go back to where I once belonged.
My hairdresser has encouraged me, even my colourist. My friends tell me it looks good and my children say, “own it”. A compliment about my hair, when having doubts, is like nectar. I lap them up. It’s not that I have self-doubts or lack confidence in my decision to go grey; my hair and by default me is simply different. It takes time to get re-acquainted.
The highlighted hair is about halfway out now and so the new shade is becoming familiar.
Do I like it? I think so and what I don’t like has probably got little to do with my hair or how it looks. Going grey, while it can look chic and stylish and all those attributes that we so admire, means accepting that we have reached a certain age. That is confronting and I think I would be lying if I didn’t say that this takes time to accept and embrace. Mentally I feel more youthful than ever; I feel engaged and on pace. When I look in the mirror, especially with 50 shades of grey peering back at me, there is a large contradiction.
Going grey, actively deciding to let nature take control has consequences, good consequences.
Grey helps me make more of an effort with what I wear; a bad hair day is a very bad hair day without colour as a support player. Grey hair does not mean fashion is not my friend, grey hair makes me want to take an even greater interest in my appearance. Every time I waiver and feel wobbly about this decision, I look at pictures of women who I think have killer style.
Grey hair has been a proactive choice, a new point of view rather than a resignation. I hope that I can be brave enough to stay with it. xv
50 Shades Of Grey
going going gone // the long and the short of it // age v’s long hair // top hair care essentials
