To be...or not to be grey

It was just about this time last year I came to the decision that I was no longer going to color my hair….I wanted to see the ‘authentic’ me.  (Blog: ‘Authentic’, August 2012)    I had discussed it with my hairdresser at my last coloring session in July; in August I set off to claim my natural hair color, whatever that might be.  In truth I hadn't seen my natural hair color in so many years I was hard pressed to remember.

If you are male and reading this you may be thinking, “What’s the big deal?”   If, however, you are a balding man reading this you know just how important hair can be.  (You don't know what you've got till it's gone)   The beauty industry rakes in billions of dollars each year that everyday people like us spend trying to look better.    But don't get all judgemental, because that's not money spent by strictly women. Hair Club for Men and other companies give men a second chance to have a full head of hair.  There are special hair color systems for men, spray-on hair to cover bald spots, Rogaine to stimulate hair re-growth, and toupees if that should fail.  Both sexes are imminently susceptible to the siren song of youth-promising products.  Coloring your hair is just the tip of the rejuveniation ice berg.

For those of you who are considering this ‘let’s get back to basics’ move let me give you a few tips I’ve learned to get through it: 

My hair was decidedly blonde for a long.  (I decided I wanted to be blonde, so I was)  When I made the choice to let it all grow out I got the advice of my terrific hair dresser.  Kasey suggested we put some very light streaks throughout, anticipating a lot of gray/white to come!  She was right.  Doing this very light colored frosting helped make the process go much easier.

Knowing how I had always used special shampoos to keep the color in, I did the reverse and used harsher shampoos in an effort to let the color drab out a bit.  That also seemed to help! 

I washed my hair daily because the colors seemed to blend better when my hair was squeaky clean.

I went to the internet to look for pictures of women with gray hair.  There was no shortage of energetic, happy and vibrant women who had embraced their natural color.  I decided then that, for me, gray was the new blonde!

Most of all, I was determined to have a sense of humor about it; I knew if I didn’t make a big deal out of it wouldn’t be a big deal.  Wear a hat…wear a babushka….it will grow!!

One year later I’ve arrived at the point where my hair is all grown out…and the funniest thing has happened!  During the many years I colored my hair I’d sometimes have a stranger tell me she loved my haircut, but I never had anyone ask me what color my hair was.   Now, perhaps just because it's different,  I have women ask what color I’m doing my hair these days, “Is that ash blonde or what?”     I’ve decided to dub this color ‘Late in Life Diana’….because that’s honestly what it is.

I was at lunch the other day with a friend, chuckling about how people ask about my hair color, when a woman I’d never seen before stopped at our table and said she loved my hair color!  We both burst into laughter; maybe getting older won’t be as bad as I thought.

It’s such a little thing, but I love the freedom of not having to worry about coloring my ‘roots’.   Talking to women about hair coloring the comments ranged from “You’re so brave…wish I wasn’t so hung up on my hair!” to “What’s the big deal?  My hair started turning gray in my thirties!”.

Although the change is less than I expected, it is really a whole new ball game dealing with my "natural hair".  It's baby fine, with very little body.  For the first time I'm having to learn about hair products; for the first time I own hair spray.  I also find I'm spending more time on my hair than I ever have...with not very satisfying results.  I suppose there's a learning curve, but I'll get the hang of it.

And so it is that I have reached ‘authentic’ status in just one short year.  Like everything else this experience, as frivolous as it is, has taught me a lesson I needed to learn: 

                          Be who you are….whatever age you are….and you will be authentic.

                                                                            Life is Good