I am a natural brunette, or at least I was a natural brunette until sometime in my twenties. Like my grandmother, my hair started to age before its time and I began to notice more salt than pepper at the roots surrounding my face. I have been dying my hair since then because I refuse to go down the path of “aging gracefully” without a hearty fight.
Someone recently asked me what my natural hair color was and, after I finished giggling, I responded with “I’m guessing somewhere between alabaster and egg-shell white”. I still like to think the hair color that I have paid for on numerous occasions reflects the age I feel and not the age I should look when I am eighty.
When I was younger I remember hearing the belief that grey hair made men look distinguished but made women look old. Along with every other changing belief, this is an outdated way of thinking and there are many women disproving this theory at an alarming rate. One stand-out woman who takes grey hair to a new level of sexy is this woman.
Jamie Lee Curtis is 56 years old, a mere 10 years old than I am and she looks absolutely stunning having allowed herself to embrace the natural greying process. Since the length of my hair in the summer months is very similar to her pixie cut, I have been tempted many times to put the box of “natural” color back on the shelf and see just what color my hair really is at this stage in my life. Somehow those ‘Natural Instincts’ make their way to the counter every time.
Maybe when I hit that magic number, the big 5-0, perhaps then I will be ready to leave the color in the box, but until then it’s time to put those gloves back on and keep fighting the good fight.
polysyllabic profundities 
I did that experiment just before my 60th birthday, hoping against hope that I would look like Jamie Lee. Sadly, the sides were white but the top was salt-and-pepper (with more pepper than salt), and every time I looked in the mirror I felt old old OLD. I absolutely love the all-white look and will embrace it when I have it—maybe I’ll take another peek when the next decade looms—but for now I embrace the box.
I’m afraid to lose my grasp on the box. It would be interesting to see what it looked like but I’m not willing to make that leap just yet!
I know a number of youngish women with grey hair and they are super fine.
Thanks Ross. It’s nice to have a man’s perspective.
I’m like you….I’m fighting to the bitter end at 46. At 50? We’ll see…but I’m thinking more like 60. Or 70.
I’m starting to think I agree with those numbers much more! 🙂
I’ve been very slow to gray, so now at 44 have the beginnings of a streak at the front. I’m going to dye it bright blue this week.
Haha…I love it!!
I was born a redhead and I will die a redhead 🙂 Some redheads go a graceful strawberry blonde with silver glints. Mine went flipping browny grey – slate, my hairdresser calls it.:-( I feel so betrayed by my hair. Being a redhead is so much part of who I am. My hairdresser gets this, and we’ve achieved a lovely Titian blend. The best compliment we receive is when people look enviously at my hair, and say, “you couldn’t get that out of a bottle” I don’t think of it as dyeing my hair, it’s restoration work 🙂
Haha…..restoration work….I love that!! I always wished I was born with red hair….sigh….alas, some sort of brown it is….depends on the day (or the box) 😉
I was getting grey/white hairs in High School. My Mum was completely white before she turned 40. I have been dyeing my hair for a long time. Unfortunately my hair also grows very quickly, right now for example I have at least an inch of regrowth and it has only been 5-6 weeks since last application. I am lucky that I have got to the point now where I can pay my girlfriend (who is an amazing hair dresser) to do my hair. It always looks amazing and it’s funny how much more confident and happy you feel when your hair is happy and healthy 🙂
I don’t have the balls to go au naturale. Maybe when I turn 40… but probably not, I have 9 years to decide for or against it hahaha.
My hair grows very quickly as well and my hair is quite short in the summer so it’s hard to hide the roots. At least dyeing short hair is a pretty fast process.
That’s true, I have thought about chopping it all off, but I don’t think it would suit my face 🙂 I have a very round face lol. Does not work on me hahaha.
Grow old gracefully I say. Wtf. Philosophy says – What is, is! If my hair goes grey, so be it. Any desire to bring back the past is rooted in ego and that ain’t necessarily good. But that is me about me. The ‘fairer’ gender has been required to spend more time and money in maintaining good looks and that is both not fair and a big burden with the passage of years. So……who knows? Do what works for now, and then do something different later. Thankfully we live in a time when there are no rules!
Yes….I agree with all of that!!
I’ve noticed more and more ‘highlights’ showing up in my dark hair, but I’m just too lazy to start the coloring process because once you do it, you kind of have to keep up with it. I would agree that Jamie Lee Curtis looks awesome with her hair color!