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| My hair on a good day! |
When I was about 10 a friend's mother commented that I should be a hairdresser because I was always playing with everyone's hair and was quite good at it. Hairdressing is not my profession, but I do still love to play with my hair and the hair of my friends. My hair is naturally somewhere between a wave and a curl, but on any given day it will be curled, straight, braided, pinned, you name it I play with it.
And I don't just limit myself to styling, I've done plenty of colour experimentation over the years. When I was about 15 some friends of mine and I dyed my hair red. To say my father was not happy is the understatement of the century. Luckily it was the kind that washes out, so I preceeded to stand in the shower and wash and wash and wash till it was gone.
My next hair dying adventure happened when I was at uni. My Mum bought me some natural henna dye from Lush and we dyed my hair a brownish red. It was amazing dye with a strong spicy scent that reactivated for months every time I washed my hair. However I could never quite get used to myself as a red head, so I let it fade away.
I've been various shades of brown - once almost black after a mistake by the hairdresser - and experimented with foils which I quite like but S doesn't.
The point is till now I have just been playing because I felt like it. I say till now because this morning I spotted gleaming in the light several grey hairs. I'm not surprised. My Dad's side of the family go grey early on and I have their hair. In fact I would have thought I would be a lot greyer by now. I have great hope that when I do go grey I will get the gorgeous silver hair of my grandmother. but I have to ask myself, am I ready to go grey? And if I dye my hair now is it the same as before or am I trying to deny something?
It is a funny thing, coming to terms with aging. For so long we spend our time wishing we were older and then it seems that everyone wishes they were younger. I have for a long time tried not to be defined by an age. I don't feel a need to be older or younger, I'm happy to just be. But am I happy to be grey?
I'm still not sure what the answer is. My few gleaming grey hairs don't upset me, but they do have me thinking.
To dye or not to dye, that is the question. How do you answer it?
I have been noticing the odd grey hair (it seems to be much more noticeable on dark Asian hair too!) and it makes me panic. I just haven't had the time to dye my hair recently, but it must be done soon. I am not ready to come to terms with aging and grey hair yet!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'm ready for greys Cat, but I'm also thinking I'm too lazy for hair colour upkeep!
DeleteI have not coloured my hair since 2006! I was so scared that I would turn out asian bleached... but the highlights my stylist put in were awesome. :) No greys that I can see. I tell myself that there aren't any as it is short and I cannot see.
ReplyDeleteRight now I don't think anyone would notice mine. I'm really wondering how fast this process will be.
DeleteI've been going grey since I was 12 and I'd say I'm now about 30% grey. It's unfortunately concentrated through the front of my hair, and because I'm not quite ready to embrace the blue rinse, I have it dyed every five weeks. Come week three the regrowth is noticeable, and by week five it's diabolical so I have to use a hair crayon in between visits to mask the steely glint at my roots. Frankly, it's exhausting, and I can't wait until I'm old enough to go properly grey.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if I go grey early will people think like Steve Martin that I'm eternally never changing after that? I just don't think I have the commitment for the upkeep!
DeleteI have always found grey hair sexy. I think it's distinguished looking. I have very few grey hairs but I'm always hopeful when I find one. Especially around my temples.
ReplyDeleteHmmm distinguished, now that is a good look to aim for!
DeleteMy Mum went grey quite early, and never dyed her hair, so she was quite noticeable in her group of friends. However, it turned out wonderfully for her in the end, because all of her age cohort have recently had to make the "decision" in the past 5 years or so to suddenly go grey overnight, which I think has proven a bit of a self-esteem shock for them and their families at that point. I may well go grey early too, and I'm not quite sure what I'd do. Feminism is strong within me, but I'm not sure if my sense of self is strong enough...
ReplyDeletePersonally I think the feminist view on this would be that you do whatever makes you happy. For me when weighing up vanity vs upkeep effort, I have a feeling laziness will win out. I'm not sure that is a win for feminism.
DeleteYou have managed to make me feel like I'm reading my own words yet again :) Although in saying that, I am not very good with experimenting and playing with my hair - I like other people doing it, but don't have much skill myself. My efforts result in a bun-like hairstyle 90% of the time because it keeps my wavy-curly-not-quite-either hair contained and is easy.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have had a few grey hairs for several years now and my Mum started getting grey hairs at a similar time (basically mid-20s! ridiculous!). I'm not at the point where I need to colour it consistently to mask them but sense it coming up on the horizon...I am definitely not ready to go grey so I may be having more upkeep before long :P