14.
“It’s been over a year and a half since I last dyed my hair and I couldn’t be happier with that decision! Leaving the stress, mess and frustration of the relentless dyeing cycle behind has been incredibly freeing. I love my hair. I have watched in fascination as the silver slowly weaves through the dark. But the process has been about so much more than hair. It’s been about accepting this change – about accepting myself. It’s been about connecting with amazing and supportive people who are walking a similar path. And it’s been about encouraging others to see, even if it’s not the right one for you, it’s a path worth taking.”
15.
“Two years ago I wrote an article about how to grow out grey hair for @allure . I made it to 3 months of growth and then I cracked and went back to coloring it my ‘natural’ dark brown color to cover the grey again for the next year and a half.
Then, this past October, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer at the age of 43. When my hair started falling out I got a pixie cut, and when it really started falling out 2 weeks later, I got my head shaved.
I underwent about 6 months of treatment that included 9 weeks of weekly chemo, major surgery (hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and appendix removed) and recovery, and then 9 more weeks of weekly chemo.
I actually didn’t mind being bald, and I liked my hair when it grew in as its natural color. At some point during my treatment I had a nightmare that my hair was long and dark again and I thought, ‘Why did I do that? I like my short grey hair!’ I finished my treatment in April and am now cancer-free. I plan to keep my hair its natural grey as I don’t want to unnecessarily expose myself to toxins every 4-6 weeks to keep covering the grey, or feel self-conscious about my roots as they grow in like I used to when I colored it.
One of the hardest parts about transitioning to grey hair is that dreaded line of demarkation as the grey grows out. I found out the hard way that the best method for avoiding that is to just shave your head ”
Gray hair is a natural part of aging. According to trichologist (a dermatologist who deals with the scientific study of the health of hair and scalp) Madeleine Preston who spoke with Cosmopolitan, most women in their 30s see at least a few gray hairs; however, by the time they’re in their 50s, more than half their hair should be gray.
“Gray hair is a combination of normally pigmented hairs interspersed with white ones. Hair turns white when the pigmentation cells responsible for color (melanin) stop being produced,” Preston explained to Cosmopolitan. “Nutritional and hormonal factors can affect hair color as well as stress but, by and large, the predisposition to go grey earlier or later in life is genetic.”
So don’t stress about a few (or a lot of) gray hairs — they’re a part of life. And I’ll bet a lot of people find them to be charming, not ugly.
