The TODAY show had a segment this morning on the popularity of letting your hair go gray naturally. Which really means stepping off the color treadmill and letting nature take over.
I’m great with the concept, but as I watched the women on the TODAY show in their before (colored hair) and after (gray hair) images, it’s really quite clear: gray hair makes us look older. (Here’s a link to the LA Times article about the show.)
I’m not opposed to older. My husband likes to say (often), “Sure beats the alternative!”
But as I grow older, I’m very, very aware of it. I notice the darker circles under my eyes – the ones that the young girl at the make-up counter assured me she could cover in seconds, and then, 10 minutes later, was muttering, “Huh, wonder why it’s not working?” as she reapplied her magic product for the 3rd time.
I notice sags, bags and wrinkles that shouldn’t be there – that have never been there before. I eat a vegetarian diet, run regularly and hike, bike and play with friends often, but still the inevitable signs of aging appear pretty much from head to toe.
What might just put me over the edge is a head full of “grandma hair.”
Yep, that’s how I look at it. Gray hair is for grandmas – not for me. I know I’m old enough to be a grandmother, but I’m not. My daughters are still young – the youngest just this year graduating from high school. I’ve probably got a good four or five years before I become a grandmother; I’m just not ready to look like one today.
I want to recognize ME when I walk by a mirror or reflective window. That is, the ME that I feel like inside – young, vibrant, full of life and energy.
So for now, I’m staying on the hair coloring treadmill. I’ll keep running on it as long as I can. Sooner or later, I imagine I’ll no longer be able to keep up and will get shot off the back like an exhausted stress test victim. THEN, you’ll see me go gray. Probably will think I’m pretty cool for an old lady, too.
