Going grey is not a choice – it’s a physiological fact of life for most. The choice available to me, is to either let this process take place naturally or use hair products to change the colour to one of my liking. Does grey hair mean that we are not as young as we used to be? Usually this is an indicator of the aging process, but not necessarily so. A Good Housekeeping article I read quotes, ‘ that our ethnicity makes a difference – Caucasians tend to go gray earlier, and redheads earliest of all, then asians. Scientists haven’t figured it out yet. 50% of the population has about 50% grey hair at age 50 says Dr Anothony Oro of Stanford University. Your hair doesn't turn grey — it grows that way. A single hair grows for one to three years, then you shed it — and grow a new one. As you age, your new hairs are more likely to be white. "Every time the hair regenerates, you have to re-form these pigment-forming cells, and they wear out," says Oro.’ My sense is that photos in magazines, movies, models and social media influence our thinking and make us believe that to look beautiful, sophisticated and well put together we need to fit the image portrayed by these mediums. During the past 2 years or so, I have been carefully observing people’s reactions, including my own to someone who has made the choice to ‘go grey,’ and it’s been an interesting process. I have noticed that some people suit grey hair better than others and that people who have decided to allow the natural ‘greying’ process to happen, are very happy with their natural look. Men seem to embrace their grey hair more easily. I’m faced with a dilemma. My body has slowly been telling me that it doesn’t cope well with the unnatural products my hairdresser has been applying to my hair in an effort to keep it a blondish colour. I’ve had a growing awareness of this over the past year when each time I’ve had colour applied to my hair, my scalp itches incredibly! With each new application (every 5-6 weeks) the itching has become worse and worse. So, for me the experience of having an itchy scalp overrides my choice to continue colouring my hair, knowing how detrimental it is to my well-being. I’m being realistic when I say that I'm wondering how I'll look and if I’ll be happy having a head full of grey hair. And oh, my goodness, what about the ‘growing out’ process? On the one hand I’m amused that my Ombre will be opposite to the beautiful dark roots and blond ends of the models I’ve seen, but on the other hand I’m excited that I won’t have to sit at the hairdressers for hours on end, paying a fortune and then putting up with an incredibly itchy scalp! I’m really interested to hear from others what their thoughts are about going grey – no judgement, just respect for different points of view. So, from me who is in the process of going grey gracefully…………………. Anne
