I have dreams of cutting it all off and going all gray, Jamie Lee Curtis style. I was around 40 years old when I found my first grays. Honestly, I didn't expect to have gray hairs at such a young age. I color my hair when the grays became really obvious. I will continue to color my hair for now. Maybe, I'll stop coloring it when I am 70 years old.
I've seen older women with heads full of white hair and I think it looks beautiful! I was in my early 20s when I first started noticing strands of gray. I have dark brown hair so even one strand is easy to find. I thought it was quite novel when I first noticed them. As the number of grays increased along with my age, I started to consider dying my hair to cover them up. I thought about dying my hair several times, but I have never colored my hair before and so there wasn't a precedent.
I think if I had a prior relationship with hair color, I may have been more open to the idea. The idea of having to introduce a new maintenance plan to prevent gray roots from showing is unappealing. My initial reasonings were simply upkeep and cost, but then, as I entered my 30s, my choice to stay natural unintentionally evolved into a counter-culture statement.
I have had many women both friends and strangers comment on my choice and say that it "looked great" and was "inspiring". And so, this fueled my decision to stay grey and bolstered a sense of pride for "going against the patriarchy that expects me to cover up or fix any sign of my aging DNA. I don't know, but I would be lying if I said I haven't thought about it.
I am not married to the idea of staying in one lane for the rest of my life when it comes to hair color. The most important thing is that whatever I choose, it is something that brings me joy. I first noticed them in my 30s: wiry gray kinks sprouting from the roots of my waist-length dreadlocks. At first, they were a novelty. But as I moved into my forties, not so much! They started to make me feel old.
Back then, the only woman with gray dreadlocks I knew of was Toni Morrison. And she wore them well. But I was too young to look like Toni Morrison! I dyed them black for years. By my late 40s, I was spending almost an entire day at the salon every two weeks just to keep the grays at bay.
So, on my 49th birthday, I made an appointment with my stylist, who cut my hair into a TWA teeny-weeny afro , which I planned to grow out into a silver halo of hair. Now my hair journey has come full circle. Back in when she cut my dreads, my stylist had encouraged me to keep them.
And three years ago, she permanently reattached all 80! I am now 72 and first noticed gray hairs in my mid-forties. I was not overly upset, but I had always thought that one of my best features was my very dark brown hair. My hair is quite thin and fine, but the color was good, so it was an asset. I started to color my grays at home, sporadically, back to my natural dark color. Eventually, I started seeing a professional for single-process coloring. I continue to do that. Of course, the pandemic has limited my visits to the hairdresser, and I have only been able to go in once since February.
I am doing at-home touchups and they are working out okay. I miss my dark hair, but it is not a big deal. I will continue to get highlights for the foreseeable future. If I had thick enough hair to cut it short and look good, I would consider going fully gray, but I am not there yet. However, I do admire gray hair on other women. My mother had beautiful gray hair with a white streak in the front.
Alas, I did not inherit that. When I was around 24 years old. I know, life is so unfair. If I had to describe my relationship with my grays in one word, it would be "non-committal. I'm now in my 30s and I still feel that way. I have been coloring my hair a single-process dye since the grays first appeared. I'm one of those women who goes to a salon because I'm very particular about my color not appearing one dimensional.
However, due to the pandemic and quarantine this year, I let my grays grow out for the first time in my life! It was eye-opening to see how many I actually have, and surprisingly, I was on board to fully embrace them and doing quite well with it.
But then, one day in September, I looked in the mirror and felt 40 years older than I am. So, I scheduled a hair appointment and we're back to brown these days. This summer was a great experiment and it helped me to assess what a full growth period would entail. I also got some very kind feedback from my husband, friends and family, so if anything, now I have the confidence to know that rocking my grays is not the worst thing.
Kelly, Merrillville, IN 40's When did you first notice gray hairs? I noticed my first gray hair at age Those cells can include the melanin that gives hair its color. In addition to controlling our anxious thoughts, Friese also recommends taking a holistic approach to our health if we do choose to delay the onset of going gray.
Making sure you're getting enough Vitamin B, calcium, copper, iron, protein, vitamin D, and zinc is essential. And finally, "Stop smoking. It may even contribute to premature graying, especially before the age of Probably the healthiest thing you could do when it comes to going gray is to control your emotional response to it.
Graying hair does not mean you are 'old'. If you're going gray and aren't emotionally ready for that next adventure, that's fine! There are so many options for disguising gray hairs, and you shouldn't feel pressured to rock the silver look yet if you don't want to.
Within that group, there are a ton of choices available. You could opt for an all-over color, but be aware that "this method can create a strong line of demarcation and require more maintenance, depending on the percentage of gray.
If you don't want to head to the salon, there are also some temporary spray-on dyes and powders that can be a quick-fix for low-maintenance ladies.
So, whether you want to cover or embrace your grays, here's the bottom line: Going gray is totally natural, and nothing to panic about. I'm afraid that's still normal. Jones: Now let's talk about. We do know that an acute stress can cause hair to fall out, but it doesn't usually cause hair to turn gray.
So people say, "I got such a shock, it made my hair turn gray," or Marie Antoinette's hair turned gray overnight before she was put on the chopping block. Well, that's not going to happen because her hair, I'm sure, was pretty long. It's not going to all turn gray in one day. Jones: That's a myth.
That's a myth. So I think that there are some conditions where people start turning gray or losing the color of their hair that are medical problems. So thyroid problems, too much or too little, for people who are prematurely gray, once again I said, probably a couple ones that you're pulling out in your mid is probably normal if you're.
Jones: Right. If you're half-gray by the time you get to your mid, then that's a little early. Gray hair develops as melanocytes decrease in number, but exactly when those cells begin to wane differs for each individual. However, there are some general trends. Scientists have found specific genes related to graying hair. In a study published in Nature Communications , a team of researchers from University College London UCL identified the interferon regulatory factor 4 IRF4 gene as being responsible for regulating production and storage of melanin.
While you can't change your genetics or turn back the clock, there are other factors at play in graying hair that may be within your control. A study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology found that among 1, volunteers between ages 18 and 20, those with premature hair graying PHG were more likely to have a family history of PHG, have a genetic tendency to develop allergic diseases such as eczema or asthma, or be vegetarian.
To a lesser extent, they were also more likely to be overweight or report having higher levels of stress in their lives. The study suggests that it may be possible to prevent graying, or at least slow it down, through changes in diet, maintaining a normal weight and decreasing alcohol consumption. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, also suggest that some causes of premature hair graying are reversible.
In a article published in the International Journal of Trichology , they noted that a deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause premature graying, which could be reversed through supplements. Common natural sources of vitamin B12 are dairy products and meat, which may explain why a vegetarian diet could be a factor in PHG.
Older adults may also often have difficulty absorbing vitamin B12 through digestion. In one study , 55 percent of patients with pernicious anemia a condition caused by a lack of vitamin B12 had PHG, compared to 30 percent in the control group, the Mayo researchers noted.
Smoking has long been considered a factor in premature graying, according to a study that confirmed the association among Middle Eastern men and women living in Jordan. The study, published in the Indian Dermatology Online Journal , found that among study participants, smokers were substantially more at risk of PHG than nonsmokers. Researchers at Harvard University have found that stress can accelerate the graying process and have determined the biology behind the phenomenon — at least in laboratory mice.
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