To be or not to be - gray

[azfiddle]

Crankin I think I posted on this thread before, but I can't make the switch to gray. Still teaching middle school and I really don't want to look "old"- and still performing regularly, I'm not really comfortable being on stage and being gray yet.

Also, my hair has been gotten frighteningly thin the last few years- it just makes it all worse. I'm trying Rogaine but am afraid it's not going to work at all...

[shootingstar]

That's great Selkie that your greying hair is a flattering shade for you.

One has to look closely but I do have the odd strand of grey or white here and there. I'm not doing anything about since I have never coloured my hair at all.... that's how virginal my hair is except for perm for 3 yrs. in my early 20's.

I keep on forgetting to look at my hair often enough in the mirror but it has been deliberately cut short for hassle-free hair.


Seriously I attribute keeping my natural hair colour longer due to cycling to help me de-stress because it has been a serious challenge last 12 months of major life changes.

[emily_in_nc]

I know I posted on this thread again but thought I'd chime in since it has now been 1.5 years since I made the decision to stop coloring. I had been coloring since age 25, and when I hit 49, I finally decided "enough" I am sure I'd look younger if I colored, and I've had a couple of younger gals tell me I would be "a cougar" if I colored my hair blonde. But I am married don't care to be a cougar! At 50, I am finally comfortable in my own skin, and hair! You can see what my hair looks like in this recent blog post:

http://bebelize.weebly.com/1/post/20...-cook-off.html

Anyway, I completely understand and respect the decision to color; after all, I did it for nearly half my life. But it's quite liberating to say "enough".

[Selkie]

Emily, you look gorgeous! You also look very, very happy.

LPH--there is no way I could have cut my hair short, as I don't have the face for super short hair. It probably didn't look as bad as you thought.

Once my hair is all my natural color, I'm thinking about letting it grow out a bit.

If coloring your grey makes you feel good, do it! I have to admit that I got to resent all the time I spent in the salon (the money, eh, not a big deal, but admittedly, with a pay freeze this year or at least next (probably longer), it's nice to save all that cash).

There is a lot of ageism in the workplace, so it makes sense for some folks to color their hair for "professional" reasons.

[lph]

Emily, you look stunning. And you look younger than your hair, if that makes sense. Your face is so young that your hair doesn't age you, you just look very cool.

Yes, there is ageism in the workplace, but I've also found out it goes both ways. By some older guys I used to get treated like "just a girl" (cute and funny, but inexperienced and not particularly important) before. This may be just my perception of myself, but I've found it easier to be taken seriously with "older" hair. I think it doesn't only signify actual age and experience, but also I'm signifying that I'm less interested in looking attractive in a young way.

[Crankin]

Yes, a lot of my reasons for not going gray are professional, although in my new field, "elders" are actually respected and age did not make it hard for me to find a job, although my resume is nicely doctored, etc. But, my own self image is a good deal of it. I've always enjoyed looking "younger" than my age, and given the fact I am in good physical shape, I think a lot of my self image is wrapped up in this. My skin is not as perfect as it could be (like Emily!), and I have deep laugh lines, so I think adding gray to that would certainly ramp up the "old" factor. I guess I am lucky that I have found a coloring solution that I only need to do a few times a year. Keeping my hair short requires a cut every month, and while it's a pain, it certainly outweighs the factor of having my hair hassle free, in terms of not having to use styling implements, and time in the AM, let alone the ease of making it look good when I take my helmet or ski hat off.
I like to say my water bottle is my favorite styling implement!
AZfiddle, I do think that being around middle school kids, teens, etc. makes you more aware of how "old" you look. I've been around kids/teens all of my life and it has kept me young in many ways.