To Go Gray or to Dye

I am a fan of going gray but I find myself in the minority. In fact, it's so common to hide this sign of aging that I suspect I appear older than some people, as much as ten years older than I am, simply because that person colors her hair and I don't.

When my grays first started coming in during my late thirties, I was glad to have them because I had been having problems with potential employers judging my age at much lower than was true. I wanted credit for my experience in life! And now whenever a student is trying to guess my age, I point to my head and tell them to take note of my gray hairs. Their guesses are getting more accurate, due in part to the burgeoning grays and other signs of age that are gathering speed in my features.

I confess I am lucky with my graying. My hair is coming in white, like my mother, rather than a shade or shades of gray, like my father. I am silvering. And it's age-appropriate. I thoroughly understand people who decide to dye their hair when the grays are pre-mature. A friend of mine had grays in her early twenties. She looked much more natural without them. Another friend now in her mid-sixties got impatient with her salt and pepper. Instead of dying it dark, she went for platinum and a very modern cut. The result was fabulous and very expressive of her energetic personality.

I'm certainly not saying that I will never dye my hair. Once I've gone deep into retirement and flouting convention won't impact my income, I may go for purple. I've always loved purple, so why not? But in the meantime, I enjoy the silver streaks adding new patterns to my dark brown hair.