So – I’ve decided to let my hair grow gray and see where this takes me. For those of you who know me, this is HUGE. As you might have gathered by the bulk of my blog posts, I am a newbie 50 and I’m still not over it yet. The key for me in much of my life has been acceptance, so instead of trying to fight my age, it is in my best interest to work with it. I am going to take that step into the “letting it all hang out for the world to see” atmosphere.
To begin with my gray hair journey, I decided to do a little research.
Where does gray hair come from?
To quote David Bank, MD, the Director of the Center for Dermatology, “The process of going gray–which occurs as follicles stop producing melanin–is determined by DNA, not diet or other factors.” In other words, It has not been proven that humans develop more gray hair as a result of stress or lack of exercise. This is good to know – I’m not doing anything wrong – it’s just happening. Whew…
Why are my gray hairs wiry?
Because gray hair contains little to no melanin, gray hair is thinner and more fragile than pigmented hair. Gray hair also has a thinner cuticle than pigmented hair, which means its outer layer is easily damaged and dehydrated, making gray hair coarse and kinky.
How to begin?
I am just going to let the gray come in naturally for the time being. If you are not quite ready to brave this, ask your stylist to cover your roots with a demi-permanent dye that washes out in approximately 28 shampoos – that gives you about a month to ease into this. I also think a new cut will be helpful during the transition phase. Since the coarseness of gray hair can be challenging, I plan to start with a modern cut with clean edges. I don’t want a cut that might cause my ends to fray, making my hair look even messier, so I plan on avoiding any style that requires using a razor as this could definitely cause ends to split.
How to protect my new asset?
Using the right shampoo makes all the difference. There are several good products on the market for gray hair. Pantene makes a “Silver Expressions” shampoo and conditioner. Matrix has a “So Silver” product line as well. Wow – this is starting to look better and better. Since the few grey hairs I have framing my face tend to stick straight up or have a curl, I will remain vigilant about proper shampoos and upkeep.
Making the silver shine
I love this expression. I truly believe people will say this to you if you accent your gray hair with the right clothes and makeup. Charcoal and silver tend to make gray hair more striking. Earth tones such as beige and olive can wash you out. I happen to own an inordinately large amount of black clothing which is right up the gray hair alley, but I jazz up my black clothing with jewel tones (ruby-red, sapphire blue and deep purples.) These accent colors really make a difference in highlighting the gray.
Last, since gray hair can make your complexion appear dull, blushes are the perfect choice to warm up your skin tone. Avoid any beige colored blushes, as these tend to wash you out, and stick to more rose and peach colored shades.
I feel sort of excited thinking about this – almost like a new adventure in my life. It’s just what I need to enter my new “life after 50” fearlessly. Wish me luck! Enjoy the photographs of some famous grays:
Life Experiences Add Up 