I got my first grey hairs when I was 16 doing my GCSE's and at the time I was completely horrified. Now at the age of 23 those few grey hairs have multiplied, the feeling of horror has subsided and now I think I feel indifferent... I think. I havn't quite decided yet. I may feel different in a few years time when they multiply exponentially!
This got me thinking, why do us gals (well most of us anyway!) despise the sprinkling of salt and pepper? I guess it's the social stigma attached to having a grey hair. People generally assume, either consciously or not, that you are "old" and the subsequently there are (usually) negative connotations that come with it. Having said that, there are a lot of women out there that adore their "natural highlights" and wear them proudly. I'm by no means going that far, but I think I have reached a point where I have accepted that I am going to be going grey at a relatively young age. The only problem is that I have dark hair so they show up more, and I'm a tiny 4'9'' so the view everyone has of me is of the top of my head!
The social stigma doesn't really seem to apply to men, in fact, it is usually something that counts in their favour and a lot of women find it an attractive feature in a man. One example of this would be the youthful silver fox, Keith Murray of We Are Scientists. He started going grey at the young age of 18, and at 33 his hair has more than just greyed at the temples. However, Keith's silver locks are only ever referred to in a positive way, it does help that he is easy-on-the-eyes, a funny guy and uber cool, but would it be so positive if a woman was sporting silver streaks?
Things may be changing though... apparently the latest trend amongst celebs is to deliberately sport silver locks. Lady Gaga featured on the front page of Vanity Fair with grey hair. I do feel some pressure to dye my hair, but I have decided (for now) that I'm happy enough as I am and I can avoid putting nasty chemicals on my hair, not to mention that I'm just plain lazy and can't be bothered with the upkeep of dying my hair every 4-6 weeks... it's just not worth the hassle!
How do you all feel about finding grey hairs... are you proud of them? Or do you immediately reach for the bottle of hair dye?
hi ab fab! still not used to this bloggin malarkey, anyhoo i would have to admit that if i find a grey hair i tweeze it out- in fact at times the odd one or 2 i get are white! sometimes they seem to appear overnight, almost as if a strand of hair pigment jumped overboard due to some ridiculous stressful moment.
ReplyDeletei used to hold the view that i wouldn't dye my hair till i was much older when i felt that i "needed" to, but then i thought sod it- there's so much stuff out there that's bad for you, why not have some fun now with colour.
that being said, i admire your grey hair rebellion, it's about feeling comfortable in your own skin and not bowing to social expectations and aesthetic pressures that seem to be so heavily upon women!
Perhaps that's why i'm a bit lax when it comes to shaving my underarms, it's like a 2 fingered salute to it all and perhaps it's because i'm a bit lazy sometimes...and i couldn't actually give two toots!
there's a great feeling of freedom in not caring what you look like.
p.s love your blogs, not only that they look so pretty, you're pro level xxx
Gawld bless ya Rachipoos! Thanks! It does take a while to get into the swing of it all! (I'm not quite a pro... yet..)
ReplyDeleteI have contemplated dying my hair a crazy colour, but I'm not sure it would suit me... But the grey hairs are cropping up at an unmanagable pace now!