A Silver Lining for My Greying Hair

After two years of painstakingly growing out my overly bleached/dyed hair in favor of “highlighting” (pun intended) my silvering locks, I decided to cut my hair into a bob. My hair now falls between my chin and my shoulders and…I love it!

Prior to getting it cut, my hair was quite long – well past my shoulders. But, as aforementioned, most of it was severely damaged, horribly brassy and very thin. I couldn’t wait to get into a stylist’s chair and have it lopped off. I am well aware that short hair is not considered the most fashionable right now, but I care more about how I feel and look than what is trendy (a welcome side effect of aging, I guess).

I spent countless hours looking at photos on Pinterest for inspiration. I wanted something that looked unstructured and more French or Italian versus a stiff “Karen” cut (see inspo photos below).

At the recommendation of a few friends who see the same stylist, I booked an appointment at a local salon. Though I completely trust my girlfriends, they all happen to have gorgeous Rapunzel-esque locks. I, on the other hand, do not. I was fearful this would be a big mistake, but I knew I needed a change, so I took the plunge. Like they say, hair grows back, right?

I cannot tell you what a pleasure it was to hear the first snip of the stylist’s scissors! As my natural locks fell forward and my damaged locks fell to the salon floor, I felt so free, refreshed and stylish. It’s been about three weeks since my salon visit and I have zero regrets. I can still pull my hair into a low pony for my daily workouts or while cooking/cleaning, and I am able to style it from start to finish (including drying and curling) in about 10 minutes. I recently purchased a highly recommended air drying cream which I have tried and plan to rely on heavily over the next few months, as the weather is warming up. To keep my fine hair healthy, I prefer to avoid drying it with heat. 

Prior to this haircut, I hadn’t seen my natural hair texture or color since high school. Throughout junior high, and from my college years on, I spent countless hours in salons trying to make my tresses something they weren’t, either with rollers (I fell victim to the 80s perm epidemic) or foils (I was born platinum blonde and was determined to stay blonde, puberty be damned!). In total, it’s been about forty years of altering my natural hair. Forty years! And now, finally: Acceptance!

I can’t believe I was so averse to my natural hair color. I am so pleased with it today. Moreover, as fine as my strands are, they feel so much healthier and softer now that I have stopped bleaching them to death. I look forward to watching my natural grey deepen as the years pass (I still have a bit of dyed hair on my ends which has to grow out, but the worst of it was cut off). In the meantime, I am enjoying my new look and healthy hair and have already scheduled my next trim appointment.