img_3959

#NaBloPoMo Day 13: Going Grey Before 40

I remember when I was 10 years old I found my first grey hair, a wiry strand sprouting wildly from the top of my head. I actually found it kind of cool and something that made me unique, and I would occasionally find the greys throughout my teenage years and just pluck them out. No big deal.

Fast forward almost three decades from that first grey sighting, and the grey hairs aren’t “occasional” anymore at all. I have quite a bit of grey, and my hair is really dark, so it’s fairly noticeable.

And at 38 years old, I’m trying to decide how much I care that I’m going grey, and if it’s worth the time and money to do something about it.

I’m all for women deciding for themselves what they want to do with their own bodies. I wear makeup almost every day, because I’m self conscious about the imperfections of my skin and just feel better about myself when I have it on. Last summer, I did 6 alternating treatments of chemical peels and IPL facials (extremely painful) to reduce the sun damage on my skin. My face does look remarkably better than it did, but it’s definitely not flawless. So my daily makeup routine continues.

But for some reason, I’m just not as self-conscious about my grey hair as I am my skin. I go back and forth between a half-hearted “I really should get my hair colored” and “Eh, whatever.”

And to be honest, it’s mostly about the time and money. Both time and money are extremely limited in this season of my life, and there are always a long list of priorities ahead of spending several hours in a salon chair and lots and lots of dollars on a professional coloring. Also, my hair has always grown REALLY fast (a blessing, I guess?) so I think I would just have to do it so often to maintain it looking really good- and that’s overwhelming.

And yes, I could do it at home, and have many times in the past, but eh, it’s so messy and also time consuming (not to mention I’m terrible at picking out the right color). So I just don’t anymore.

Aside from that time it takes to sit in a salon, I’m weird in that I really don’t find having my hair done relaxing at all. I’ve realized since I had kids, I do not like people touching my head or my hair. This is probably because this is all that toddlers do- get in your face and put their sticky fingers in your eyes, mouth and hair. Bleh. Whenever I do get my hair cut, I never let them blow dry it because it just makes me antsy and uncomfortable.

And I don’t think (maybe incorrectly) that my grey hair looks that bad on me. It does concern me some that maybe it makes me look older than I am, but not enough to actually do something about it today.

Do you think I’m crazy? Should I just make the time and spend the money to cover up the grey? What are your thoughts and solutions about going grey (especially before 40)?

 

6 Comments

  1. Cathy on November 13, 2017 at 10:37 pm

    I’m kind of in the same boat. Starting to have some grays show up, and I’m not sure how much I care. The truth is I’m probably too lazy to keep up with it, so I’ll probably just let it go as it goes.

  2. Jos on November 14, 2017 at 12:59 am

    My boss’ wife is probably 80% grey (she’s 43), and she looks absolutely gorgeous with it! I say go for it!

  3. growingoldgreyfully on November 14, 2017 at 5:21 pm

    I think as long as you “own it” and you are happy that is what counts. 🙂

  4. Brittnie on November 14, 2017 at 6:32 pm

    You’re not crazy! I have a lot of grey and I also go back and forth between covering it up and letting it go. And for now I’m in the I don’t care camp. Ha. Like you I just can’t get over the time and money piece and there’s no way I would attempt to do it at home! 🙂

  5. thewhisperingheart on May 13, 2018 at 4:26 pm

    You rock! I started greying at 25 and I’m still touchy about it. So anyone who just doesn’t care, is to be reverred for me! Stay as you are!

  6. […] how to curl my hair (hello Beachwaver). I’ve also chosen, for now, to stop coloring my greying hair, a decision that leaves me with mixed […]

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply