Over 50 Shades of Gray…Life After 50
Over 50 Shades of Gray
I’m not talking about the popular, naughty book that’s a best-selling phenomenon. I’m talking about hair color. That’s a popular topic in my “over 50” set of friends and acquaintances.
To color or not to color. That is the question. What do we do with the shades of gray that are naturally and aggressively coloring our hair?
For me…presently although not so much in the past…it’s an easy answer. I don’t color. I used to color my hair, but I no longer do it.
It used to be that I was just “dying” to look younger. But I don’t care any more.
I love my “shades of gray” hair. I love it for the convenience. No more worrying about covering roots that pop out two weeks after an expensive dye job. No more looking ratty because I’m too cheap to go to the beauty shop on a regular basis. No more plopping a blob of dye on my head and rubbing it in, my eyes burning while I wait for the color to set.
The truth is that I’ve been in various shades of gray since my late 30s. When I was 30 something I called it premature gray. But now that I’m over 50, it’s not premature any more.
It’s just gray. Or platinum or silver or Arctic blonde or ice…whatever you prefer to call it. I like to call it platinum.
Over 50 Shades of Gray
There must be at least 50 shades of gray hair color lining the shelves of hair dye at Wal-Mart. Yes, some people do pay good money to have their hair colored the same shade that mine is naturally. It always makes me feel just a little smug when I pass those shelves and don’t put any products in my basket.
At least I have one thing to feel smug about! Some women even tell me that I’m brave to let my hair go natural.
At one time my hair was a pleasant natural ashy light brown. Then one strand at a time the color changed all by itself. And the grayer my hair grew, the curlier it grew. So now, instead of having straight brown hair, I have curly gray hair. Or platinum… or one of those other shades of gray.
Who knew that could happen? I didn’t.
There’s lots of advantages to going gray.
In my case…I no longer have to get a permanent to make my hair curl. I get senior discounts at the movies and discounts for McDonald’s coffee without even asking for them. I think it’s because of my hair color, but it could be because of all my wrinkles.
Young men open doors for me and Boy Scouts offer to help me cross the street. Small children bow when they see me.
OK…so I may be exaggerating the benefits of this “shades of gray” hair just a bit. But here’s the facts: I like my hair this way and I intend to keep it this color.
I’ve had my hair lots of shades of other colors. It’s been at least 50 shades of blonde, maybe 10 different shades of brown, a light shade of purple, and one awful, awful, awful shade of red. (Maybe not so much red as a blinding maroon. Anyway, the maroon didn’t really work for me…in fact I had to call in sick to work…hack, hack, cough, cough… until the color faded a bit.)
This hair color is just right for my Life right now.
Trust me. It’s easier this way. And I’m all about being easy. Oh…you know what I mean!
Author Peggy Browning
