Going Gray : To Color or Not to Color ?

This is a repost from my blog a year or so ago with a few updates.

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MIRROR FOR OUR SOULS

Learn to check the appearance of your soul every day just as willingly as you check your physical apperance...The Bible is the mirror for checking up on your soul. (Henry Brandt)

[excerpted from Contentment: A Matter of the Heart by Karen Horsey / Karen's Kreations]

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GOING GRAY:  There is actually a book about this that I found and read from the library.  Interesting reading and I found that I agreed with the author on just about every point.    It has always struck me curious why so many women--both young and old--color their hair, especially the strange  neon colors that are popular these days.  I've asked several women this question and have gotten a variety of answers:

1.   To look younger
2.   To look older
3.   To have a color I like
4.   To look hip and fashionable
5.   To look like ____________

There are probably other reasons but these are the most common.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for enhancing one's appearance by wearing complimentary clothing, wearing natural looking makeup, having a stylish haircut, gaining or losing weight, painting fingernails/toenails...Coloring my hair is something I have never wanted to do.  One of my concerns is the chemicals that are in the hair colorings / dyes.   So far, at age 55, I have not colored my hair.  For the record, I do have a fair amount of gray scattered throughout my hair but from a distance, it still looks fairly dark (see my profile photo to the left).   I even find a few gray hairs that are dark at the root!  I have no idea what causes that.  :)   

Once you start coloring your hair, you can't stop unless you want to shock the daylights out of people.   A couple of my friends did that --went from dark brown to totally gray in about a month.  At first it was a shock, but now it looks completely natural and normal for them.  It can get pretty expensive, too--from $10+ if you do it yourself, upwards from $50-$100+ for a professional coloring in a salon.  For my opinion on it, we're all going to age no matter what we do, so we may as well age gracefully and let others get used to how we  look as our aging  continues. 

I wouldn't want people to think that I'm 30-something any more than I would want them to think I'm 60-something.  With age comes a maturity and a blossoming that is so attractive both to men and women.  It sure makes it easier to pick out in a crowd who might be in your age bracket, for common interests, good conversation, life experiences, dating, marriage, children,  etc.   When I see women my age with obviously dyed hair (not just highlights), I want to just hug them and say You looked great just the way you were...there's no need to hide your age.   When I see younger women with the rock star colors, I would  love to ask, why do you need to call attention to yourself?   Or whom are you trying to imitate?  You are lovely just the way you are.  Someone actually told me once they colored their hair because their husband didn't want to look like he had an old wife.  I'd say that the husband has his ideas and priorities ALL wrong = about 1 on the respect meter.

If you color your hair for whatever reason, think about the motive for doing so. If it's one of the "hiding" reasons, try to evaluate what it is you are hiding from and come out into the open where we can really see you.  If it is to be like someone else, think about those role models and ponder if you really want to be like them.  If you are coloring your hair  just for fun and the love of color... then go for it.  :)


AS A SIDE NOTE:  A young friend told me recently that she had never colored her hair and that she would be selling it soon for $700-$1,000.  It had to be at least 24 inches long, in healthy condition and never colored.  Amazing! Another reason that you might not want to color your hair.  I had no idea there was even a market for human hair except for Locks of Love which is a charitable organization.    I checked myself online and there are several online companies that purchase human hair, two of which are Hairwork and The Hair Trader.  

Proverbs 16:31   

A gray head is a crown of glory; it is found in the way of righteousness.