I will not go gentle into that gray hair
(Note: Right now, I'm in the middle of our radio station's annual 3-day fundraiser. Sharathon is a busy, crazy ride, with very little free time...so I'm exercising my right to pull something out of the archives of Notes in the Key of Life. The following was originally posted on February 22, 2004, so I apologize if any of the links are dead!)
Joy of karagraphy bemoans her first gray hair today, but takes consolation: "There are still far more dark-almost-black hairs — only God knows how many — resiliently residing upon the same scalp as that lone silver beacon of mortality. And I can pluck beacons in the single digits, no problem. As long as grey hairs remain an anomaly, I’ll live. I may live even longer than that."
My reply to Joy in her comments section: "Ah, yes…how well I remember the days when it was just a lone gray hair here and there…easily pulled out. It’s when they start multiplying rapidly that you’re faced with the decision: go gray gracefully, or rage, rage against the dying of the brunette? I chose the latter. Constant coloring is a pain in the behind, but I prefer it to the tired look I get when the grays proliferate."
It IS a pain, because my hair color was one thing I really liked about myself, and I have never been able to appromiximate is closely enough out of a bottle.
I've gone the highlighting route as well. I like it for a while, and then I start missing my dark hair again.
So, this is the decision most women face as they age. Cover the gray, or gracefully segue into a head full of grays? What is it to be? Well, I've made my decision and I'm sticking with it. When the silver upstarts begin to gather on my temples, I feel it ages my appearance way beyond what I'm ready for. As I said, it makes me look tired. It does not make me feel pretty.
My paternal grandmother continued coloring her hair, as far as I know, until she died. And she always looked younger than her years, although I'm sure that wasn't the only factor.
What about you? Do you cover the grays, or have you gracefully submitted to the effects of time?
4 comments:
Two comments. I actually like grey and white hair. Mine is falling out at such a pace, I'd be happy with a whole head of it. As it is, my beard has grey streaks and I think it makes me look sage.
Second, I love the old jokes about women (or men) dying their roots black.
Third, when I was younger, the adage used to be that women coloured or tinted their hair, but you told them that they dyed it on pain of death.
Cindy,
Ever since I was at the station, I've been coloring my hair. You knew that didn't you? Jim called me "Grecian man." I started going gray early.
After going through one of the toughest battles of my spiritual life in the mid nineties, I went almost totally gray overnight due to the overwhelming stress I incurred. I used to think that was a wive's tale. Not true. I won't give up on the "Just For Men." Maybe I'm a bit vain. Oh, Carly Simon where are you now?
Randy
My goatee has started to sprout grey hairs over the last few years. I have considered going the Just For Men route, but haven't yet. I do try to keep it close cropped so those "old man" hairs aren't as prominent. Since I shave my head, any grey hairs I might have are a moot point.
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