Naturally Gray

I began getting a few gray hairs after my first child was born.  I was 25 years old!  My dad has had naturally gray hair since I can remember.  I teased him as I began coloring my hair so young, "Dad, you should have to pay for my hair to be colored.  This is your fault!"  He would laugh and say, "Sorry honey, no way."

It has been a long journey of hair coloring to cover up my natural gray.  Why stop coloring?  There are so many personal reasons.  The main two being:  

1.  Tired of having to cover the gray every 3 weeks.

2.  Concerned about all the heavy metal poisoning affecting my eyesight as I work to keep my vision clear from Uveitis, inflammation of the optic nerve.  When I have a flare up of Uveitis, I lose vision.  It is not fun at all.  My treatment, in order to stay off of daily meds, is steroid injections into my eyes.  (you can breathe now...yes, a big deal!). I have done everything I can and know to keep my inflammation low and my vision clear.  This is another effort.

According to a recent survey by L'Oreal Paris, 70% of women in the United States believe that society puts too much pressure on women to look young, and 80% of women believe that embracing their natural hair color is a form of empowerment.  I agree!  Do you?

Why do we go gray?  As we age, our hair follicles produce less melanin, which is the pigment that gives our hair its color. This results in hair turning gray or white. Other factors that can contribute to premature graying include genetics, stress, and certain medical conditions.

My recent FB post:  

Many are shocked when they see me as I allow my natural color to shine through. Many have told me I look old. Many want to give me advice to color it all silver at once. Some love it and motivate me to keep going. Some have given me the nick name “silver fox”.

This is Me. The gal tired of coloring my hair every 3 weeks to look as close to my natural color as possible. Really?!? Now look at my natural color…

This is ME…and yes, I love myself.