Going grey… at 14…

I was 14 when I started finding grey hairs. Silver. They’re silver. Legitimately lol

As a teenager, I dyed my hair to have fun. A friend of mine was a cosmetologist and we all let her experiment on us. When I found out I was pregnant, I quit dying it for the health of the baby.

At 27, I was a long term substitute in an intermediate school. That’s 5th and 6th grades. My hair reached my butt. I found out the kids called me “that young teacher with the long grey hair”. No. That’s not so bad. Not really. But it bothered me. A lot. So for my 28th birthday, my best friend dyed my hair for me.

And dyed it stayed for many years to follow.

First dark:

Then light:

Then dark again:

That is, until I fried it. Too many funky colors followed. Think pink and blue. But it was the teal that killed it. I had to go to a professional to fix it. It cost a great deal of money. But I liked the way she did it so I kept going. I had a job that could support it so why not? It was… better than being grey.

Then I quit that job. It was stressful and I’d had three brain surgeries so I needed a change of pace. But suddenly, it was much harder to get it done. My mom paid for it for awhile, but I felt extremely bad about that. So I decided not to dye it anymore. It had been years. Who knew what color it would be? I made that decision right before the world shut down. I had cut it short (like one inch long haha) and had an adorable pixie cut. It was easy to get the dyed parts out.

But I like my hair long. So I started growing out the grey. Some days, I’d struggle with the color, feeling that at 30-something I shouldn’t be grey. But that’s a societal thing. Not the truth. So… I kept going. I sometimes itch to dye it because I’m used to the constant change. But, I’ve come to like the color. I like the way it looks most days. I still get mistaken for being in my 20s (oddly enough) even though I’m 36. And it’s unique-ish.

The articles started pouring in a few months ago about the number of people letting their hair go grey during the pandemic. It’s awesome I jumped on the train before it became a thing haha. It’s a good trend. Much less work. And some super cool colors grow naturally.