When (in the 1950s) and where (in small Midwest town) I grew up, blonde hair was all the rage. Images of young, lithe, and blonde models were everywhere in all of the teen magazines and those images sent one clear message: If you don’t look like this you are a LOSER! Being a little brown girl with black hair and black eyes, I was—well, a LOSER!
Then more than five years ago I wrote a blog on how I was going to stop coloring my hair and allow the silver and gray that started to come out in my early 30s to just come in. That blog received a number of responses as sister boomers far-and-wide registered their approval of my decision or simply commented on what it said to others or what it took for a woman to go with the natural graying of her hair.
At the time of that first blog about gray hair, I had gotten my hair cut quite short to facilitate an easier growing in of the gray. Since that blog my hair has gone from a scattering of silver and gray at the crown of my head to a clearly salt-and-pepper all over with a couple of fairly dominant silver streaks.
I first grew my hair out into an angled bob and now wear it in a longer bob that brushes my shoulders. My gray hair is healthy and shiny and I love it! I look forward to having all silver hair but it appears that will take a while. In the meantime, I have been surprised to hear that “gray is the new blonde,” and then I saw it come to life with Lady GaGa at the Academy Awards with her long, luxurious, and clearly gray hair!
All I can say is: Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby!
Inez Torres Davis is director for justice for Women of the ELCA.
Photo was found on the blog by Funmi Ogunja, a Nigerian fashion, music, style, and beauty enthusiast.