I don’t dye my hair. The dark brown that you can see near my neck is my hair color. Or was my hair color. Since my brown hair has lots of highlights in its natural state, when the gray started to come in it looked like just another highlight. Everyone thought I’d had it done professionally. I just left it alone. No dye. No rinse. Nothing.
Sometimes my hair looks brown and sometimes it looks gray. Depends on the light. If I venture into a public bathroom with overhead lighting, I am shocked at how gray my hair looks. The photo above shows a lot of gray hair as there is a skylight directly overhead. Most of the time, though, it looks like what it is: a combination of brown, gold, a bit of red and gray. But the gray has begun to win out.
To be brutally honest, I’m too cheap to spend a lot of money on my hair. I can barely remember to get it cut. I can’t imagine trying to keep up with my roots. I’d rather spend that money on something vintage (and I don’t mean me) or a good book. I’m quite comfortable with my gray hair. I’m in my late fifties…I’m not a young thing anymore.
So tell me: why did I react with shock and horror when I saw a gray eyebrow hair the other day? One in each eyebrow. I stood there, peering into the mirror, absolutely sure I was imagining things. But no, there they were. Intruders. I was appalled. Out came the tweezers and pluck went the offending hair. Somehow I drew the line at my eyebrows. I realize that I won’t be able to pluck those gray hairs away indefinitely; I’ll end up with no eyebrows. But for now, I have put up a sign that says “You are not welcome here.”
I’ve accepted my gray hair. I can’t accept the eyebrows. At least, not yet.
It makes perfect sense to me.
Aack! It never occurred to me that my eyebrows were going to go gray, too. I haven’t seen any yet, but maybe I need to look closer.
Good for you, Claudia. Like you, I have embraced by gray, but I believe I am further down the gray path than you. But, like you again, I don’t want gray eyebrows.
Oh yeah…..been seeing those for a while now! On me….not you!~Hugs, Patti
Two words:
Eyebrow Pencil…
LOL have a wonderful day and don’t fret.
You and I are living parallel lives. Get an eyebrow pencil. One from Maybelline will do and carefully color those grey hairs. Works like a charm!
My hair is getting gray, but it’s just not fast enough for me. LOL! I won’t dye, either. I don’t like the thought of doing something like that on my head, next to my brain! ;-)
XO,
Sheila
you look lovely!
and your brows are shaped beautifully!
I have white eyebrows growing in and none on my head yet..i am going to look weird! lOL!
blessings~
YOU ARE SO LUCKY YOU LOOK GOOD, YOU CAN WEAR YOUR GRAY, I WANTED TO DO THAT TOO, BUT MINE WAS YUCKY LOOKING SO I WENT ASHY BLOND…I USE TO DO IT MYSELF OUT OF A BOX, BUT NOW IT IS TO HARD FOR ME, I AM 72, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH….JUST GOT THE WORKS THE OTHER DAY, PERM CUT AND COLOR, AND THEY BLEW IT OUT…I HATE SPENDING THE MONEY TOO, BUT A GIRL HAS TO DO WHAT A GIRL HAS TO DO. :)
HAVE A GREAT DAY…..RIZZI
Eyebrow pencils… I’ve always had to use them because my brows are so light. There are lots of good pencils out there… thank goodness!
Hugs,
Jill
Great photo, Claudia! You have gorgeous hair. Mine, not so much. I’ve been coloring my hair since I was around thirty, it’s just dull shade of reddish-brown. and I hear ya about the eyebrows, I just use a q-tip and dye them too, easy peasy. I think we’re probably about the same age! xo
If I can pencil mine fine but I have found just like my Father, not my Mother, my FATHER, my grey eyebrows tend to grow up toward the top of the arch and they like to curl and kink and bend ..so I now have an array of tweezers..for that and the white, yes WHITE! chin hairs…sigh
xxx
z
Claudia, I admire you and all women who have the courage to go gray. However, I don’t have it and I continue to colour my hair. But, I do it myself and I also cut my own hair. It’s not as hard as everyone thinks. My hair is not long like your. It’s short and layered. I put it up in pincurls and then I cut a bit off each curl as I remove each individual hair pin. And voila! Perfectly cut hair and it didn’t cost me a cent. Of course, I have invested in a pair of good quality hairdresser scissors. The only time I spend money on my hair is when I get a perm. Not often.This only happens when my hair becomes too fussy. I just had one and I am going through the tight curl process. Argh! But, that too will pass. In the meantime, I backcomb it and pull on it to stretch it. It seems to help. As for the eyebrows, I’m with you there. I hate them and I have a few but I’ve left them there for the time being. They’re not that obvious. I will probably use a pencil one day as my eighty-eight year old mother does. And, she also colours her hair and does it herself!
I’m 66 and am beginning to see the gray “highlights” in my brown hair as well. Like you, I just don’t want to do the color thing. My hair is shoulder length and healthy and shiny and I don’t want to ruin that. I, too, have had others ask if I have it highlighted and I happily say “no, it just must be the sun” (after all, I do live in Arizona!).
lol.. never thought of that.
I applaud you Claudia for allowing your natural gray, beautiful hair to shine. My hair is natural gray as well. I learned a long time ago, due to chemical sensitivity tests, that the dye I once used on my hair was causing migraines. Once I stopped using hair color, the migraines stopped as well. Many women, and men, are suffering from unexplained physical problems that could possibly be caused by their skin absorbing the chemicals in hair dye.
You look beautiful grey! Late fifties! Really?
I tottaly relate, I`d rather spend the money on something vintage, but I`ve tried going grey and I look like hell, lol!
sue
xo
i totally pluck my gray eyebrows. they’re more like WHITE actually! (LOL?) i get my hair prof. colored about 3-4 x a year and the rest i do myself with a root kit. TMI?
using a library PC while the boys are at comic book class. seconds remaining … gotta run!
xo
You are so cute! Hugs.
There’s nothing like bringing up the subject of hair and hair removal to get women whipped up! Your hair looks awesome! I know people who pay to get their hair to look like yours. I am 53, and my tweezers are as important as my toothbrush. I would want them if I was stranded on a desert island.
I better get on my reading glasses and check myself out! It’s amazing what I see on my face when I put those glasses on! LOL!
I have a lot of gray in my hair too and am happy to let it just be. I like being “real”.
Idyed my hair with henna for many years. Because of the more and more grey I had to dye once a month, which was a lot of work. Dying hair with henna tooks hours.
After months of thinking about it I said to my husband, who loves long hair, that I had to cut my hair really short, because I didn’t want to dye it anymore. I did not like it, but … So I cut my hair and haven’t regretted to be grey. I’m almost 50 years old.
Makes perfect sense to me. I see these women spending a small fortune on their hair, creams to make them look younger, clothing. And I just shake my head. To each their own. But I’m like you: I want to spend my money on something that will likely still be there next month. If I spend it on my hair, the gray will be “another intruder” next month to deal with!
Brenda
I posted a rare photo to my blog.
My blog post don’t include pics of my face too often.
The most recent photo considered for the blog – – – YIKES ! ! !
when I enlarged the photo I HAD NO EYEBROWS showing. Now we all know why.
Guess I’m going to have to get that pencil out of the back of the make-up drawer.
However, my hair is white now, not grey, but WHITE.
Gads, how did this come about.
hugs
Gerry
I love this topic, Claudia! I’ve even read books about it and talked my friends’ ears off about it! I don’t like gray hair anywhere on me, but let’s face it, that’s the direction things are going. I LOVE seeing other women show their gray hair, because it makes it that much easier for me to do the same! Like you, I can’t be bothered with the time, energy, and expense of hair coloring (let alone the possible health effects–yikes!). I’m just going into the gray years kicking and screaming at this point! ;-)
I always loved your hair…and envy your eyebrows! I have hardly any hair OR eyebrows!! I have to “powder in” some brows – they are blondish and sparing. I don’t remember a single hair growing in for the last 10 years. They just don’t grow and would give anything to have SOMETHING to pluck and shape.
Always love your posts…just don’t comment, just a lurker, but had to comment on this one. :-)
Big hug
Elizabeth
Claudia – this post made me laugh out loud but I can top you. When I had eye surgery a few years ago, they covered my face with a sticky plastic sheet with one eye hole cut in it. At the end of the 3 hours of surgery, they peel this sheet off my face and what do I see??? All the hair from my two eyebrows attached to it!! Eeeek! Most of it never grew back and one side is mostly grey. Luckily eye brow pencils are cheap but I sometimes feel like I’m “drawing” them on….