One sign of aging is when our hair turns gray. We may pluck out the first few random strands. We may use a mascara brush as a wand with magic powers to reverse time by covering increasing silver strands until…until we decide we are too young to look old and either color it ourselves or go to a salon to get our hair colored. When we commit to fighting against this sign of time, we must address the new growth that seems to be accelerating faster than ever. We also pay the price of vanity as a negative rite of passage.
Some women vow never to go gray. So you see women in their seventies and even eighties with colored hair and wrinkled skin. But the fight is futile.
If you have been coloring your hair for years, transitioning to your natural color and embracing the changes may feel daunting. However, it is a process that comes with support and benefits. “Will I look older than I am?” is the typical question most women wonder. The message behind it is: “Will I still be attractive?” This might seem like vanity until it happens to you and you can’t act like you are a twenty-something female coloring all of her hair gray because it happens to be in vogue for the micro-moment.
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If you decide to go gray, there may be certain positives that result from your choice. Here are eight that you may not have considered. So, whether you are silver-striped, salt and pepper sprinkled, or a stone-cold, silver, foxy lady of a certain age, know that we see you and affirm your bold choice to let your gray shine as a self-affirming glow-up that speaks volumes without you having to say a word.
1. Silver hair is a sign of wisdom
This is the most popular comment and most well-known attribute given to sistas with more than a few strands of silver. Many take it seriously, however. If you go gray, you’ll find that people value your opinions, ideas, beliefs, and experiences more than they do those from others without gray hair.
Shining gray does not make you beauty-challenged. Silver hair shows you have earned your way through something. Whatever you do and wherever you happen to be: at church, the mosque, or temple; at a conference room table, in a clinic, or in a courtroom; people will give you and your presumed wisdom attention and weighty consideration. They will look to you for guidance and show you respect.
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2. Silver is the new blonde
For those vain girls out there mourning the change in the color of their hair, silver strands can be like natural highlights in your hair’s original color. The more gray you get, the more highlighted your hair looks. Silver is the new blonde.
Give yourself permission to shine and start wearing colors to complement your tresses, like navy, black, white, light or deep grays, rosy pinks, deep crimson reds, and even lavenders and regal violets, for example, if your original hair color was black. You have a whole new color palette to play with.
Silver, when it’s natural, shines as beautifully as any blonde and makes many give you a second look. You might even catch yourself doing the same thing when you catch a glimpse of your stunningly gorgeous self in the mirror. Don’t mourn silver; embrace its radiance. Let it, like spendable silver, enhance your worth, and enjoy it. Give the blondes real competition in terms of who gets more attraction and wins greater attention.
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3. More confidence and higher self-esteem (which is sexy no matter what color your hair is)
You know it when you see it: that combination of self-confidence and healthy self-esteem that makes a woman know she owns the room without having to read it. Her entrance always makes a difference from the moment she appears. She doesn’t rely on others’ desires or opinions to define her. She knows it’s temporal. She values what she contributes from the inside more and knows her true worth.
Her hair may be silver, gold, bronze, ebony, or even ruby red. It doesn’t matter. She is striking. She is stellar. She is sexy because she has that triple threat of beauty, brains, and boldness. She doesn’t apologize for it because she earned it. She is accomplished yet grounded and is as comfortable in a ballroom as she is in the boardroom.
She doesn’t downplay her achievements; instead, she expects others to level up to meet her where she is if she considers them worthy of her time. Her silver hair makes her even sexier and shines brightly with her confidence and self-esteem, for all to see who wants to get to know her better. She is smart and stylishly put together, of course. No one would expect any less from anyone as great. Her silver hair says she has classic elegance.
4. The inner you is more important than the outer you, and your hair color
If you’re still struggling with your hair being gray and all the negatives that society tries to dump on you because of it, maybe you need to take a step back and unpack the reasons why. The inner you is more important than the outer you and your hair color. If you’re not surrounded by loving and affirming people who make you feel appreciated in essence for the wonderful gift that you are every time you interact, maybe it’s time to reevaluate your cruel and critical social associates. Exchange them for some that lift you, not let you down, gray hair or not.
5. It saves money
Salon color and store-bought boxes of hair color can be expensive. Vain efforts to maintain that aspect of fleeting youthful illusion come at a price that many are willing to pay, nevertheless. Embracing going gray would give you more discretionary money and enable you to contribute less stress to the whole gray hair matter. The money you save can be redirected to activities that bring you joy without depleting your finances. Don’t make your hair color your hobby.
6. Not a true age camouflage
Coloring your hair is not an effective way to hide your age. Even if you are in your sixties and choose to dye your hair, people will likely recognize that you’re not in your thirties anymore. Embrace healthy aging and focus on bringing well-being to every stage of life, regardless of the decade you are in. Celebrate your true self instead of trying to camouflage it.
7. It’s healthier for hair care
Using chemicals to change your hair color or mixing shades to find the perfect color for covering gray can be unhealthy for your hair. Hair dye can weaken the hair. Don’t stress your tresses.
Take care of your hair by prioritizing its health rather than relying on superficial solutions. Remember, there’s no magic remedy for aging; marketing claims promising miraculous transformations from a bottle of hair dye are often misleading. Embrace the natural changes that come with time instead of hoping for an unrealistic reversal.
RELATED: Tia Mowry Embracing Her Gray: “Do What Makes You Proud & In Your Own Time”
8. Let nature take its course
There’s an old saying that you can’t fight Mother Nature. Perhaps it refers to people covering their gray hair instead of embracing it. You might be pleasantly surprised by the benefits of rocking your natural silver hair.
Nature’s highlights might gain praise from strangers who appreciate what your gray says about you and think that you are beautiful inside and out. The silver you earned should make you proud, not bitter. Failing desperately at covering up gray may cause you to miss out on valuable benefits that may signal a change to a new chapter in your life.
Go gently into this new season. Its gifts may be self-acceptance, peace of mind, and natural beauty in the eyes of less shallow individuals, which will help you write your life’s next chapter instead of editing it with unconstructive criticism. It starts with you liking being who you are, not hiding what you look like. Welcome who you’ve become. Others will take their cue for how to treat you from you. You are the unique expert on all things about you. The latest change is getting gray hair.
Gray is the beginning of you, part two. What is the most surprising benefit of letting your gray shine? The growing number of other like-minded women (and men) who smile because they are either thinking about going gray themselves or are already doing the same thing that you are doing and feel affirmed by your choice. Call this knowing kindness “the silver-haired sistas’ smile” for those who dare to shine gray and do so with true joy. Wear your gray, like your smile, proudly and with honor.
