Gray Hair & Society's Prejudice
At some age a woman's hair will turn gray. It is inevitable just exactly when in a woman's life depends on her genes, her health, how she lives and her stress levels. Some women will get beautiful white hair, while some will get a black gray white mix and then there are the other 50 variations of those colors again all dictated by genes, health, living circumstances and stress levels.
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Society in general is prejudice against women with gray hair. A woman with gray hair is perceived to be old (older) than her age, past her prime and regulated to the status or term "grandma". Women who have gray hair in the corporate world, Hollywood and other professional platforms are passed over, and made to feel like they have to color or cover up their gray hair in order to be successful.
Then even if women cover up their gray, it is like it is too late, it has been seen, you are old.
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Sarah Jessica Parker recently experienced this very thing when she was out dining with Andy Cohen and a tv executive with her gray/white hair in full view. While you could tell from the pap's picture Parker was not uncomfortable or self conscious at all the comments that blew up were so negative and so focused on her gray hair even though Cohen was right next to her with so much more gray.
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This is the problem with society and the very real prejudice against women and gray hair. It is no wonder that women in their 20s, 30s, 40s with gray hair spend the money and time hiding what is really a gorgeous process.
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There are women who have embraced their natural gray and it is wonderful. Actors Jamie Lee Curtis, Andie McDowell just to name a few. The courage and strength they show is amazing, especially being in the Hollywood culture.
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Just as there are women who embrace their gray, there are women who want nothing to do with it at the current point in life. That is great, every woman has a right to embrace or not any and every part of her own body. The issue is, are these women coloring their hair because they don't feel the gray color for their own reasons or do they not feel the gray because of society and the standards and pressures? This is a hard question and I don't know if any woman who colors her hair can honestly say 100% that she is not affected by society's judgement of gray hair.
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I color my hair and I honestly do it because of the insecurities I feel when I let the color wear off. It is crazy though, when I colored my hair gray when that was the trend, I loved it. At that time though, society was embracing women coloring their hair gray while natural gray was still being shunned. The only hair that seems to never be shunned is the pure white hair.
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I want to share the products I use and how I go about deciding if a hair color is good for me and my skin and hair. Everyone is different but perhaps this list of things I check before using a hair color will help you choose one for yourself.
I look for hair dye that is:
1. Cruelty Free
2. Vegan
3. Ammonia Free
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With the vegan hair dyes you have to leave them on longer depending on your grays.
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Where you are finding that first wiry gray hair in a sea of blond, red, brunette or black or you have more grays than other colors, my wish for you is that you embrace the grays however you want to. If you want to go gray, go gray and wear it proudly. If you want to color the grays, please know you don't have to to be accepted, valued or to succeed in our society. Know that you are supported and hopefully one day in the future the misogynistic comments and ideas will become extinct like the cavemen.
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