Revolution GrayAt the age of 44, I reacted severely to hair dye.
To regain my health, I knew I had to stop colouring my hair. I also knew this would mean going grey. I won’t lie to you, I wasn’t feeling overly confident about the decision. I loved my chocolate brown dyed hair! Maybe it was the word chocolate that I was addicted to. Whatever it was, I felt great about my dyed hair. I felt confident, attractive, and full of energetic bounce, or at least I thought I did.
As my hair grew, showing the grey and silver, my confidence grew with it. This was without a doubt the opposite of what I was expecting. So what changed, why did this happen? Below are five reasons why I believe my confidence grew when I ditched the hair dye.
1. I can stop hiding – I had been hiding behind my hair for years. I thought that if my hair looked great then I would feel great. Now that I can longer hide behind my hair, I have no choice but to step forward from my hiding place and show the world who I truly am. Although a bit scary at first, it is now incredibly freeing.
2. I am more focused on my health – When I became aware of how much hair dye had contributed to my lack of health, I became focused on getting healthier. I was a healthy eater before, but now I am even more aware of what I eat and how much I exercise. A healthy diet and exercise contribute towards feeling confident.
3. I am more aware of style – I never thought much about style until my hair was grey. I soon noticed that I had an exciting canvas to work with. With grey hair there are no expectations for me to fit a certain style. I am sure this was always the case, even with dark hair, but I had never noticed before. I now choose styles that match my moods rather than my hair.
4. I am non-conforming – Wow I get it now! All those years of watching people go through non-conforming styles, hair colours, and attitudes. I always wanted a slice of that. Now I have. By not colouring my hair I am no longer conforming. I find that hilarious. I have finally found my non-conforming space by doing nothing.
5. My inner artist can shine – I am a very creative and artistic person. Up until now, this part of me has only been expressed on canvas or kept to myself. With my grey and silver hair I feel as though my artistic self is being expressed on the outside. I can wear what I like, be who I am, and express my whacky ideas. People now look at me as if they understand that I am just a bit artistic. I love that.
Kama Frankling, the author of Daring To Be Grey’ began her journey to grey in 2011. Although Kama will admit that she was initially resistant to going gray, she soon discovered that the journey was the ultimate confidence booster that she had needed. Kama feels more confident than ever before and now shares with others what she has learned about confidence and transitioning to gray.