Family, Friends and Lovers Sharing the Journey

•  A friend shared your page and I am so excited to see that we are coming out in force. My dad’s side of the family are known for being gray. I, like most early grayers, started coloring around 30. After 20 years, I  wanted to see how my natural hair looked. I didn’t want that fake look. Just before the pandemic in August of 2019,  I went yo buy color with my sister. The young woman helping in the store said “ Hi ladies! Mother and daughter shopping day?” My sister is 3 years younger. I don’t look like our 75 year old mother. I quickly replied “What? Just because my hair is gray doesn’t mean I am that old, it means I am gray!”. I stomped over and got my last box of color and griped all the way home. How dare she? During the pandemic, I wasn’t going to the store often and I just didn’t feel like maintaining the color. I just let it do its thang.  The challenge was hard because friends and family didn’t like it at first. They told me I looked old or said they would never do it themselves and I looked younger with color.
  I explained that I was fed up with the double standard for men and women and graying.  Men get to be sexy, debonair and respected with gray and we are just seem as old.  I have a right to see my authentic self and if I don’t like it rest assured color would be there. I also explained that I want to be part of society that accepts women as they are not just as sex objects defined by society's aesthetic requirements of beauty. I tell people gray hair isn’t always a sign of wisdom or age. There are young people who have gray and older people with no gray at all. Its a genetic trait that controls how and when it comes in much like eye color. No one tells you you have to change your eye color with contacts to be attractive so why do I have to change my hair. I want younger women to feel comfortable letting it happen earlier than I did so they can see all of their fantastic stages from salt and pepper to steel gray then to sparkling silver. I have a ways to go, but so far the gray journey has been a good regardless of other peoples opinions. I am excited to be part of The Grey Nation. - Joy L.

• " I was born on the bayou in Louisiana. I have lived here all my life. I love the Saints, the blues and jazz! I grayed quite early in life. I inherited my silver gene from my sweet Daddy. I wear it proudly, although it wasn’t always this way. By my late twenties I was salt n pepper. It was then I started the coloring process. By the time I made my thirties, I had colored, cut my hair to go back grey, then colored again numerous times. Nine years ago I had enough! I decided to go with what the Good Lord gave me and I wear this crown of silver proudly! I get stopped in public and complimented quite often. I use this opportunity to talk, share love, advice and to just be a kind person. The younger girls often ask me “ who colors your hair?” I tell them Jesus baby, Jesus colored my hair! I follow your page and enjoy seeing all the beautiful silver headed people. It’s nice knowing that I’m not the only 52 year old with silver locks.  - Paula L.

Instagram@naturalsilverqueen 

• "I am 48 years old and have been embracing my natural color since August of 2020.  I had noticed a few strands of grey in my 20’s and began coloring it faithfully since then.  I colored my hair so often to cover the signs of new growth. I noticed my hair was thinning and even then, I refused to stop.  Sadly, I wanted my hair not grey more than not thin! The last few years I had been feeling  low in life personally and was questioning why am I coloring my hair? For what, for who? Then in the middle of texting with my teenage daughter I just typed “I’m ditching the dye and going for style!” Hoping deep down she would say “no, mama” but she said “go for it!” I realized that I was covering who I was and who I am evolving into.  It is said that your hair is your crown and I did not want to hide my crown anymore.  I talked myself into not feeling unease with the thought of what society will perceive of me with natural hair color.  Happily, I plunged into this journey with my head held very high.  I shaved my sides and did an undercut just to get rid of my colored hair and took a deep deep breath. After a few months of this journey, I missed my long hair and I am growing it out with only one side shaved.  I discovered beautiful women with their beautiful hair on Instagram and I am obsessed with their own story. This process have showed me that I have to love myself first and foremost then I will be able to receive genuine love and admiration for who I am.  I enjoy getting braids to help with the grow out stage. Lastly, I want to say that the compliments far outweigh the naysayer. My hair is thick now and I son even say I looked younger then before.  Strangers (women and men) have stopped me to say I looked amazing. My only regret is that I should have done this a long time ago." - Lexi W.

Instagram@wesleylexi 

• "Grey with wisdom." - Kristy S. 

Instagram@Krisnjuly 

"Gray was a part of God’s plan and who and I to question God’s Wisdom." - Aundrae 

• "Aging is a privilege and must be taken positively. So why not embrace the natural silvers and flaunt them with style. There are no hard and fast rules for styling. It’s all about your comfort and confidence with which you carry your natural self and also let your inner beauty do the talking. I am 39 and proud to be young and grey. After covering my grey hair for around 20 years I gave up coloring my hair in 2018. The external change was nothing compared to the transition that happened within. Today I am connected with thousands of young girls and ladies around the world who embraced their natural silver hair. Giving up dye is never regretted. Not to mention all the harmful chemicals adversely affecting the scalp and hair. As a supporter and an example for someone thinking of going grey, I have documented my whole going grey journey on my Instagram account. I had no Indian inspiration let alone the young ones. Also, I started my blog www.sparklingsilvers.com where I feature women embracing their natural grey hair and share their stories and experiences of going grey."

 Instagram@sparklingsilvers 

• "Since I allowed my hair to go all grey now my clients and other people I meet treat me with much more respect and admiration. I'm so glad that I stopped coloring my hair black. Most days when I am out and about I get a compliment on my grey hair." -RS

 Instagram@LiveTheDream365 

•  "I decided to grow out my natural hair color at 51 because I was simply done with the constant worry of being "found out" as someone who was old enough to have to color her hair. I had been thinking about stopping the cycle of dyeing my hair for about 3 years before that, but I never thought I would really do it. And then, one day in 2019 I just could not bear the thought of coloring my hair one more time. It was like a switch was flipped and even if I wanted to or thought I should dye my hair, I simply could not bring myself to do it. The process has been challenging at times, but ultimately liberating, exciting, and an amazing journey of self discovery. I am not afraid anymore of looking my age (52) and I love the way my hair looks now. It's sparkling, healthy, and natural."

Instagram@greytransitionproject 

• "I first noticed my grey when I was in my late twenties. I just plucked it and kept it moving. As I entered my thirties, more grey showed up and I started dying it like Mike Lowrey, (Midnight Cocoa Bean) for years. I got to the point where I was tired of ruining pillowcases, shirt collars, wall splatters, and stop dying my hair. Little did I know, women loved grey hair on men. I mean, I was getting compliments all the time, from men and women. Then I reconnected with the Love of My Life and encouraged me to tweak my style a bit. The rest is history."

Instagram@mrshark623