The grey and the beautiful....

[LBellatrix]

^^I'm sorry, I'mma have to see that one in person to believe it. I'm also going to need to see a driver's license because she can't be older than 30.

I feel like I can now claim 10 percent gray. Much of that has come in the last couple of weeks...

[chachadiva]

I have a few gray hairs and I keep thinking it is lint in my locks! LOL

I just had my locks dyed black. Mentally and emotionally, I'm okay with aging and going gray. However, I couldn't deal with the random gray hairs getting mistaken for lint. I was trying to pick lint only to find it attached to my scalp.

How do people go gray gracefully? How do you get past the "lint look-a-like" stage?

[NubianPrize]

Everyone doesn't go gray pretty, some have pretty streaks, some go all white, some go like lint ( I think I'm gonna be that way;right now it's mostly just the edges) & some get an unpleasant yellow gray look that just looks yucky ! One thing I notice about these ladies in the photos is the fact that they all have voluminous heads of thick healthy hair. Not all midlife black women have such hair. I know & have seen numerous mature women whose hair is extremely thin & some who are almost bald due to decades of creamy crack. Ebony mag had an article on black women & hair loss a few years ago. This topic came up in the salon late in 2008 on the day I got what turned out to be my very last curly perm & went a long way toward my decision to go natural again. Folks were saying that they noticed that the press & curl midlife women who'd had few or no perms or had curly perms kept their full heads of hair longer than the ones who'd had lye based relaxers for decades.

[LBellatrix]

I couldn't deal with the random gray hairs getting mistaken for lint. I was trying to pick lint only to find it attached to my scalp.

How do people go gray gracefully? How do you get past the "lint look-a-like" stage?

I'm dealing with this now in the back of my head. Right now I'm committed to not coloring so I'm just going with it. But yes, it can be annoying at times because I no longer know when I really have lint back there or not. However, the front is graying nicely; I have a few thin streaks coming in.

Everyone doesn't go gray pretty, some have pretty streaks, some go all white, some go like lint ( I think I'm gonna be that way;right now it's mostly just the edges) & some get an unpleasant yellow gray look that just looks yucky ! One thing I notice about these ladies in the photos is the fact that they all have voluminous heads of thick healthy hair. Not all midlife black women have such hair. I know & have seen numerous mature women whose hair is extremely thin & some who are almost bald due to decades of creamy crack. Ebony mag had an article on black women & hair loss a few years ago. This topic came up in the salon late in 2008 on the day I got what turned out to be my very last curly perm & went a long way toward my decision to go natural again. Folks were saying that they noticed that the press & curl midlife women who'd had few or no perms or had curly perms kept their full heads of hair longer than the ones who'd had lye based relaxers for decades.

All true, esp. the bolded. Some of the same women who looked down their noses at me when I went natural nearly 20 years ago are now living in weave because they've basically permed their follicles to death. Meanwhile, and especially lately, I've been getting more than a few "I want your hair!" comments from black women...

[Msretta]

I am salt and pepper...decided early on no dyeing. I started my dreadlocks and had so many compliments with the gray mixed in...then out of the blue..not really..I wanted to 'do' something so I dyed it...I think 3x and even though it knocked years off I didn't like it and the last time I realized I was allergic. My grays are from stress and no matter what any one says I believe crisis level sustained stress can gray some people. I also think gray is just the next 'natural' stage and the best thing is to accept it and work it to your advantage. As for the yellowing there is no need to be dull or yellow there are some wonderful products now ....so beyond and better than your Big Mama's. I always thought that it would be better to get used to it and those around you rather than one day you can't dye it and everyone is looking at you like 'dang! when did that happen?!' also believe it or not your skin tone changes and sometimes you can tell something is off and thats it. Just my thoughts.

[KnottyAuthor]

Yeh, it's weird for me too. My first set I had no silvers-that I could notice atleast back in '06 when I began. This go round, I locked it down with silver. For me, this helped because I know where my strands are. However, they've multiplied (of course). I usually snatch my lock inspect it then look for the 'trail' of a thread of silver hair. Once I see it I chill out. Yeh, I still want my head full of silver locks one day. That's hasn't changed.

Side note:
Because I usually find myself in work place scenerios with 20-30 somethings thinking I'm in their age range, it stopped being a complement to me years ago as they progressively became extremely competitive and rude. I ran into a few stand-offs where superiors had to reinforce (with my permission) my age/tenure (bc of course my attestment/explanation of it is not always satisfactory to those of privilege). Le sigh . So, the silver helps me somewhat bring balance to my life, reminding others to back up off of me. This helps me mentally to embrace the season that's coming. After 2 decades in pharma, having to put so much energy into looking young/competing with new college grads, I'se tired and I'se ready, bring it.

[LBellatrix]

Side note:
Because I usually find myself in work place scenerios with 20-30 somethings thinking I'm in their age range, it stopped being a complement to me years ago as they progressively became extremely competitive and rude. I ran into a few stand-offs where superiors had to reinforce (with my permission) my age/tenure (bc of course my attestment/explanation of it is not always satisfactory to those of privilege). Le sigh . So, the silver helps me somewhat bring balance to my life, reminding others to back up off of me. This helps me mentally to embrace the season that's coming. After 2 decades in pharma, having to put so much energy into looking young/competing with new college grads, I'se tired and I'se ready, bring it.

TELL it...

I'm new at this particular software company (5 months next week) but I have a LOT more work experience than my late-20-early-30-something-looking face suggests. Ever since my silvers became more pronounced in front I've been purposely parting my hair at the spot where they're most prominent, partially because I'm tired of some of these kids trying to talk down to me. Interestingly, there's this one young black guy who doesn't really speak to me but when he does I can hear the "ma'am" in his voice. Glad to know SOME folks know the meaning of "good black don't crack..."

I was thinking yesterday that I should probably step up my makeup and clothing game, but just a wee bit...I ain't giving up this BAA for nothing. Especially not when there are white guys walking around with hats and beards to their chests and ponytails to their butt cracks...

[KnottyAuthor]

THere she goes again…


.

[Denny]

I'm 46 with a few greys in the front. I dye them about twice a year. I might embrace them when I'm 50 (or 60 or 70 lol)

[KnottyAuthor]

Beautiful