There’s a new girl in town…

Today is about a new attitude…lots of changes are taking place and as of June 20, when I had my hair cut and colored, I decided to try and “embrace the gray!” 

Now, full disclosure, I am not saying with absolute certainty that I am going all gray, but it is time to admit that my hair is totally white underneath the color that I have professionally applied every month!  There’s nothing like a pandemic shutdown to come to terms with that truth. 

I would say that I was prematurely gray at a young age, but no need to give away all of my beauty secrets.  Suffice to say that I have been doing the color cover-up for a long time. 

During the closure of my salon, my roots became increasingly longer and more noticeable.  I use an amazing color spray to hide those roots in-between colorings…I refer to this as my spray paint.  However, it appeared that many others were doing the same and soon, this spray paint was getting hard to find.

Then my brother suggested that I was going to be the new girl in town…new attitude, new beginnings, why not new hair???  He gave me something to think about.

I finally had my appointment with my stylist of 30+ years and although I had a bunch of pictures of what I thought would be possible options, it seems that with my “white” hair, getting a “salt & pepper” look wasn’t really in the cards.  That seemed to work best with people who were just starting to get gray hair!  

After talking through the options, we did some highlights, lowlights, and lightened the main color.  I just remember her saying, “Remember, you will still have roots!”  That didn’t really sit well, but she also told me that this would be a process and it wouldn’t be exactly what I wanted for about 4-6 months.  So I had to be patient.  And the best part of all was in the event that I just hated it, I could go back to my dark brown and continue to color as I have done for so many years!

So…I left the salon that day, WITH roots, those rows of white hair around my scalp!  WTH??? I also left with a fresh haircut and feeling a little sassy!

It’s been about ten days and it’s growing on me, but I’m still not sure this is what I want to do.  I have had compliments, I’ve had “you are so brave” comments and that’s been reassuring, but I still have a way to go…mentally accepting these roots of mine! 

When I start to question myself, I remember that my hair does not define me me.  I’ve learned this lesson from my friends who have endured cancer and lost their hair.  They remained sassy through treatments and most either “embraced the bald” beauty or have kept their hair super short. 

This is a new beginning for me and why not let my hair be a part of the new me???   I’ll still be me and I’m going to give it a shot!  Bravely, I have posted a couple of pictures…one of me before my appointment and one of me after the appointment.  Stay tuned!!   #embracethegray

Mona Lisa and I shared more than our name!! 

Showing these roots was a big step!

Finished look!

Finished look, without mask!!