Do you have a question about gray hair? Ask us! Photo courtesy of goodhousekeeping.com

We love mail!

A lot of you have reached out to us about growing out gray hair, and here at the Going Gray Blog we take your courage to make this step very seriously. From here on out, we thought it would be a good idea to highlight your questions (with your permission, of course!) and open them up to our readers. Last week, we received this message:

“Hi my name is Christy, and i know that i have salt and pepper gray under my dye job. I color it a medium golden brown; I’ve been coloring it for a long time. I’m now 53yrs old and curious, but I feel I will need to go to my hairdresser to make the transition because it will be something that makes me nervous. I used to go to my hairdresser and she would do my hair a medium blonde with highlights. It was pretty but i was getting tired of doing all that so now i do it one color myself at home, and i still have never seen my gray.. do you think i should try letting it grow out some and decide from there?”

- Christy

Thank you Christy for allowing us to share your question and we hope you know there are many others just like you thinking about the same thing. Feel free to chime in, and keep those questions coming!

Thoughts, anyone?

Gray is Gorgeous. Photo courtesy of Complete Woman Blog

Wanna show off your gorgeous gray hair?

Let us give you a chance to do so! We’ve been working on a special project for a while now that’s all about the gray movement. Like we said in our previous post, gray hair is all the rage—and we’ve got proof. Here’s your chance to inspire others and get in on the fun.

We’ve been collecting stories from women of all ages who have made the choice to go gray. There has been a nice mix of stories—from one woman who had her first gray at 14, to another who decided to keep her silver locks to honor someone special, and other tales of acceptance, courage and newfound confidence.

What’s your story? Shoot us an email at goinggray.ebook@gmail.com for a chance to be published in our eBook.

We’re very excited to hear from you!

Photo Courtesy of Obrag.org

Today is an extra special day at the Going Gray Blog headquarters because… we just turned two!

Here’s an excerpt from one of our favorite 2009 posts by Claire Douglass. Remember her beautiful painting?

"Venus Deleted" by Claire Douglass

“The whole process of revealing my ‘old lady’ hair has also been interesting. The reactions of other people have not always been predictable, and I’ve had to accept my own very visible maturity.

Whenever I am confronted with issues to resolve, I make art, so I want to share this painting with the readers of this blog. Because you’ll get it.”

Read the full post here.

So it’s our birthday and you want to get us something right? Great news! All we want this year is for you to…

1. Be a fan of our blog on Facebook

2. Follow us on Twitter

3. Re-Tweet this to your friends!

Thank you, dear readers, for making this blog what it is today. Keep coming back, we’ve got BIG plans for 2010.

Happy New Year to you all!

Photo Courtesy of MSNBC

How many of you out there are thinking about saying bye to the dye in 2010? We want to hear from you!

Tell us all about your decision and get the chance to be featured on this blog.

We’re also working on a very special Q&A post with a celebrity hairstylist (cross your fingers). Ditching the dye and don’t know where to start? Need suggestions for a gray makeover? Tried and tested gray hair care tips?  Send in your questions about going gray through the comment box and we’ll get our stylist to help you out.

We hope you enjoyed the white Christmas!

Happy Holidays from the GoingGrayBlog Team

 I’m 39 years old, and the mom to four kids (8, 6, 5, and 1).  I am completely gray.

 I noticed my first grays in high school.  By the end of college, I was using semi-permanent dyes on a regular basis.  By the time I was 25, I had switched to permanent colors.  At 30, I was using permanent dyes and highlighting also.  I highlighted about twice a year, and colored about every 8 weeks.   At 35, I was coloring, highlighting and also lowlighting.  I had stepped-up my coloring to every 6 weeks.  At 39, I was coloring, highlighting, lowlighting, and touching up roots every 3 weeks.  I had a standing Friday morning appointment every 3 weeks.  I needed it at about 2 weeks, but I pushed it to 3.  By that time, everyone knew I was gray.  Who was I really fooling?

 By chance, in December 2007, I was in the bookstore looking for Christmas presents.  I was lost in the aisles and came across Anne Kreamer’s book.  It was eye-opening.   I stood in the aisle and read the whole thing.  The seed was planted and began to grow.

 My last color occurred on December 21, 2007.  Of course, it had to be in time for the holidays.  With the New Year, I decided it was time for a change.  I was done coloring; transitioning began, and boy, has it been hard.  I probably only have support from 50% of my family.  My in-laws have never mentioned my changing hair; they act as if it’s not even occurring (I know this isn’t a positive because previously when I discussed it with them, they all tried to discourage me from experimenting with the gray).  My first-grader asked me not to come to her class because she didn’t want everyone to know my hair was all gray “because no other moms have gray hair.”  She eventually changed her mind and let me come.  To transition, I had to go from long hair to very short hair, and that’s been hard.

 In the end, I’m glad I made the change.  There is still a “disconnect” when I see a photo of myself, or catch my reflection in the mirror.  Who is that person?  But, I love the freedom of not having to dye my hair.  I love the feel of my hair.  I love the color.  I wish I had my length back.  I wish I wasn’t prematurely gray.  But I am.  I’ve accepted it.

I look forward to having my length back (and more of my curls), but that’s really all I miss.  Oh, and the day after I got it all cut off, when all that I had showing was the gray, I got carded when I tried to purchase a bottle of wine.  Go figure!

Aileen

Please visit Aileen’s blog, Make Mine a Quad,  for more thoughts and more beautiful pictures.  Thank you, Aileen.

Do you have gorgeous gray hair worthy of flaunting? Do you know someone else that does? Send us your story along with a picture to goinggray@goinggrayblog.com.

The absolute strangest thing about growing my natural hair is that I keep having nightmares that I “forget” one day and “accidentally” go get my hair dyed and have to start all over. My anxiety comes from the stress of half-and-half hair. After one full year with no coloring, my hair is half gray streaked and half dyed. Just about 6 inches of each.

I know, I could get a short cut at this point, but I don’t want to. I like it long; I need a few more inches before I can cut it without having a breakdown. And I know, I could have done some transitional color. But I’m 36 years old, and while there’s a line where my hair changes, it’s not so striking that I can’t get away with it. At least, that’s what I tell myself. Because honestly, I just wanted to stop.

I wanted every inch from that moment on to be completely, naturally mine.

I recently received an email where a woman told me that she is equally terrified and fascinated by her gray hair. It feels just like that for me, so I’ve been documenting the transition on my blog, Everyday Goddess, under the category, Shades of Gray. I even did a vlog where I talked about Anne Kreamer’s book, Going Gray, and my own experiences.

I recently got a comment on my blog that said, “…everybody looks older with gray hair. All the personal and professional crap that goes along with looking like a woman who has passed her sexual prime is not worth it to me. When I am old, I will embrace it. For now, I dye.”

I absolutely respect and understand where this woman is coming from. At the same time, doesn’t this point out how ridiculous all this hair dyeing is? I’m 36 years old, and Hello, Sexual Prime. And my natural hair is full of gray. It doesn’t mean anything. This is what I naturally look like.

Look, I know that appearances and perceptions matter. That’s certainly why having natural hair sometimes worries me. But there’s something more important in the strength I get by being myself. By not spending time and money I don’t have on something I don’t want to appease people I don’t even care about.

The simple truth is, I like my natural hair. It’s healthier, and it suits me. So I do what’s best for me, and I make my way through society the best I can. Gray hair and all.

Cheers,Liz

Do you have gorgeous gray hair worthy of flaunting? Do you know someone else that does? Send us your story along with a picture to goinggray@goinggrayblog.com.

I really haven’t colored my hair since I began going gray – in my early 30s! At that time I had a woman friend who was about 5 years older than me and she was forever getting her hair colored, or touched up in between colorings. It just seemed to be a waste of time AND money. Not to mention how awful the roots looked if she didn’t get to the hairdresser in time…

My husband is quite a bit older than I am, so another reason for me not wanting to color my hair as it grayed is that I didn’t want to appear even YOUNGER than I was. My hair has grayed quite nicely – has an even tone – and no one in my family has ever wanted my hair to look any other way!

Marian Hamilton
Lodi, CA

Do you have gorgeous gray hair worthy of flaunting? Do you know someone else that does? Send us your story along with a picture to goinggray@goinggrayblog.com

I stopped coloring my hair about a year ago and I would never do it again! This is what 54 looks like and I like it!

I have two teens and a wonderful husband who love my hair gray. My son doesn’t care if I even HAVE hair as long as I can still cook. Now – my daughter – different story. She asked me to keep coloring my hair when she started high school so I wouldn’t look like her grandmother.  I did for her first two years but just got fed up with the way gray hair looks dyed. You can never get all the hairs at your temple covered it seems and after a couple of weeks, it turns a funny red color if you go with brown and fades terribly if you go with blonde. My 73 year old mother also colors her hair and keeps telling me
I look 10 years older without the dye. At this point, I just don’t care if that’s true or not. I love the gray and my husband loves it – what more matters?! 

Even if I look older to some people – I don’t act it. I run with my three dogs, I knit, read a lot, love to dance, play several musical instruments and am learning Spanish. I live in an area where women don’t let their gray hair show so I can’t say I’m admired much but I have a group of women friends who have gone to moon hair and I make a point to stop women with gray hair to let them know they look great!

Ladies, keep it soft and shiny or funk it up! We look marvelous!

JoEllen Hamilton

Do you have gorgeous gray hair worthy of flaunting?  Do you know someone else that does?  Send us your story along with a picture to goinggray@goinggrayblog.com

I was about 13 years old when one of my friends was putting corn rows (most people call them braids now) in my hair.  When she was about halfway through, she yelled out, “You have gray hair!”  To that I responded, “No I don’t!” She insisted, so I jumped up and ran to my house so I could see for myself.   With a stool, hand mirror and the mirror on the medicine cabinet, I confirmed the truth – I did have gray hair at thirteen.

 As the years progressed, more and more strands of gray hair came in.  By the time I was in high school, it was noticeable.  By the time, I was in college it was remarkable.  Gray hair really seemed to flourish during college.  It changed from strands to patches.  At the time, my mother and father had an appropriate amount of gray hair for their age, but nothing excessive; however, my gray hair was in all the same places as my mother.  If she had patches behind her ears, I had patches of gray behind my ears. 

My brother, on the other hand, who was nine years older than me, did not have any.  It was during my twenties that I crossed the line from having gray in my hair to having gray hair.  I guess I went from going gray to gone gray.  It is interesting that my husband was prematurely gray at 35 as well.  I am not sure what that means for my sons, but hopefully they will embrace the double whammy.

Throughout the years, I have come to really appreciate my gray hair for the conversation starter that it is.  Just the other day, a woman caught up with me in Whole Foods and said, ‘I just had to let you know that your hair is simply gorgeous.”  Compliments like hers and others are a real treat and can really make your day.  I have also heard from women who refuse to go gray who tell me that I am an inspiration for them to let their gray hair shine. I know my aunt who is eighty something now, decided to finally go gray in her seventies using my gray hair as inspiration.  I am thankful for my gift and hope that it continues to inspire others.

 Jandie

Jandie Turner is an avid golfer and the owner of Acuity Sports.  Be sure to visit her website!

Do you have gorgeous gray hair worthy of flaunting?  Do you know someone else that does?  Send us your story along with a picture to goinggray@goinggrayblog.com

My gray hair began to appear when I was a young mom in my twenties.  I decided that I would just let it be a natural process because I never appreciated what my mother went through in coloring her hair or the way that she looked.  She was completely gray in her early 40′s.  However, several years ago I became really ill, and my hair turned almost completely white while also falling out.  My wonderful daughter came to visit me one afternoon and brought a box of natural hair color.  She thought it would help me to feel better about my thin tresses, and it did!  After a while, coloring it became tiresome, so I went back to my own color.  Whenever I have it cut, people in the salon always comment on how beautiful it is.  

Sarah, age 53