by Blue Vespa

Created on: April 25, 2008

I swore I'd never dye my hair. I'd seen my mother work through disasters and I never saw my grandmother with gray hair until she was in a nursing home with Alzheimer's. Instead of her natural "do" she had perfectly coifed gray hair. She didn't look anything like I knew her and I really feel she would never have liked it.

I had good hair. You know, the kind that's thick and shiny and has movement. I was proud of my hair. When I turned 50 I had noticed a few grays and started a new job. Definite age prejudice and I thought I'd better join them instead. So, I started with highlights. I then added lowlights. My hairdresser moved and I had to find someone new. Really scary. I ended up with a nice person who felt I should try something else so we mixed three colors and the six week saga started. I was at the mercy of the colorist.

It's expensive and you do get what you pay for. My hair looked great and I received compliments routinely. However, they were always noticing "the color". Yes, my skin tone had changed so we adjusted the colors as we went along. I got compliments on my clothing as it "went well with my hair". My hair became a personality of it's own and the bottom line was that I was still "my age" but with dyed hair. People know your age. They know if you dye your hair. So what's this all about anyway?

I went in eight weeks ago to a friend of my brother who is a hair designer. I felt I could trust him. I was right. I asked him to cut it all off. Let's get down to whatever color we really have here. He said no and thought I should be a little more conservative with the haircut. He was right. I was prepared to look like Annie Lennox but he felt that wasn't the look for me. I've since had two cuts with each a bit shorter than the last. My hair looks good and I feel it will get better. I look in the mirror and know who I am and I'm comfortable. No one else seems to care and I will definitely save a lot of money. I've thrown the insecurity regarding age prejudice away and dare anyone to do a better job than I do. Besides, I'm into pedicures now. I've got the best looking red toe nails!

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