by Maureen Thomas

Created on: December 06, 2008

I am a firm believer in choices. As a forty four year old woman, I have grown up and matured in the era of choice. What works for one woman in terms of her personal appearance may not work for another. Personally, I would not use Botox, get breast augmentation or liposuction, although I see nothing wrong with others doing so. I do consider myself somewhat appearance and fashion-conscious. The one beauty process I will continue to participate in is coloring my hair. As a former hair stylist I believe I can speak accurately to some of the myths that abound concerning "dyeing" your hair.

"It's not healthy for your hair". WRONG. This may have been true twenty years ago, and still can be true for women who continually highlight and/or bleach their hair. This will strip the hair and can leave it looking dull and lifeless. In most true in cases this is the "do-it-yourselfers" who apply the product incorrectly and accidentally overlap the bleach onto pre-bleached areas. However, most color applications, if done correctly, add shine and body (isn't this the definition of hair "health"?) to the hair. I have been coloring my greys for ten years, and am frequently told, "your hair is so shiny".

"It is striking and attractive". Yes, naturally silver hair can be so. However, the unfortunate reality is that very few women are blessed with silvery grey or white hair. Most grey hair has a yellowish cast to it. And it most cases, it ages the person at least five, and more often ten years. In my opinion, most of the "au naturelle's " tend to sport the aging hippie look-Birkenstocks with socks, mom jeans, etc, and this usually extends to their hair style... overly long, raggedy, and rather unkempt. Prematurely grey hair requires a sharp cut, usually above the shoulders. Anything else brings to mind Hansel, Gretel, and candy houses.

The biggest problem with going grey naturally is that the process is not uniform. You won't wake up one morning with a beautiful head of snow white hair. The greys come in patches, usually around the temple. The hairs themselves are wiry and coarse, in most cases, a different texture than the surrounding hair, due to the absence of melanin. This is a very unattractive look, and a styling nightmare, however, covering the stray grays with color calms them down and makes them behave like the rest of your hair.

To me, the strangest thing about the "to grey or not to grey" debate is the "morality" some associate with it. I have heard those who choose not to color utter the statement, "I would never DYE my hair", with such passion, as if coloring your hair were to be associated with all things evil, unnatural, and responsible for the objectification of women worldwide. I am a feminist, and try not to support things that I feel make women hate themselves and the natural aging process. However, I still want to look attractive, vital, and youthful. And for me, grey hair, at least at this stage of the game, is not part of the picture.

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