Step right up, Folks, and have your say. After a bit 'o the bard we'll give you your time to make your proclamation- yay or stay?
To dye or not to dye, that is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler in your mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of aging follicles,
Or to take arms against them
And, by opposing, end them. To dye,
to gray no more- and by "to gray" to say we end
the heartache and the thousand natural shocks (each time you see my silver hair)
That flesh is heir to- 'tis a consummation (of 44 years)
Devoutly to be wished. To dye? To gray?
To gray, perchance to dream
that I am already that loving grandmother,
cuddling babe in arms. Ay, there's the rub,
For in that gray hair, what dreams may come?
When I have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. That's the respect
Of gray hair from a life lived so long.
For who would bear the scorns of time?
The proud woman's up-do make?
The hateful, age-ist frown?
When she might her brunette retake
With a little bottle of brown?
So here, my friends, is my refrain:
Who would see me with a completely dark mane?
Who would see me gray naturally, see my white hairs turn, as they do, tenderly?
Who would see me hold onto the tenable leashes of my raven hair?
And who would say, "Dear friend, go gray, if you dare"?
Background:
1) My hair is overwhelmingly still dark. For now, there are just some long silvers placed sporadically throughout my head. Then quite a bit at each side of my bangs.
2) I like my silver hairs, especially the ones on the sides and the back. (I think they're shiny and pretty. And I also love seeing women embrace their grays. Wow, I sound much too militant some days.) But I hate the ones around my bangs. Whenever I pull my hair into a ponytail, the contrast between them and my blackish hair makes me look like I have funny bald patches. (Not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with being bald. Nothing at all.)
2) My dear boyfriend likes my silver. For some reason he thinks they're sexy. (How could he not? It's on me.) But can live with it either way.
3) There's no way in heck I'm going to keep the gray hair if I have a job interview so will definitely dye it in that case.
4) Currently (and tragically), I have no job interviews looming in the near (or distant- did I mention it was a tragedy?) future.
5) On any given day, you never know who you might meet who could potentially become your boss. So be prepared, right?
6) I don't like when I see people looking at the grays around my bangs. It almost makes me forget what I'm talking about (as if I could ever forget anything so salient and fascinating) and start wondering what they're thinking.
7) I like the IDEA of aging gracefully, but I can't quite figure out if I equate having painfully large needles, full of dangerous botulism shot into my face with dying the annoying grays at my bangs.
8) BONUS POINT: I am truly uncomfortable with this kind of public exposure. (Am I really taking a vote on whether I'm going to dye my hair or not?!) But since I'm running this experiment of living my life by blog-vote for the next 30 days, I'm determined to follow this path where ever it leads.
So the question is whether I should dye now or live to dye another day.
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Girl? I have the issue of red hair, which unlike your lovely mane, merely fades. It doesn't sound bad, I get it, but when it fades to nearly my skin color (GHOST) I look incredibly washed out and bleh.
ReplyDeleteI think, considering how young you (and I!) look, compared to our actual ages, I'd say dye it. If you want to keep the greys you like? Put foil on them, and don't color them. Its really quite simple, just take a piece of aluminum foil, wrap the area you don't want changed, and do the rest.
And if you have a hairdresser do it, I'm sure they'd be able to make it work!
OOooh! I like what Nilliem said. I think you should keep the ones you want and dye the rest. :) Its the best of both worlds.
ReplyDeletePS, did I ever mention i hate those touch of gray commericals? I hate them!
Hmmm...you like your silvers, he likes your silvers...and you love women embracing their grays.
ReplyDeleteMy dh's family all turned gray in their 20's so where does age come into play?
I have earned every wrinkle on my face and every gray hair on my head. I so wouldn't fit in certain societies. Perhaps that's why fate has put me where I am? hahahahaa!!
(btw - Hi nilliem!! I've always loved your red hair!)
Anyway, I've always said you need to be true to yourself. If you're not true to you, you'll find it hard to be true to everyone and everything else.
Save the time and trouble. Hair color never employed anyone (at least noone I've known. Win over your interviewer with your obvious charm and experience!
what blankslate said.
ReplyDeleteMy vote is dye it and embrace your youth - you have many more years to embrace your silver!
ReplyDeleteThe answer is keep your beautiful dark hair and dye just the gray. Clarol Nice and Easy TOUCH UP. Best way to only partly dye your hair... mix two liquids in little tray, use enclosed mini paint brush to apply only where you want it, leave on for 10 minutes and wash your hair. That's it. And cheap. :) DD
ReplyDeleteI debate this issue constantly. You'd think I have better things to do. I say go with the dye job until you land the dream job.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing many people have already said, dy the ones you don't like, leave the ones you do.
ReplyDeleteNo dye!
ReplyDeleteThe votes are in! I'm dying. Or rather, have dyed. Dyed the ones I wanted, left the rest alone.
ReplyDeleteCan I say a great big "thank ya'll" to everyone who voted. You guys are making this social experiment great fun for me. Now to come up with another thing for you to vote on...