Celebrating and Reflecting on One Year of Going Grey

Me...today.

One year anniversary. A milestone just for me. One year ago, I coloured my hair for the very last time. I had a personal blog and this is what I wrote to explain my decision:

"I am nearing my 40th birthday and with that, I have made a few decisions. One of them is to say goodbye to fake colour for good. I have tried in the past and wasn't able to just let go. Now I am done. I don't like anything fake, especially for food and personal products. So why was I going away from my ways just for my hair? No more! I think I went through this back and forth in the last couple of years to prepare me for this final decision. I feel very strongly about this decision. No matter how bad it gets, I will continue. I have some hats to cover up with while it is growing out. I will get creative with hair accessories if needed!"

The first couple of months were a bit difficult. Waiting for the colour to grow out was at time frustrating. Often I wore hats, headbands or scarves. 

February 2012

I was hoping to let my hair grow at the same time as letting my grey come in. That didn't work, instead I chopped off all my hair into a pixie in March. I got my hair cut even shorter in May before we moved to PEI. All the fake colour was gone, what was left was all mine. It felt great. 

May 2012 - My birthday at the beach in Ontario.

 I liked the short hair, but I do prefer it a bit longer and so does my husband. I am letting it grow now. 

Not colouring my hair is liberating. It isn't what most people are comfortable with. I have had people tell me that I am too young to let my natural grey come through. Others tell me that they could never do it. 

I have had a year to think about all this. For me, it seems similar to homeschooling. I have heard these type of comments in response to the idea of homeschooling. "I could never do it" and "why would you want to?" ... these types of comments/questions are pretty common. 

Comparing homeschooling with colouring your hair seems odd, but really, it's all about personal choice, isn't it? 

Doing what feels right for yourself and your family. 

Choosing. 

We are so fortunate to be able to have a choice.