Stop The Madness

Okay... I have faced a choice, reached that fork in the road, stood at the edge of that cliff and wondered if I should step off into the unknown....

No, I'm not talking about love.  I have made.... a decision!

I am going to stop coloring my hair, let it grow, and see what God and genetics have bequeathed me!  Yes, my dears, I am growing gray!

Oh, I can hear you now, I've heard much the same already from my mother and Bunso...  "It'll make you look old if you go gray!"  "You're already fair skinned, this'll just make you look more washed out!"  "You won't like it! You'll be begging your hair stylist for an appointment before you grow two inches!"  "You'll never get a guy to look at you twice if you look all gray and old!"

Well, let me answer these attempts to make me "see the light": 1) no, I don't believe it will make me look old, OR washed out. Just because I choose to let my gray/silver/pewter (?) grow out is no guarantee I'll look old.  I found  a web-site where women who have chosen to eschew dye and "go natural" call themselves "Silver Sisters" and encourage one another to explore their natural beauty.  There are tips and ideas for transitioning from color/dyed hair to natural gray and even suggestions for make up and how to keep those lucious locks lush! If you're curious, it's called "Going Gray Looking Great" and you can find it at http://www.goinggraylookinggreat.com/ where you'll find shots of women who are simply beautiful, and even more youthful looking, once they've grown in the gray.

2) I may not like it, but I won't know until I try.  If it just so happens that I don't, my hair dresser has the colors she's used to keep me a red head written down and can whip up a new batch of the Pamela Special in no time flat. The point is, I'm going to do something I happen to see as fun!  I'm going to play with my hair in a new way.  Who knows?  I may have more fun than I can handle, which leads me to - -

3)  So what if I don't get a second look from a guy just because my hair is gray?  I don't get second looks now so why should that "threat" worry me?  You all know from a previous post that I've pretty much come to believe God wants me single (and I believe it's because there isn't a man alive who could handle me, too!) so what do I care if the only reason he looks again is because of the "skunk stripe" of new, silver growth and he can't decide whether to laugh or wait til I'm out of range? (he'd better wait... I may not care if others like it, but I'll still put a hurt on him for laughing!)

So, why am I telling you this?  Well, the GGLG site wants all their newbie grayers to post pics of themselves as they transition.  I don't know if y'all care as much as they do, but I tho't I'd share the journey with you, too.  So, I'll post pics and updates on here, from time to time, to let you know how it's going and whether or not I give up and give in to the dye chair once more. (Mom and Bunso are really hoping I give in... Bunso doesn't like gray hair - she's the "washed out" culprit - and Mom says she's not ready for a gray haired daughter) 

SO!  Here are the beginning photos (hard to take your own pic in your bathroom, forgive the poor job!)  I haven't had any color since (I think) about May.....

Okay, hard to see, but there's a fine line of gray showing in the 1st picture around the hair line (it IS lighter than the rest), you can see the beginning of the "Skunk Line" in the part of the 2nd picture and there are a LOT of silver strands under all that red in the 3rd shot.  Give it a few more weeks, that Skunk Stripe'll be HUGE! (heheheheeheee)

Hair: Softness for Coarse Hair

My little sister (hereafter referred to as Squirt, or The Squirt) and I each have jealousy issues regarding the others' hair. I am envious of the way her hair moves like the models in all those shampoo commercials, a smooth waterfall of silken hair. She, on the other hand, is jealous of the fact my hair will not only hold a curl for longer than it takes my hair to cool from the curling iron, but that I can "do things" with my hair while she is limited to pony tails or hanging straight. The one thing I truly don't like about my hair is what my Mom genetically gifted to me.... it's coarse.

Yes, coarse hair holds a curl and, yes, I love being able to make up interesting hair styles, but I'd give a lot to have soft, silky hair when I decide to blow dry it straight. I believe I have, finally, found The Answer to that softness. Herbal Essences Hello Hydration.

Yes, fellow coarse hair sufferers, Herbal Essences Hello Hydration is WONderful! One of it's main ingredients is coconut milk and it's one of the best hydrating, softening agents there is. Once I started using this shampoo and conditioner, my hair was the softest it's ever been since I was a baby!

Then, I discovered a side effect that affects only those of us who must, reluctantly, make friends with either Lady Clarol or Dame Garnier Nutrisse... I speak of dying of the hair. Yes, my mother's second genetic gift was early gray. I've been dealing with it since the age of 16. Not so bad to begin with but, as a red head, it starts to cause a very... ahh... faded look. Red and gray hair do NOT mix! So, I began denying my (premature) aging by dying (the color, not the finale!).

The side effect I discovered with Herbal Essence was that my newly dyed hair color faded faster, and all over, than I thought it should. My hair stylist finally told me the secret to slowing that fade and still keeping that silkiness I craved. Use a color protector/enhancer shampoo and condition with my Herbal Essence Conditioner!
Oh, the joy! Yes, it works!! So, my two new best friends (after my colorist) are Pantene's Red Expressions and Herbal Essence Hello Hydration.

Now, you may wonder why I don't use both Pantene products, shampoo and conditioner. Well, for me, the only Panetene product I can use that doesn't feel like there's a heavy film over my hair is the Red Expressions. Sadly, the other products don't soften, they only coat and weigh down. This is not to say Pantene will not work for you, so go ahead and try it. The Squirt won't use anything but the Red Expressions, either (yes, my parents gave birth to TWO red heads... oh, the horror!) because, since her hair is so fine in spite of it's thickness, Pantene only weighs her hair down. I don't know what the difference is with their color Expressions shampoo vs. their other products, but it doesn't leave a heavy coating or film. And the Red Expressions most certainly keeps my color longer. Combined with my Herbalessences conditioner, it makes me a very happy, soft-haired red head!