Oops! My Hair is Turning Grey! Help!

I changed my profile photo on WhatsApp and one of the very first comments that came up from one of my ‘acquaintances’ was: “could have been a pretty pic of you if you had coloured that grey strand!”

First of all, it sounded like I was ignorant; that I didn’t even know hair dye existed. And second, it made it seem as if I had to confine to the societal norm of not sporting grey hair. I wanted to say: “it is my hair, and I am the only one who decides whether it should look black, partly grey or fully grey…” I should have said so…but that would have been extremely rude and made future interactions with that woman…hmmm… even more painful.

Why are we so obsessed about hiding greys? I am growing older and my hair is showing it. So what? How does that make me look less pretty? Why can’t that be my new pretty look?

As timing would have it, I came across an ad that shows a mother of two daughters with grey hair. Her very young daughters are embarrassed that their mother looks ‘old’ and not stylish because she has grey hair! The ad shows the mother accepting their advice to use hair colour and she comes out looking supposedly younger.

I refuse to be part of this bandwagon.

I am greying. Period. Take it or leave it.