Grey expectations Chronicles of My Hair - Part 1

"There is only one cure for grey hair. It was invented by a Frenchman. It's called a guillotine." PG Wodehouse.

I'm experimenting with the idea of going grey. It’s a complicated, thorny topic which shouldn't be. A subject loaded with social constructs, ageism, sexism and self-worth.

It’s been a long time since I've seen my virgin hair. For 27 years I've been hiding my natural colour. There’s probably been a whole decade in which I couldn't tell you what that colour was.

At twenty I would race home from work on a pay day with a packet of Clairol ‘One Shade Lighter’ and armed with sheets of newspaper and a pastry brush I would set up a salon in the bathroom. Oblivious to the persistent interruptions of others knocking on the door and the life-threatening vapours emitted from said product, I would transform my dull mouse-brown, dirty blonde hair into something more vibrant. And so it began…

To many, a woman’s hair colour defines her. Grey equals old age. Youth is such a valued commodity in our society. There is an endless quest to look 25, right through to 85. As the years creep along dyeing your hair becomes creepy.  For some, going grey is akin to a medical condition, one to be avoided at all costs and sometimes to the extent of looking absurd.

Now, I want to go natural. Why? I'm tired of being a slave to my hair and the maintenance required. There’s something liberating about not having to worry about dyeing your hair, about being authentic, being the real me. Importantly, reducing the amount of time and money I spend on my hair is in line with my ideal of minimalism.

I know going grey is a result of time and genetics, but there’s a feeling of entitlement, having arrived at this moment and I'm inspired by the increasing number of women who have let their hair go grey with beautiful results.

I think I'm ready for this. My hairdresser has become my accomplice and assures me that with the use of highlight and lowlights, the transition to grey will be relatively painless (it’s that medical condition again). I trust her completely and recognise that I may not be as alone as I first thought in my endeavour to go grey. We will do this together the artist and I.

And if I don’t like it? It’ not irreversible, it’s a grey area.

After visit 1 in which I embrace my roots.