I’m in my late 40s and have never dyed my hair regularly. Occasionally from a box if the mood struck me and twice in my life (many years ago) at a salon. I haven’t applied any dye at all for about four years.
I’m going grey like many of my friends and peers my age. I can’t think of a single man in my family or social circle around my age who dyes their hair. (No judgement of those who do!)
No one comments on my male family and friends who have grey hair.
But my hair, boy howdy, you’d think I’d dyed it neon green as much notice as it attracts.
“Do you frost your hair?” “I like it, you look wise.” “Did you do grey highlights to transition?”
And the oddest of all are the gushing compliments. It’s not that I don’t appreciate or extend compliments myself—but they’ve become…almost theatrical to the point that they feel like the compliment-giver is just bursting to say something about my shocking grey hair and doesn’t know how except to frame it as a compliment. What they can’t seem to do is just not comment on my hair.
I think I notice this so much because what I’ve done with my hair is…absolutely nothing different. It’s the same hair I’ve always had.
Of course while I do nothing to my hair, time passes and I’m getting older and showing perfectly normal signs of aging. I also have bags under my eyes that didn’t used to be there but no one compliments me on those. Lol
Not really any point to this post except to share. Any other grey-haired women experiencing this?
Comments
People love to lie
I got a lot of suprised/posi comments when I went natural but it might be because I’m lucky my natural grey is actually completely platinum white, like the kind people pay good money to achieve. It’d actually mostly been that way since at least my early 40s, but I’d always dyed it either brick red or black, so the change (done during covid lockdowns) was a big jump. I love not having to dye my hair, but I miss my brick red!