“Platinum Blonde” is one of the nicer things someone has said to me since I stopped putting highlights into my every changing hair.
“If you’re over 65…” was one of the least, if not the least, welcome comment I’ve heard. I’m 55.
The funny thing is that I would never have guessed what this decision would teach me. For example I’ve learned that:
Women tend to love the white in my hair. I’ve lost track of the compliments.
Men sometimes look at me with confusion- sometimes with aggression. But white haired men almost always smile. I smile back.
Does it make me look older? For sure, but, I think that’s because there is an expectation that women under 70 are supposed to hide their natural hair colour.
If you think this isn’t a learned response let me tell you that my four-year-old grandson tells me my hair is yellow and his is white. He also thinks I’m 24 because I’m so much fun.
Some people have even asked me why I’ve done this. This fascinates me because rarely has a change in my appearance caused this type of reaction. (Exceptions include my warrior band tattoo and the rat’s tail I had in my twenties).
So quickly, here are a couple of the reasons why.
- I was thinking of travelling and didn’t want to deal with the upkeep.
- I got tired of spending 3 hours at the hairdresser every 3 months.
- I got even more tired of shelling out the almost $200 it cost to do just my highlights. That’s almost $800 a year.
- I would start noticing the roots in about 3 weeks. Arghhh.
- My hair was becoming dry, damaged and more difficult to style.
- My hair went pretty much white after my brother and husband died 18 months apart. It wasn’t coming back. No real point in hiding this part of my story. We all have stories.
The biggest unexpected perk is that I look healthier. Something, no doubt, having to do with this not being some chemical attempt to match nature’s beautiful colour spectrum.
The truly amazing thing is that since I’ve gone “au natural” I’ve seen other women I know do the same and they look so much better and less tired. It makes me smile.
Platinum Blonde. I’ll take that, at least until I graduate to silver vixen.
Stay well, Heike
P.S. I always feel like I’m cheating when I re-post a blog so I’ve included a recent photo of my platinum blonde curls to ease my guilt. This photo was taken at an 80’s themed wedding last week. Still loving my natural colour.
Originally published May 9, 2019. Republished August 30, 2022 in the midst of the Lisa Laflamme debacle. Ms. Laflamme is definitely a Silver Vixen.