I finally decided to do it. It wasn’t easy to let it go, but somewhere deep down inside I knew it was time.
India Arie told me that I was not my hair, but did I believe her? I can remember to the date that my hair color changed from dark brown to red. It was about the week after I graduated from high school. I know this because my mother and I had discussed it for what seemed liked years. Back then my Aunt Bonnie and my mother both colored their hair, and since I wanted to be them, I wanted to color mine. My mother said that after high school graduation I could do just that. From that week on my hair was some variety of red. Most of the time I colored it a medium red, but occasionally it got a little light. I was never fond of the darker shades, but I loved my red hair.
After I informed my daughters that I was going to stop coloring my hair, my youngest daughter suggested that I go natural too. I told her one step at a time, and letting the silver shine through was the first step. When the gray started to come in, I can honestly say I really didn’t remember what I looked like with my natural hair color. It made laugh when my hubby told me he married a redhead, and I reminded him that I married a man with an afro–a big afro, and he was now sporting a ball head.
I’m not going to say I will never color my hair again–I am a woman of a certain age, and I can change my mind. For now I have decided to let the silver shine through. Who knows natural and blonde may be my next adventure. Besides I can be a redhead whenever I want–I have enough alternative hair (wigs) to be almost every shade of red they make.
Remember “thisisyourbestyear”, you are not your hair.
