I noticed my first gray hairs when
I was 16. I was horrified to say the least.
I was too young to be gray.
Gray hair was for old people.
So I plucked those suckers out
and went about my life.
It wasn't until I was 28 years old
that those dreaded gray hairs
were noticed again. A co-worker
made the comment that I had a
"lot of gray hair for such a young person."
I am a natural brunette
so those dreaded gray hairs really stood out.
That is when I started dyeing my hair.
It started with just a few highlights to
help blend those grays. I would get
highlights every 6-8 weeks just like
clockwork. Each time I got
my hair highlighted I was becoming
more of a blonde than a brunette.
It finally got to the point
that I just started to have my hair
dyed blonde every 4 weeks because I had more
gray in my hair than I did brown.
I never intended on becoming a blonde,
I was just trying to hide those dreaded gray hairs.
I continued this madness for the next 29 years.
I knew that hair dye was loaded
with "bad for you" chemicals yet I wasn't
ready or willing to go gray so early.
ready or willing to go gray so early.
Then menopause made its' appearance.
I noticed that my hair was becoming
dry and brittle and I was losing massive
amounts of hair. How in the world was
I going to stop the hair loss, or at least
slow it down?
That's when I decided to stop dyeing my hair.
I would rather have gray hair
than have no hair.
When I first mentioned to Hubby that
I wanted to quit dyeing my hair and
just let the silver shine, his response
was, "You don't want to do that, you're
too young." I was 57 at the time.
Apparently, I wasn't too young,
I was almost completely gray.
So on May 23rd 2019 I stopped
having my hair colored.
This is how my hair looked before
I started on my silver journey.
It's hard to tell how
fragile my hair was in this picture.
It was going to get worse before
it got better. Once I decided to stop
dyeing my hair, I noticed that my
hair loss was slowing down a little. I was
still losing it, just not as fast.
Even though I was still losing my
hair I continued getting a trim
every 8 weeks.
By month 4 I had lost so much
hair in the front and throughout the rest of
my head that it was really noticeable,
plus I was losing my natural curl.
I've always had a high
forehead, but this was getting ridiculous.
I was literally going bald.
I needed to try and do something else
to try and stop my hair loss. My next step was trying to get
my hair back to being healthy. I completely stopped
using shampoo and conditioner that contained
sulfates, silicones and parabens and deep conditioned my
hair once a week religiously. Only hair products
that contained all natural ingredients were used
on my hair. Also, no fry drying (blow drying) or
hair straightening. Just wash with all natural
ingredients, finger comb and scrunch up with my
hands then let air dry.
hands then let air dry.
By the end of month 5 my hair was becoming fuller
and the hair loss was very minimal.
and the hair loss was very minimal.
And my curls were reappearing.
By month 6 I stopped washing my hair every day
and started only washing it 1-2 times weekly.
This is how my hair looks after 3 days without washing.
And on wash day.
By month 7 I was finally on the right track.
My hair was becoming fuller and hair loss
had slowed down immensely. Now it was time
to focus on growing out that silver.
Month 8. Still growing. It's a SLOW process.
Month 9 I had 2 inches cut off. Just to remove
some of the dry brittle colored hair.
You can really notice how it has filled in in the front.
Month 10 I had an additional 3 inches of colored hair cut off.
It's getting so healthy.
Month 11.
The silvers are really starting to show off.
1 year dye free.
Once Hubby realized that I was committed
to this journey He became my biggest supporter.
He now calls me his Little Silver Foxette.
And that makes me oh so Happy!
What a difference a year can make.
Don't you agree?
That's it for this week.
Until Next Time,
Veronica
