Natural Highlights

It's been almost four years since I last dyed my hair. I still have days when I look in the mirror and see all the greys screaming at me amidst the sea of black. I also still have days when I look in the mirror and I can tell myself I am aging well and still look young for my age. In the years since I've stopped dyeing my hair, I still get comments about my grey hair. I've learned to ignore most of them. They don't really bother me anymore. I say "really" because part of me will always react to these types of comments differently than if I didn't have to hear these comments as part of my life. But I have learned to cope and the reaction is less negative and more neutral. 

 Last week, I had a first. I was having lunch with a friend and it was my first time eating at this restaurant. As I was leaving the register with my food, the lady behind the counter asked me a rendition of the question which I've never heard.

"Is the white in your hair highlighted or is it white hair?" You may be relieved to know she didn't ask it in English because seeing it written out in its translation makes it that much more....awkward. 

I told her, "It's natural."

"But you're so young! How come you have so much white hair?"  I'm glad I look young. I do still feel youthful at heart. 

"I've had a hard life," was my response. 

After that, I continued bringing my food back to my table and proceeded to have a wonderful lunch with a wonderful friend.  

 ***

When I responded with "it's natural," it actually was for two reasons. The first was my brain was working on comprehending what she had just said and trying to formulate a proper response without too much lag time. The second was emphasizing that my grey hair is natural. I don't dye my hair. This is the color it grows out. And I've learned to be okay with that. Honestly, the fact she could have thought my hair was highlighted grey means it's growing out in such a pattern which makes it well dispersed. I've contemplated getting a grey blend, but I've never felt strongly enough to go pay for one. 

I've been asked too many times in my life to find reason in their question anymore as to why my hair is grey. Who can pinpoint the reason as to why his or her hair has grown grey? Our hair only grows about a half inch per month. If we knew the reasons why our hair was growing grey, I'm pretty sure someone would have come up with a reversal/cure by now and would be rich. There's quite a few products out there which advertise grey reversal or slowing the process of greys, but none are truly able to guarantee results. 

Half my lifetime ago, I didn't know how to respond properly to this question. Most of the time, it took me by surprise. I wrote about this a few years ago in my two decades series. I was caught off-guard at a CVS and the cashier literally spoke the words for me which I did not have in myself. I'm proud to say in my mid-30s, I can finally feel more of the confidence I was desperately wanting as a young adult and could never quite find. 

This is who I see in my head - they are my natural highlights.