Going Au Naturale

Going, going, and still going!

It's been a few months (or several? Time passes when--well, you know that old saying) since my decision to stop coloring my hair and just let my natural gray come in. By now I think it's safe to say that I have my dad's genes. Papi had a head full of chestnut brown hair for years (which went great with his espresso-brown eyes) and his hair really didn't turn mostly silver until right before he passed away in his late 70s.

And I'm not sure that picture to the right is a good representative, but you can see my gray mixed in with the dark brown, at least with the sun coming into the car and highlighting it.

Keep in mind that I'm one of those women who've experimented with color over the years. Lots of blond frostings, full head of black, blond and auburn, even a strawberry blond that, to put it bluntly, looked absolutely terrible on a naturally brunette Cuban woman. I didn't dye my hair because of age but rather because I liked changing my look from time to time.

There comes a time, though, when Nature really does know best. Just yesterday I was picking up foundation, and the hair color aisle was right next to the makeup aisles. I was tempted to pick up a box of auburn but promptly thought: "Nahhhh! I'm really liking the gray!"

Recently, too, a friend at work, who keeps her hair short, passed a group of us in the hallway and turned everybody's head. Though her new hairstyle would look great in any color, the silver in Barbie's hair totally MADE that gorgeous look. She was wearing more than her natural color; she was wearing confidence. That's the way this beautiful lady carries herself, though--not only with confidence, but with humor, personal style and grace.

She wears her silver with aplomb.

Speaking of short hair, I have flirted with the idea of getting mine cut again. It's just that it's taken so long to grow it to this length, so I'm hesitant to do that, plus I'd really like to see what it looks like as a long, silver bob! I'll check back again in a few months, perhaps with more strands of gray or a new 'do that, like Barbie's, shows off the color Nature has given me.

How about you? You walking past the hair color aisle these days, too? Has your silver also, like me and other women, inspired you to take a look at your wardrobe and make decisions about what you should keep, what you should give to Goodwill, and what you truly love to wear? Because I haven't given up on paring down, either, even when it comes to clothes. That means having only clothes that we honestly love and will wear in that closet.

We're women in our 50s, after all. We don't have to do whatever fashion dictates. WE decide what style is!

Over 50 & Loving It

"Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness." - Proverbs 16:31, New International Version

You can't tell by the recent picture on the left, but I have a LOT of gray in my hair. I'm one of those chickies who's been a blonde, a redhead, a brunette, and a brownette (is there such a word? My hubby and I have debated it, but I KNOW, for a fact, that I heard it in a shampoo commercial some years ago). Even in my 20s, I changed my hair color from time to time, sometimes getting a frosting.

The last color I put in my hair was an ash blond (you can see it in my promo pic on my blog, which is due to be changed soon). That was over a year ago. Since then, I've had my hairstylist slowly cut out the blond until it's returned to its original brown.

With...many strands of silver, more of which are popping up every day, with my 55th birthday right around the corner.

Recently I mentioned that to a nurse during my last doctor's visit. She had even more silver in her hair than I do, with a long bob that showed it off something adorable. When I complimented her, she proudly told me she'd stopped coloring her hair two years ago, and that she loved her gray. She added with a smile, "I deserve it. I've earned it. I love it!"

The writer of Proverbs would paraphrase her words to say, "I've earned my crown of splendor." That's such a lovely way of looking at it.

Not everyone reaches this age. In a culture that celebrates youth and treats aging like something to be ashamed of, something that's quite not that attractive, it's sorta rebellious and sassy to say, "No, I'm not going to tint or bleach my hair just because society says I'm supposed to look like I'm 20 or 30 forever." Tragically, there are people who, either through hard living or illness or some other heartbreaking circumstance, are taken from this earth much too soon.

Then there are some of us who have lived long enough to get gray in our hair. Not because we're better than anyone else. By the grace of God, we're here to tell our stories. We get to grow old while still being young at heart. We don't know how many years we have left in this life, but we're determined to enjoy them and live them to the fullest--again, by God's grace.

I could change the color of my hair, becoming a blonde or a redhead or a brunette, but that won't make me 25 again. Wearing a size 2 bikini won't make me 25 again, either. I don't want to be 25 again. Age really is just a number. In this life, regardless of what society dictates as beauty, we're meant to go forward, to mature, to grow.

I'm looking forward to the day when someone compliments my silver hair. My answer will be, "Thank you very much. I've earned it. I love my crown of splendor!"