Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Gray Area

Losing my hair to chemo was pretty devastating.  When it grew back I vowed to never color it again.  I had damaged it so much before cancer that I am surprised it didn't fall out then.  Last spring I started noticing a few too many new gray hairs cropping up.  I decided to go with highlights.  I wanted less chemicals going into my scalp and I figured that highlights could camouflage the gray areas.  

It has been almost a year since I caved and I have had it done one other time trying to stretch the root touch ups as much as I can but my hair grows like a chia pet. Nothing to complain about, I know.   The other day when I was drying my hair I noticed that there are broken pieces along the part.  Little spikes broken off at the grown out root.  This more than bothered me.  I wondered if I was the only one.  I wondered if I should continue. What I really wondered was could I stop and just go gray?

I had been pulling out my stray grays.   But now there are a few too many to use that as my solution.   I swore when my hair grew back I would just be happy to have hair.  That I would never complain about a bad hair day again.  And I usually don't.  Till now.   I know that compared to being bald this is nothing.  And then I wonder why it bothers me so.  

Would you ever go gray?  Are you concerned about chemicals in hair dye?  What is your solution?

4 comments:

Daria said...

I was very fortunate to be going grey very slowly and never did color my hair. But one thing I always did do was perm my hair and that I stopped.

Now I'm back on chemo and have no hair so ... I'm once again reminded that having any kind of hair is better than no hair.

Cathy Bueti said...

Daria, thanks so much for sharing! Everytime I think about when I lost my hair to chemo I am quickly jolted out of these moments! You are so right.....any kind of hair is better!

Kairol Rosenthal said...

Hello Cathy - did you write this post or did I? You took the words right from my mouth, minus the part about having highlights. I'm too freaked by the chemicals to dye my hair, but I don't want to look like one of those stragley women with nasty grey hair. Sure, a few women look gorgeous with it, but few and far between. I don't know what I'll do. It makes me want to put together nicer outfits to detract from my hair.

Kairol
blog:
http://everythingchangesbook.com/

claire said...

Just wanted to say I've had luck covering gray with a color conditioner. I use it 2-3 times a week and it slightly colors my hair over time. I've used both Aveda and John Freida (way cheaper) to give my hair a little bit of red. But maybe that's too chemically too? God, who knows.