Brush Stroke

An Exclusive Interview with Louise Pendry

katie goes platinum

Brush Stroke
Brush Stroke
Brush Stroke

I was sixteen. It was just a solitary grey hair poking up in my parting.

Brush Stroke

Of course the truth, I now know, is that loads of us are sprouting grey hair from our teens onwards, but since most of us dye it (around 75%), we all collude in this belief that only the old go grey.

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My mum had dyed her grey hair certainly as long as I’d been alive, and I was well-used to the ritual of home hair dye kits. My dad used to don the plastic gloves and do it for her in our kitchen.

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My mum sadly died before I decided to grow out my grey hair. My sisters were supportive when I told them, although I recall one being slightly shocked and expressing concern that I’d look older (especially as I was the youngest sister).

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I fooled around with those wash-in wash-out toners initially, maybe from the age of sixteen. I then progressed to the odd box dye or semi-permanent.

I experimented with a range of colours, different shades of brown, even a kind of carrot orange colour for a spell at uni. Once I got my job as a university professor I decided to get my hair coloured professionally.

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WHAT SHADE OF EYEBROW LOOKS BEST ON YOU?

I was, as I promised myself, transitioned in time for my 50th birthday in April 2016. So around sixteen months. I must admit the bob had to keep going shorter and shorter to reach that target!

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Then, remembering how I’d used online discussion forums years ago to help me through the child-rearing years as a clueless parent of a colicky baby, I thought perhaps forums might also exist for those of us tired of dyeing our hair but apprehensive about how to go about it.

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