Ever since I went gray from dark brunette dyed hair, something strange happens to me on a fairly regular basis
and I would be willing to bet money that it’s happened to some of you, too.
Actually, scratch that – I KNOW it has happened to many of you because you’ve emailed me about it.
What happens to me appears to be a fairly common problem among silver-haired women, although (from what I’ve gathered), the problem seems to occur more often to those of us who live in the U.S.A.
(I’m not a cultural anthropologist, so I won’t bore you by trying to figure out exactly WHY it happens more in the U.S.A. than other countries, but I suspect it’s because Americans in general tend to be a bit more chatty and open with each other than some other cultures.
And then the compliments start. (This is NOT the downside – this is the good part! And believe me, I really appreciate it and don’t take it for granted).
The comments generally start off nice, like this:
“Hey, wow – your hair looks great!”
“I love your natural hair!”
“Your gray hair looks fabulous!” and,
“Look at you, with your gorgeous silver hair.”
Yay, compliments – this is great! I’m feeling pretty good right now!
But then we move on to the next (seemingly inevitable) phase of the conversation:“You are so brave, I could never do that.”
(Well, I’m not rescuing babies from a burning hospital – I just got sick of dyeing my hair)
“Your gray hair is pretty but mine is ugly.”
(You actually can’t tell until all the dye is cut off, but also …what the heck am I supposed to say to this?)