Young and Grey in India: Anjana’s Silver Hair Transition Story
Inside: What is it like to be young and grey in India? Check out Anjana’s story to find out!
Anjana is a 37-year old self-described “small town girl” from Rajasthan, India and she is a force of nature in the online silver hair movement.
She blogs at Sparkling Silvers, and you can also find her on Instagram and YouTube.
Please note that this article may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.
Anjana’s Grey Hair Story
A few years back I had no idea that you could embrace your grey hair at a young age. I only knew one thing: That if you have grey hair you just need to hide it.
When you are born, your genes are already hardwired for when and how your hair will turn grey. I got it from my father.
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I didn’t want those silver strands to peek through, so I covered them with henna.
As the years went by, henna became less effective to cover up my stubborn greys. I started colouring them at home at the age of 23.
After 13 years, this thought came into my mind: “What if I stop
So I started digging for inspiration on the web. I found so many silver-haired beauties to admire but did not find ones my age until I came across the blog of Lauren and a few Facebook groups like Gray and Proud and The Silver Circle.
I got the inspiration that I could also go grey.
After an unsuccessful attempt to embrace my greys in April 2018, I tried it again in August 2018, and at the age of 36, I gave up dyeing.
My husband Achal was there to hold me and uplift me during the ‘grey’ days, and I also created my Instagram account, @sparklingsilvers, for documentation purposes.
From that day forward, I created a strong supportive environment of silver sisters around me as I came across so many women with the same goals encouraging each other every day.
I was always looking for motivation and inspiration from fellow Indians but couldn’t find any. So I decided to take charge and use my Instagram account to inspire the women of India.
You need a lot of guts to go grey in India!
I decided to go cold turkey as I didn’t want to use any more chemicals during my transition.
I decided to grow out my greys until I got to the length needed for a pixie cut. I knew I didn’t have the patience and guts to carry two-toned hair.
I never hid my hair during the transition. I wanted to face it more and more and become fearless. I wanted everyone around me to know that I was doing it on purpose.
After 3 months of growing out the greys, I got the pixie cut and I was fully transitioned!
My young face was a positive point in my favor…I knew it would be considered merely another
ANJANA’S FAVORITE GREY HAIR PRODUCTS
Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to get natural grey hair care products in India due to lack of awareness…so I just made a little change to my hair care routine and products available.
I switched my shampoo to herbal sulfate-free shampoo. Now I use Satthwa Argan Oil Shampoo to keep natural oils intact and to reduce frizziness.
I started using a heavier conditioner – The Body Shop Rainforest Moisture Conditioner – for luster and shine.
HOW GOING GREY HAS CHANGED ME
When people stare at me, I don’t feel self-conscious. Instead, I feel like, “Yes, they will stare because I am different; I stand out of the crowd.”
I don’t compare myself to anybody out in the world but just look back to me. The change is magnificent as now I feel more authentic and more ‘me.’
GREY HAIR & VIBRANT COLOURS
Blacks and greys dominate the other
You just give me a red lipstick and I will steal the show!
Society has set standards for years and people follow them to be ‘in’ without giving a thought as to what is actually good for them. Everyone is hiding their flaws and not accepting what they really are.
We are strong ladies who have overcome our fears…Nothing can define your beauty better than you yourself.
I am confident and I am beautiful inside and out and the
I enjoyed each and every moment of this journey as “ it is all in the attitude you bring to it.”
Note from Katie: If you are inspired by Anjana’s story, make sure to follow her on Instagram, and also check out this great article: Indian Women are Finding a Silver Lining in their Grey Hair
Please do me a favor and share this post to social media, as it helps me grow my audience and spread the word about our Silver Revolution! And remember to subscribe to my YouTube Channel and Pinterest Feed for more gray hair tips and product recommendations. Thanks!
Check out my Amazon Shop for all your gray hair needs!
Related Posts:
Marci’s Pixie Transition
How Lori’s Gray Hair Transition Opened up A New Career
Karen Rich’s Transition Story
Jackie’s Colorful Silver Hair
Thanks for the article! I live in the US and I’m 35. My hair is very slowly getting more and more gray hairs. I don’t know how long it will take to go fully gray, but I plan not to dye it at all. Thanks to you and others like you who don’t dye it even when you’re young and your culture is more conformative. I feel we’re lucky here in the US since people all look so different and come from so many different backgrounds, people are much more accepting of difference because homogeneity is just not even possible.
Hi Katie! First of all, kudos to you for having taking this decision at such a young age! I have just turned 48 & have been colouring my hair for almost 10 years. Now I feel it’s high time I proudly show my whites (no grey there), to the world. Wanted to ask you a query in this regard – how did you handle the demarcation between the new crop of white against the coloured part? This is the part I find difficult to handle as my head is looking like a skunk! Please let me know how you handled this two-toned quandry. Thank you & you look amazing!
Only 3 months?? Holy crap!
I keep reading it takes about 1- 2 years to completely grow out the gray.
Good for you and thanks for sharing!
Hi, Kate – it depends on the length of your hair and how quickly it grows. If you are willing to cut your hair quite short, 3 months is doable! If you buzzed it (like some women do), you could transition to gray overnight!
I got so much of confidence to go grey after reading your article. Yes we need guts to go grey in India.
I got so much of confidence to go grey after reading your article. Yes we need guts to go grey in India.
You’re amazing, and a true diva and an inspiration to be yourself! All these Bollywood celebs are just talk and nothing else. Wish more women can shed their fears and be like you. When I speak about going grey, so far not one person from family or friend encouraged the idea. So I decided may be later at age 45 or so. But hopefully I can !
Hello
Nice n strong woman n article too..I am going through same situation.i had to apply professional hair color due to job demand in prominent airline and now being out of same job I stopped colouring my hair and had sides n nap shaved for breaking the long conditioning that long hair only look beautiful..
I think hair are just extensions like nails or any other hair on body.it is so personal choice what to do with own hair.
Thanks for writing such article with updated pictures.
Regards
Khyati
Beautiful story. I’m in similar situation, started getting grey hair from my 20s. Now I’m 34 and thinking of not using colour anymore. Well done. Love your cut!