No.
It can be silver. I prefer the word silver to the word grey. Grey is depressing, sad, old. Silver is fun, sparkling and bright.
Both my parents were prematurely silver! As far back as I can remember, my mother had silver wings on either side of her head!
When I was in high school, and my mother was about 48, she was talked into "Low Lights" by her hairdresser. She took the plunge and came back looking like a tri-colored Collie. Her gorgeous hair was gold, brown and black. She was a mess. She wept, had a glass of wine, cried some more and got out the scissors: "What the hell was I thinking?" she cried as she hacked away at her golden tresses. She spent 6 agonizing months trying to undo her hair faux-pas.
I went the other way, the day after Halloween 2009, I decided that I was no longer going to color my hair. I was sick of people talking to my hairline instead of to my face two weeks after I had my roots "done".
I equate my hair color to a tankful of gas in your car: You fill your car, the gastank is full, and for a while it says 1/1, then as soon as it says 3/4, the gas gets sucked out faster than you can say Clairol. The same goes for colored hair: you look great for a week and a half, then that nagging silvery shadow appears, and before you know it, you are using mascara on your hairline, covering the grey because your hair appointment is still 3 weeks away.
Upon decided to "go natural", I had several options:
1. The skunk thing: You go cold turkey, and the color grows out, revealing the snowy reality. Also, you never set foot back at the hairdresser's and you turn into a middle-aged older woman with long grey hair, put on a bustier and get a job at the medieval fair.
2. The butch thing: cut it really short and let it grow back, sort of like Jamie Lee Curtis, except she's in better shape.
3. The gentle way: My choice: get some highlights, and gradually go from chestnut to blond to silver, and gradually cutting off the length!
Well, I did it, and I love it! The only thing is I miss the "therapy" sessions with my hairdresser. We talked about family, relationships, jobs, parents, everything. Now, a hair appointment is a mere hour long, and I am on my way.
I am liberated!!
