How Does Gray Hair Happen?
Before I tell you MY theory, let me tell you what ‘the experts’ say about gray hair. (My theory is WAY better, if I don’t mind saying so myself)
The Science Of Gray Hair
Researching why gray hair happens, I learned it’s mainly caused by a loss of pigment (color) in your hair, and that comes down to what’s happening inside your hair follicles.
Aging And Gray Hair
Melanin production slows down. (Blah, blah. Blah) We age, we produce less melanin. When there’s little or no melanin, hair turns gray, silver, or white. TaDa!
The most common reason is simply getting older. (WELL DUH!) It’s a natural part of the hair cycle—your follicles “wear out” over time.
Genetics (Thank You MOTHER!)
Genetics (this is HUGE)Your genes largely determine:
A. When you’ll start going gray
B. How fast it happens (If your parents went gray early, you’re more likely to as well)
Stress! DING DING DING We Have A Winner!
Stress doesn’t instantly turn hair gray overnight, but chronic stress may: Accelerate pigment loss
Thyroid disorders—💡
Fun fact: Gray hair isn’t actually “gray”—it’s a mix of: Colorless (white) hairs.
What This Peanut REALLY THINKS Causes Gray Hair!
Oh! Where to start! Being an empty nester? Na too far back. I was still coloring my hair. Moving to Idaho? Wait, no, still coloring my hair. Okay, okay, okay, I know! Starting with the fact I stopped coloring my hair because THERE IS NOT ENOUGH TIME in my day to color my hair! (Or finish cleaning the house, or managing the garden, or keeping up with the laundry)
MS Monster And The Husband (YES, It’s A Reason)
The Husband’s struggles with MS are difficult. Every. Single. DAY. He is the STRONGEST man I know. He’s also heavy to help off the floor when he tries to move around without his cane or walker! Stress. AND MS SUCKS!
Then he added in Macular Degeneration. Then the other eye got jealous and tada glaucoma. Dats a whole alotta doctor visits. Every. Single. Month.
I can feel the gray hair sprouting as I type.
Then, as some of you know, we lost our very sweet Miss Bear. Our Bernese Mountain Dog. MORE stress.
I swore THAT IS IT!!! NO MORE DOGS! I can’t take it. (Ohhhh I felt a few hundred new grays shoot out). It was so painful to lose her.
AND THEN!!
The house was too quiet. WAY too quiet. Ya, ya, ya, laugh it up. I bought myself a puppy. An 8-week-old puppy. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!??! I don’t have time to color my hair (30 minutes), but I CAN POTTY TRAIN A PUPPY?!??! WHAT IN THE &#;×<^@,-,@& WAS I THINKING?!? Anyway while you are laughing….
Meet Walter
A Bernese Mountain Dog mixed with a Great Pyrenees.
I Have Lost My Mind!
Gray hair, white hair sprouting wildly!
At Least It’s Pretty Gray Hair
Since I am embracing my gray hair, I have to start referring to it as “upgrading” and not “aging” It’s a distinguished, low-maintenance filter I don’t have to pay for. (Right?)
Each silver strand is basically a tiny badge of honor for surviving group texts, raising chaos (human or canine), and keeping plants alive longer than a week. Plus, gray goes with everything, requires no root touch-ups, and gives off just the right amount of “I know things” energy.
If wisdom had a color, this would be it—and I’m clearly overachieving… especially now that I am using the perfect purple shampoo that keeps my silver bright, sassy, and just the right amount of “I meant to look this fabulous.” AND, oh so SOFT! I am absolutely LOVING Karseell!!
What About You?
Are you a Silver Queen? (Okay, side note Granddaughter Alice continually refers to me as “Queen”. When we text, I am no longer The Non, nope, it’s “Queen,” it’s a compliment…. right?!?)
See?!?! Squirrel!! My brain goes too many directions. ANOTHER reason for MY GRAY HAIR!
WHAT I wanted to ask is, Are YOU rocking your grays?!
7 Comments
Terri Quick
I’m in the fight against gray. I colored my hair every few months lol
Tamra Phelps
Oh my gosh, the look on his face! I always thought Bear had a look like oh, boy what is she up to now??? And how can I help??? LOL. But Walter’s look is totally “I got your number lady. But I won’t tell!”
l p
the day is going well. was up early to get ready for an appt when the office called to say the person was ill and we’d have to reschedule. leaves me with some extra free time so that’s good.
a sibling and I started out with white hair (we have pictures), then it turned light brown both of us when ye olde hormones hit. I kept my ‘au natural’ except for one foray into streaking (hair that is), whereas the sibling started lightening their hair as it does in the sun. they had to keep it up for life. we had a colour session to see what would be best for clothes etc., and I turned out to be a ‘summer’. they were confused by the sibing so split the face in two – summer on one side, fall on the other. fall dominated. anyway, they were very ill for a long time so no time to deal with colouring so that added stress as their appearance was very important to them.
love, love, love Walter. congratulations again on the new life in your home. as you said, losing a pet is very difficult and grieving takes a long time – sometimes a lifetime.
wishing everyone well as we go into this new month. enjoy your day. thanks
heather
I went gray really early in life and then the blonder I got. I only color my hair a few times a year. Most of the time I forget about my grays until I see myself under florecent lights and then I am reminded like now time to color. Congrats on your new baby Walter he is super cute and just what you needed. A few years ago, my 19 year old Bengal cat passed away and I was sick for two months! I mean seriously sick and not getting better. I had caught a cold and it was not going away at all. Had to go to the doctor and it took a while but I came out of it. My heart was shattered because I loved him so so so so much. Still cry when I think about that cat. Then, a few years later, I got a new kitten and she is a pistol and keeps me busy to say the very least. I mean she is high octane!!! lol and she makes my heart sing. God Bless
Connie: The Head Peanut
Oh HEATHER! I’m so sorry. Losing a fur baby truly HURTS your soul. I miss Miss Bear. Walter has helped. But, I still cry just thinking about her. {{{{{{{{{{{{{{Heather}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Rose
Walter is adorbs!!! It is worth it! I recall the first time I saw one gray hair. I was shocked, in my car, and glanced in the rear view mirror. You’d think I saw a Martian. This struck me as mortality starting, don’t recall my age. But then i started dying my pretty golden brown hair blonde. Then back to brown, then blonde as more gray set in. To this day, what I do, is bleach every 3-4 months. I found that dying brown you have white skunk stripes, and it is really a huge chore to maintain, as white roots start showing after a couple of days. But the light colored hair, darker roots look more natural. I know that allowing gray is now de rigour (sp). And does look great on a lot of people. Many people I know have allowed their natural gray color and are alleviated of the burden of dying it, or even worse, going to a salon. It still seems like a pain to do the bleach every few months, then I use violet toning drops in my conditioner to keep it closer to very light blonde. One thing i can say, is I miss my pretty brown hair terribly. If it was easier to maintain, I would love to have it back. But the white / gray roots that start showing asap against brown hair, is the pits. So it is bleach for me now, which sounds worse than it is. The gray that grows in, inbetween bleaching, doesn’t really make me look gray. That is my plan for now. Not sure what I’d do otherwise. I think if I could afford it, I’d go to the salon and have the highlights done so gray blends in with the highlights. I see it in FB reels. It is really expensive. Can’t afford it.
Connie: The Head Peanut
Rose, RIGHT?!? Who knew the hair color I WANT would be so expensive?? So, natural it is. This shampoo has kept the white sooooooo bright, and the silver is shiny. Besides, I live on a mountain, who am I gonna impress? LOL