MLC

‘Arey, you look so old ya,’ ‘The greys don’t suit you. You are still young,’ ‘Are you competing with your grandma?’… these are only a few of the unsolicited opinions that women have gotten for being their natural selves. Covering our greys with hair colours and henna is a practice we’ve all grown up around. For our grandmothers, mothers and aunts, covering their greys was a monthly ritual. And it just had to be done. No one asked why. I remember people going gaga over George Clooney and his salt pepper look but frowning at my grandma, who decided to embrace her head full of white hair. We are programmed to cover up all forms of ageing and your hair turning white is one of the biggest crises in your ’40s. Well, not anymore. Women are refusing to adhere to societal beauty norms and embracing their natural hair and R O C K I N G their style. 

We caught up with eight Indian women who proudly flaunt their grey tresses and told us why they love the grey tones. 

“It Felt Liberating To Stop Colouring My Hair“

“I started greying relatively early in life. Around 28, I saw my first grey, but it was not obvious, so I left it like that. When I eventually started colouring my hair, I could get away with doing it once in 3 months. It wasn’t much of a bother since I wear my hair very short. I found my already frizzy hair getting dry and frizzier, and I was still at it until ten years ago when I realised I had to colour it every month or check for greys just before a function or a holiday.

Years ago, I saw a young woman, maybe in her 50s, with a considerable amount of grey hair, and I thought she looked elegant. But someone convinced her otherwise, so she chopped off and started colouring her hair. Later this same person told me that she would have loved the salt and pepper look, but now she was entirely white and stopping colouring her hair would perhaps startle her more than people around her. I took that as a cue, and since I had many greys that possibly would qualify me for the salt and pepper look, I decided to stop colouring before I went entirely white. So I had the shortest possible haircut and watched the salt and pepper look unfold. Nobody liked it at first. Especially the older people who were colouring their hair and didn’t want a much younger me who was like their daughter to display my greys. I am glad I gave in to nobody. Not even my hairdresser, who tried her best to convince me that my husband would love me more with coloured hair (😆). I said it’s my hair and my head, so my husband has no say in the matter.

I can’t tell you how liberating it felt not to have to go to the parlour and colour my hair. Slowly people got used to seeing me in salt and pepper. I didn’t care what they thought. I got more compliments than brickbats; either way, I was okay with it. It helped that I am not beauty conscious. I just want to look decent. That’s the story of embracing my greys. I think some women who are perhaps 30 years older than me cannot do much for their wrinkles, but they colour their hair, and that’s their choice. But I feel one should age gracefully and accept the wrinkles and the greys. But that’s my opinion. It doesn’t have to be everyone else’s.

One fine day, when I am all white, nobody will get shocked. It will just creep up ever so slowly, even on me. And I will not love myself less for it. Now let me ask the husband what he will think of it.”
–Lisa Rego

• Also Read: #JustPhotos Of 10 Gorgeous Women Rocking Grey Tones
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“It’s Been A Tough Journey, But I Know It’ll Be Worth It”

“As I turn 30, I am growing comfortable with my grey hair. The parlour lady suggested colouring my hair and checking out their packages and whatnot. But I wanted to see how grey my hair would turn, and I didn’t mind if it made me look ‘old’. It’s tiring to keep colouring my hair every month just to hide the whites. People around me ask me to colour my hair, but it’s time we accept things as they are. The journey to going grey has been a rollercoaster—there have been times when I’ve broken down, and I didn’t look at myself in the mirror (except for the mirror over the wash basin!). I sometimes didn’t feel confident, and I thought I’d stopped taking care of myself. And on other days it’s okay. I’ll get there finally. Till then, I’ll see how far the grey’s gone.”
–Monalisa Nunes

“People Ask Me ‘Itna Confidence Laate Kaha Se Ho’”

“I love my greys just like the other shades of my life. It feels natural to me and on me. I really enjoy how I get compliments on my look. After repeated pieces of advice on why I should be covering my greys in my early thirties, the salon guy finally asked me, ‘Arey ma’am, itna confidence laate kahan se ho’.”
–Samreen Faiz Rizvi

“My Grey Hair Is A Part Of Me”

“I don’t hide my greys because they are a part of who I am. As a life coach, I am always telling my clients to accept and love themselves just the way they are, and if I have to practice what I preach, I feel this is an area I can. Grey hair can be looked at as an early sign of ageing or as a sign of wisdom 😉. I choose the latter.”
–Nita Sundararaju

“It’s Convenient To Not Colour My Greys”

“My reason to not cover my greys is simple: it’s easy and stress-free.”
-Monika Tomar Saroch

“It Felt Liberating”

“I got fed up with the hair colour regime every month. Embracing my greys made me feel liberated.”

–Jaya Ghosh

“I Love The Charm That My Hair Has Right Now”

“After many years of thinking that society is my guiding light, it’s an instruction manual on how a girl should behave or groom herself, tells you about what’s right and what’s wrong, I have finally come to the conclusion that it’s my heart who needs to be followed. No society, no family members and not even my parents (who have tried their best to keep me low for the sake of my own safety and security) should ideally be telling me my way of life. Honestly, this isn’t arrogance but acceptance of who am I and how I want to be myself!
-Priyanka Khurana

“It Makes Me Feel Confident”

“I recently stopped colouring because I think I look sexy”
-Rati Ahuja