And if we finally took charge of our gray hair, how to make a transition to its natural color

Natural color, down with dictates! 

The transition from colorful to natural has been booming in recent times. Gray is now the new brown, or chestnut, or blond :). 

Awareness of the impact of chemicals on our health was a precursor. We have also witnessed the rise of vegetable colors that are much more respectful of our natures for several years now. The covid (I have a hard time with covid I admit) has kicked things up a notch. 

We had the no-bra movement where many women freed themselves from their bras and the constraint that it represented, finding through confinement a space where they tamed and appreciated this new freedom. First in private, before deciding to live with her full time after confinement is over. There was also a movement of transition, for lack of hairdressers available, the roots grew and the question of a transition arose for many of us. 

We have seen a lot of celebrities gone gray, embrace their new gray hair, and it feels so good !! Beyond a fad, it is, for me, a sign of deep self-acceptance and rebellion against imposed stereotypes. 

I am writing this article from my personal lens, I decided on this transition during the first covid containment. I have lived it through its ups and downs and the little that can be said is that this decision was far from trivial for me. She came to touch my identity, my image, my femininity and my whole being…. It’s crazy the power of some silver hair !!! 

The transition to gray, a militant act? 

I admit that for me, the question arose. First, I put things in context. I have lived, with my hair, 4 transitions so far, spanning the last 4 years. To say that this process is simple is, from my point of view, very wrong. 

I have curly hair, curly hair is beautiful !! When they're healthy, healthy. All those who have curly or frizzy hair will tell you that they do not look the same for two days in a row ... on my side the result is always random, depending on the alignment of the stars, the recalcitrant weather, the type of heating… in short… mother of two young children, at the birth of my daughter I wanted to gain in er… predictability and in time of management of my hair in the morning. Brazilian straightening was the miracle solution. Advertised as hair care, I was delighted… yes but there you go… I found a lot of regrowth, and on application my hair was extremely flat. It took a while for me to realize that no, it wasn't regrowth. My hair was systematically breaking, falling en masse ... so 2016, first transition, I cut my hair in a short bob, and I let my wild nature appear in broad daylight ... 

And…. I continue, a year later, I'm tired of managing my hair and I tell myself that it always breaks so it is not due to straightening, in short I make it short…. I color my hair, I smooth it, it's one or the other, or both…. 

I gave up on the two-step straightening, to keep my hair curly. I then adapted my hair colors, from chemical I went natural. In the end, things are a little better, but just a little better. And I end up telling myself that definitely, my hair is just asking us to leave it alone…. Accept us as we are, open your eyes to our beauty, this singular but true ... and I decided to listen. 

For my part, the transition has not been militant even if as a feminist I take issue with the treatment reserved by society to our hair, to our wrinkles ... to everything that tells our story. 

My transition has been a peace accord with the nature of my hair. She opened the door to great vulnerability. It is never harmless to change your mind, especially by integrating the implicit codes of society, white hair means you are advancing in age, you start to think about menopause, changes in the body ... in short ... for my part a whole process has started. 

So I suggest you treat the subject on both aspects. First very factually, how to best manage your transition, and then how to support you, take care of yourself on an emotional level to experience it as an outbreak, a fulfillment and especially the beginning of something and not the end. 

How to easily transition to gray

The transition to gray is more or less simple depending on how much gray you wear, but first and foremost your natural color. 

Let's say a transition from a blonde to a brunette is relatively easy. There is indeed a difference in color which appears but it is not really obvious. It is not systematically noted or noted. A work of wicks can accompany the smooth transition. 

The transition is more difficult when the tone of the hair is dark first, then when the hair has a uniform initial color. 

There are then three possibilities: 

• We reset the counters to zero 
• We take our troubles patiently
• We accelerate the new and camouflage the old. 

I explain all this to you 

Cut everything, or reset the counters.

This step may be the simplest in action, but the most difficult to dare. If you've never dared to take the short leap, taking the leap can seem dizzying and yet…. This is the radical change and it can make the integration of the new color so much easier! A short cut gives pep to the face, it is neat and changes radically! Personally, I opted for this option. 

It has the advantage of building momentum. You seek to discover new styles, you dare a strong act of rebellion!

We take our troubles patiently. 

This period is necessary and a prerequisite every two seconds. At some point, you have to get to see your roots before deciding what to do with them. It takes about two months to really see the gray effect on the roots and to see how much the hair has turned gray. 

I admit that the first few months of growth can be difficult. If your hair is light, this step can be relatively straightforward. In the case of dark hair, the contrast is seen more and more and in this case, it is better to go either on hairstyles with hat or scarf artistically tied on the head. Or even on hairstyles of loose, well-crafted hair, avoiding straight lines in order to avoid slack strokes and this feeling of having been neglected. The covid period has helped a lot with confinement that limits contact, nonetheless think about the impact on your morale and try to take maximum care of your hairstyle during this time.  

We speed up the transition by coloring our hair 

If your hair allows it, this solution is the most effective. It allows you to mix your natural color with gray or white mothers, in tones ranging from white to dark gray, which allows you to switch to a fairly harmonious salt and pepper and gives time to grow its roots in a serene way. This solution involves a visit to the hairdresser and a significant amount of work to achieve good results. You have to plan a hairdressing budget. On the other hand, it makes for a very charming transition. Personally, I could not choose this option given the aversion of my hair to any color. 

Let go, but not let go

Well after the transition, we'll have to learn to live with gray hair. I hear… We naturally relied on our hair to change the look, to give pep, character to the face. 

Gray hair has two direct impacts: 

• the first is that, poorly cared for, you can quickly get neglected, so it is essential to take care of your hairstyle and your face 
• The second is that the light that could come from hair with light or blonde streaks surrounding the face can no longer come from there, so it is important to brighten the face and give it character in other ways. Play on jewelry to surround the face and bring a boost for example, work the eyebrows to give character to the face, heal your skin, lift your complexion with blush, sun powders, and use and abuse reds to lips are all solutions.

In short, you have chosen a new look, play it thoroughly! Feminine look, some sexy touches. You are a woman who fully assumes her nature, so let it show through your look, and play !! Have fun !! Dare to new looks, new make-up, new associations! And take care of your skin, the radiance of your eyes! It makes all the difference between enduring the marks of time or wearing them with pride and claim! 

Hair transition, or act of love?

After this practical part, I want to share with you what this transition has been for me. I tried the switch to white hair twice, the first was from July to October, and gave in in October, too panicked.

 Then I resumed and let my hair grow out until December where I did a first cut, shortening my hair as I went to make the color disappear. The last cut, very short, was the end of the colored strands to leave only the natural color and I admit that it was not easy. 

I experienced these stages with trepidation, I oscillated between fear of the gaze of others and the need to take full responsibility for myself. I oscillated between courage and vulnerability and I admit that these reactions surprised me. I did not expect such an impact on me but it raised the question of my femininity and its definition, my age, it brought to the surface my fear of aging, the fear of an upcoming menopause even if it's not for now, the fear of no longer pleasing ... 

In short, this transition was a milestone, one that I experienced surrounded by very encouraging and caring friends, but basically lived alone anyway.  

Release - acceptance 

Deciding to go gray was ultimately a liberation. I no longer watch my hair while passing in front of the mirror, I no longer wonder if I should not plan a Sunday-first-second-layer-what-mix-I'm-going-to-do ... 

This decision was also quite an act of self-acceptance, which I did not measure beforehand. Today, even with vulnerability, and especially with vulnerability, I accept myself as I am, advancing in age, different from the standards that surround me ... but it is me, it is my nature and finally I am. 'accepts imperfect, and serene. Above all, I detach myself from an image of myself that I liked ... and I see if I, and not just an image, still like it or not… and first of all, I like it. 

The emotional elevator

It strikes me as impressive and quite surreal to see how commonplace white hair can look in a man, and what impact it has on us women. I don't judge anyone and I don't judge myself. Transitioning to gray is neither good nor bad, it is a very personal choice of the image you want for yourself. 

I tried to go through this period with kindness to myself and with maximum love. It was no less shaking. I couldn't get through it in one step. 

Undeniably, this experience opens certain doors, certain desires, curiosity vis-à-vis parts of me that I have not solicited enough in my life, the femme fatale, the secudctress. She generated a thirst for exploration of all facets of my femininity, as if this femininity was finally freeing itself from a stereotypical, standardized definition of beauty. It also opened wounds of the past which invited themselves to be finally healed….

And interestingly, this switch to gray was accepted much more by my peers in the same age group, than by people older than me. And I think that's pretty revealing about the mindset of women today, the willingness to say things, to stop pretending. There is a fresh breeze of authenticity for both those who choose to go gray and those who welcome it and that's just awesome. 

How do I take care of my gray hair then

We will not pass without dealing with this subject. It must be said that white hair changes texture. They can become more fragile and dry. It is therefore essential to take special care of them, especially by moisturizing them. 

I offer you some recipes that will accompany you in the pampering of your beautiful mane !! 

Scalp purifying mask: 

• 3 tablespoon of Amla powder (Ayurvedic plant excellent for skin and hair)
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• A small glass of lukewarm water

Mix the amla powder with lukewarm water to obtain a fairly liquid paste, and add the lemon juice. Apply the mixture line by line all over the scalp. This paste will cleanse the leather, eliminate impurities and soothe the skin. 

Moisturizing treatment by nourishing hair and scalp 

To treat weakened hair, it is important to meet two criteria: 

• Bring a protective film to the hair, an oil that envelops the hair without clogging it. Broccoli oil, for example, is excellent in a rendering close to silicone, without adverse effects. 
• Bring hydration to the hair by filling in the cracks in the hair, and for this an oil that has the ability to penetrate the hair will very well provide the necessary hydration. Coconut oil does this job perfectly. 

So I suggest that you make a mask of your hair twice a week with oil, a spoon of broccoli oil, a spoon of coconut oil and a spoon of bringhjara infusion oil in castor bean. 

Leave the oil on for half an hour before washing your hair and treat it with a hydrating mask. 

Maintain the shine of white 

To counteract the yellow effect that white hair can experience, adding blue can be invaluable. You can rely on plants with blue pigmentation for this effect. Butterfly polka dots, or even blue polka dots can do this job very well. 

Boil a handful of blue peas in a liter of water, let the color drain for 30 minutes, then add a spoonful of apple cider vinegar to the water and rinse your hair with it. 

By the way, blue peas are excellent against stress! 

A word for the end

Going white is neither good nor bad. It’s, for me, an act of self-re-appropriation. We reappropriate our image, we recover the time spent camouflaging our white hair for ourselves. In short, we are moving towards a form of freedom. 

So, whether you have done it or not, whether you ask yourself the question without having dared to take the step…. Everything is ok… let's not leave one diktat to fall into another. Just love yourself as you are with the look you have today. Not the one tomorrow, or the one you get when you leave the barber ... cherish yourself today and take care of yourself today !! And radiate :) the rest will follow.