This post is a long time coming. Well, a few weeks really but it’s been in the back of my mind for a very long time. The decision to let my gray hair grow out was not easy to come to and I had a LOT of anxiety over it. So much so that I consulted with three hairstylists and LOTS of internet and Pinterest pictures. I’ve always been pretty adventurous with my hair. Everything from length to color.  I’ve also always been told I look so young. My girlfriends always tell me my face looks too young to let my gray hair grow out. I was even told by a friend to not let it grow out because no man finds gray hair sexy. I asked my husband if he will still like me if I grow my grays out..he said maybe. (Okay, don’t get up in arms, he was joking!) While all of that went through my mind in deciding my next step I couldn’t help but wonder…What do I even look like with gray hair? What kind of gray do I have, silver, white, dull, bright? Am I even fully gray or is it nicely dispersed throughout? I am not a “high maintenance” kind of woman but I do care what I look like. In my day-to-day life I am extremely casual but when it comes time to be part of functioning society I enjoying getting dolled up and looking cute.  Lately, about a week after getting my hair touched up and colored I would start to see shimmery outgrowth within a week. By the time 4 weeks were up and it was time for my next hair appointment my hair was looking skunk-ish.  I think this was more detrimental to my self-esteem than anything. I always wondered how noticeable my hair was to other people.  Aside from that, trying to fit in appointments every 4 weeks was starting to get stressful…and not to mention pricey.  It was just all starting to seem like a lot more work than I might really be willing to do for just my hair.

Before coming to this decision I did a lot of research on how to grow out the grays and looked at a lot of pictures.  Thankfully in my search I was pleasantly surprised to see many women my age, (I turned 40 last summer) and even younger, rocking out their gray hair.  The hair styles all ranged from short fun bobs to beautiful flowing locks and every shade of gray you can imagine.  Seeing these photos gave me inspiration and a positive outlook on my decision and I was starting to not feel so “old”.

I made the decision to grow out the gray hair a month ago and I’m almost 3 weeks from my last hair appointment.  At that point my hair was already 4 weeks grown out. I took a little length off the back and added some foil highlights only, no touch up to the roots, to help transition the grow out phase.  My stylist initially was hoping for a lighter blonde and not so much a copper color but my hair is pretty dark. Even so, I do think that the highlights helped a lot because I would look like a skunk otherwise. My next appointment is in about 3 weeks to see what the progress is and where we go from there.  So far my hair is growing out really fast and I have to say, I am not that upset.  My curiosity for what I look like with my natural hair grows more and more every day and I think I’ve embraced this transition fully.  I am still a little self-conscious because I can’t help but think that people who see me out and about probably think that I am homeless.  Okay, maybe they don’t but either way I remind myself of the goal and feel reassured that I am doing the right thing for me. And hey, if in the end I don’t like it I can always cover it back up, right?!

So I know you are all thinking, show us the before pictures already!!  Okay, okay…here you go. Just keep in mind…I am not a model and I don’t always think ahead enough to put on make up because I will probably take before pictures later…so basically I look a little rough around the edges, but hey there’s beauty in that, right!?

Here is my before. 4 weeks post all over color. Pretty scary.

Same night, but after foils to add highlights. Still scary.

Two and a half weeks post foils. For some reason not as scary.

So, there ya’ go! The beginning phase of my gray hair grow out.  If any of you are thinking of doing the same, I hope I’ve provided some relief and inspiration.  I’ll continue to update this post with pictures as my hair grows out.  My next appointment is in three weeks!!

Here’s to finding the beauty in gray hair!