Women about natural gray hair and informed choice
CHOOSING TO CARRY ON SEDIN IS ALL MY KIND OF CALL. This seemingly natural feature of the exterior still remains, if not the subject of public censure, then at least a reason for disputes. Links that can be found on the request "gray" contain a frightening set of words: "treatment", "diagnosis", "symptoms" - while changes in hair pigmentation are neither a violation, nor a disease. Lack of melanin is manifested with age in most people in the world. Many factors, primarily genetic and endocrine, so early gray hair is also not uncommon. At the same time, it is associated mainly with aging — and this is no longer just a mistake, but a manifestation of ageism, which women especially acutely feel.
While gray hair in men’s hair is considered to be an indicator of solidity and maturity, in the case of women it often turns out to be a sign of “fading”: gray hair is seen in people of both sexes, but the difference in society is obvious in both cases. Painting the emerged gray hair in order to remain in the ranks of the “young” longer seems to be taken for granted. But the feminine decision not to do this causes a wide range of emotions in others - from curiosity to extreme amazement.
And yet, our perception of beauty is changing: the fashion for coloring, imitating gray hair, has swept the world a few years ago, and the new social habit of accepting its own characteristics is prompting more and more people to refuse masking procedures. We talked with six women of different ages who made a conscious decision not to hide a natural gray hair, and they talked about how they relate to her and how their peculiarity is perceived in society.
Anna Narinskaya
journalist, literary critic
Probably, they are waiting for me with a life-affirming statement that gray hair is not a “age marker”, that it is not “old”, and so on. But I can’t say so: I think that this is not true, except for those cases when the very young ones turn out to be gray because of the strange game of nature. Immediately, the point is not in objective reality, but in subjective, in psychology: a woman with gray hair is simply not instinctively perceived as a "girl."
But the task is not to hide your age, the task is to remain the best of yourself at any age. Better yourself: that is, the way you like yourself and only yourself - do not care for the rest - right now. The main dispute in life is the one that you carry with you, and it is in it that it is important to reach agreement.
Gray hair is not a sign that you are drifting, but, on the contrary, an act: it is much easier and more comfortable to paint yourself when everything is painted
I remember very well that moment when I looked in the mirror and realized that I was ready. Even not, not ready - I want. I want not only to become gray-haired - this is already a consequence, but to accept my adulthood and please myself in this adulthood, I want to take this step. I had a gray hair when I was about thirty, since then I have been dyeing my hair, and in order to “turn gray”, I had to shave my head off for a start.
Even if you do not shave, but simply decide that you are taking gray hair "as they are received," this decision itself is a step. Because gray hair is not a sign that you are going with the flow, but, on the contrary, it is an act: it is much easier and more comfortable to paint yourself when everything is painted. The gray-haired untamed, busy work and social life of a woman is perceived as a challenge, I even know that in some corporations it is simply forbidden by the “dress code”. The last for me personally, of course, was another pros for gray hair. Its not so much aversion, but rather the impossibility in our establishment gives such an easy chance to shield a separate place for itself. To be gray-haired in every sense of the word, both for yourself and for others.
Diana Avshalumova
video producer agency departament
My gray hair appeared when I was in school, at about fourteen. First of all, it was a surprise, because I did not understand its nature: where did this hair come from? Why? At the same time, there was neither stress nor negative emotions - gray hair never caused me to be rejected. I have been gray for more than ten years, and I was very lucky: in all this time, both from relatives and from strangers, I hear that this is beautiful and unusual. When people get acquainted with me, they almost always start with a compliment to my gray hair. And only grandmother worries that it is impossible: “ugly,” but I am “young”!
From the very beginning, I took it as a cool feature, not a disadvantage. I once succumbed to the persuasion of my grandmother, completely painting over my gray hair, and immediately regretted. Everyone probably has some favorite feature. When I dyed my hair, I realized that for me these are my gray hairs, and since then I have not touched them at all. I admit that this may change with age.
I was probably very lucky, but I didn’t come across any negative reaction from others. Never
I was probably very lucky, but I didn’t come across any negative reaction from others. Never. I came across only people who think that I specifically colored it - by the way, there are a lot of such people! I will never urge other girls not to be beautiful: everyone, after all, does what is comfortable for him. There is nothing wrong with that someone does not like gray hair, or does not like the natural color. In any question, the most important thing is to find the answer that will satisfy you. If we are talking about hair, then for me it is natural, for someone - hair dyed in blue, and for someone else - their complete absence. Any such choice is beautiful - as is the gray hair on my or anyone's head.
Olga Sidorova
chief editor of media projects mail.ru
My first gray hair appeared when I graduated from university. Diploma, final exams, first job - and I'm an emotional person, I was worried - and this is the result. Although both my grandmother and my mother turned gray early. By the age of thirty, both were completely white, so probably I also have a genetic predisposition. When I noticed the first gray hair, I was shocked - it was like snow in the middle of July: I'm still a student! On you, as it seemed to me then, such a bright sign of old age. I tried to pull out gray hair, but at the place of one appeared three or four new ones - so I stopped fighting and began to get used to it. I was scared that, like mom and grandmother, I would become completely white in my thirty years and would have to paint myself. I like my natural color: painting for me is an unpleasant, forced measure, and I tried to postpone it to the last.
When the gray became noticeable, I began to receive compliments. My friends said that I had a charm with gray hair. Some thought that I had made highlights, and they began to praise the masters - they say, artfully and unusually. One day my dad stared at me, looked at me for a long time and asked: "How did you manage to paint so intricately?" Since then, this is his favorite joke.
Once having fallen in love with yourself the way you are, it's hard to change your mind
Then I thought for the first time that gray hair is not a flaw, but a feature. I looked at her - and I liked it; Now I can not imagine my hair without these glimpses. I notice and do not notice them - generally used to. Sometimes, under a bright light, they are especially noticeable, and then I think: damn, but beautiful. Once loving yourself for who you are, it's hard to change your mind.
Not everyone around was easy to take my gray hair. A friend of mine constantly urged me to paint myself. She said: "I can not look, gray hair is old age! You are too young for gray hair!" Several times she almost hit me "at least try" to see how it would be without white hair. Almost: trying to set aside, I interviewed those around me - in the end I noticed that in my surroundings grayness more likely upsets women.
Sometimes we hear others better than ourselves. We trust the taste of loved ones more than our own. Look at gray hair as an extra reason to think about what is going on for you and what is really “yours”. In my case, it turned out this way: at first I was upset that I didn’t look like everyone else, but now I’m a little proud of it. Although “proud” is not the most accurate word, I rather like this particular feature. Gray hair makes my appearance spectacular - I do not want to give it up.
Irina Mikhailyuk
Student Literary Institute. Gorky
My gray hair appeared in my childhood when I was eight years old. First, small white spots appeared on the skin (vitiligo) - on the left eye and on the forehead - and after them the part of eyelashes and the hair strand lost their pigment. I was confused only by spots, and the gray hair was always liked by its color. True, for two or three years I had to paint over the strand: my mother did not want me to stare at me, a small child, and I understood her.
I always liked this feature. During high school there were several episodes when high school students made fun of me, said that I was “sick”. It is unpleasant when in public places some people begin to look at a strand for a long time with a slight expression of disgust on their face. But these are all isolated cases that do not hurt me: all my friends and relatives like my gray hair.
If suddenly they tell me that a means has appeared that will rid me of gray hair once and for all, I will not use it
I never considered it a disease or a disadvantage: I use a lot of cosmetics, trying in vain to hide the white spots around the eye, but if they suddenly tell me that a remedy has appeared that will rid me of gray hair once and for all, I will not use it. Surprisingly, of my many acquaintances, my grandmother turned out to be the only person with prejudices against gray hair, who to this day asks me to paint over a strand, explaining that I still have time to be gray.
Gray hair is not always an age-related phenomenon: it can also appear as a result of pigmentation disorders, be it vitiligo or birthmarks, and as a reaction to severe stress. Each gray hair has its own history: it seems to me that its very color, cold, foggy, is associated with a mystery, a mystery, and this cannot but fascinate. For me, this is definitely a feature that I'm quietly proud of, not a flaw. I would like to wish those who are hiding feel free from their history.
Ekaterina Kuklina
STUDENT OF MARCHI, ILLUSTRATOR
Gray hair came to me at about ten years old - my feelings were mixed. It was an incredible surprise, but I was rather negative about the acquired feature. At first she did not attach any importance to her, but then she began to annoy me. When I was a child, I was worried that I was different from others, and the gray strand seemed to me ugly, alien - a stranger. I even decided to cut it off, hoping that the new hair will be the same color.
I wore a parting for a long time so that gray hair was almost invisible. I did not hide it intentionally: it did not bother me, and I did not even recall its existence. Having matured a bit, I realized that there is nothing ugly about her. Quite the contrary: gray hair is beautiful in itself, and I can be said lucky that it happened to be in such a good place, right by the face. Only five or six years ago I stopped hiding it: the strand became a characteristic, expressive feature of my appearance.
I believe that today everyone can allow himself to look like he wishes.
I believe that today everyone can allow himself to look the way he wants, to dye his hair in any color he likes, to be what he wants. Some people like to emphasize naturalness and not hide the changes taking place, accepting themselves and not being afraid of changes. And someone needs to constantly change and amaze others with his vivid images - in general, this is a matter of temperament. Painted with gray hair or not - the choice of aesthetics, which you want to stick to, and no more.
Catherine Shulman
political scientist
As I understand it, the appearance of gray hair is genetically determined. My maternal grandfather and mom also had gray hair quite early. Therefore, when they came to me, it was not a surprise, and I was rather proud of it. When you are about twenty-five, and you have a gray strand or a few hairs, it is, on the one hand, funny, but on the other - it gives you (as you hope) more weight and solidity.
In all the places where I worked, for many years I was the youngest. I started at eighteen in the city administration, then worked in the State Duma, then in a consulting company - and only in the last place there appeared not only peers, but at least people of my generation. In all other places, the gap between me and the “youngest employee” was usually about fifteen years. Therefore, it did not occur to me to be beautiful - especially considering that there was always no time. As I was told, having once painted, you are then doomed to repeat this procedure every month until death (well, or so I imagined it to myself), so I always put off this fatal moment for later.
The question is what exactly you can afford: spend time and money on straightening, building up, highlighting - or not bother with any of the above
I can not say that I somehow long pondered over the features of their appearance. The essential reason, in general, is clear: my hair was often long, and the dyeing procedure requires regularity and effort, which I cannot really afford with my regimen. Well, as you know, if you sit long enough on the bank of the river, you will wait for a new global trend to sail by, which coincides with your personal laziness. Today, they say, people are specially painted in gray color. Get into the trend without extra effort - profit!
To the credit of the people with whom I communicate personally, none of them pestered me with suggestions to change something in my appearance. And when I became a public person, then, of course, good commentators from time to time began to write something like: “Shouldn't you paint yourself?” Or: "Let there be less worries and less gray hair!" Apparently, it is assumed that I turned gray from thinking about Russia - it was here that my head turned white in one night, as they say in the novels.
According to my observations, the older generation - those whose youth came in the 70-80s, generally have special aesthetic ideas: they are accustomed to a brighter make-up, let down eyes, hairpins and a “theatrical” image in general. Modus "put on make-up to go to take out the garbage" - this is from there. The idea that you can walk with your head unpainted, respectively, seems to be somewhat wild. Younger people demonstrate perhaps a wider range of acceptability. Although an alternative opinion is also possible: the point is not in the generation, but in the sociocultural paradigm. In some ways, the gilded curled curls in shimmering lacquer, and hair like "I woke up like that" carry a similar message: "I can afford it." The question is what exactly you can afford: spend time and money on straightening, building up, highlighting - and what else they are doing - or not to bother with any of the above.
Makeup For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Stick Foundation, Concealer Holika Holika Cover & Hiding Liquid Concealer, Tom Ford Soleil Contouring Compact Blush Afternoon, Promakeup Laboratory highlighter, Kevyn Aucoin The Sculpting Powder in Medium shade, MAC Cream Color Base in Luna shades, The Balm In Balm Of Your Hand Palette, MAC Eye Kohl eyelash, Estée mascara Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Mascara, High Definition Eye & Brow Palette, Palette of Shadows, Art-Visage Eyebrow Gel, NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream Lipstick in San Paulo Shade
Revision thanks studioPHOTOPLAYand hairdresserNoir moscow for help in organizing the shooting.
