Nan McCarthy

author of Since You Went Away, Chat, Connect, Crash, & Live ’Til I Die

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Gray Hair

  • August 26, 2013
  • by Nan McCarthy
  • · Blog · Family

Gray hair might be fashionable now but it sure wasn’t hip when I first went au naturel in the ’90s.

Nan McCarthy

I started turning gray when I was 18, and I’ve had a full head of gray hair since my early 30s. (I’ll be 52 this October.) My dad, who died when he was 39 and I was 9, also had a full head of gray hair by the time he was 30. My natural hair color as a child was what they called “dishwater blonde”; I added blonde highlights from the time I was a teenager until I was about 32. It was then I noticed my roots looked white so I decided to stop coloring my hair and see what was underneath. I was surprised to find my hair had turned completely gray! That was 20 years ago and I haven’t colored my hair since.

When our boys were little (they’re young adults now) it was sometimes hard on them having a mom with gray hair—like when I picked them up at preschool and their new friends called out to let them know their “grandma” was here. It’s also a little weird running into people I knew in high school or college who haven’t seen me since then. I sometimes wonder if, when they’re trying to pull their gaze away from my white hair (as one does with a car wreck), they’re thinking, “Wow, she sure has AGED.” I’m looking forward to my 60s and 70s though, when people could conceivably say I haven’t aged a bit in 30 years—since I first went all-gray. I did say “conceivably.”

In spite of all that I like my full head of gray hair. There’s the obvious benefit of saving time & money not having to color my hair every 6 weeks. I also like the idea of embracing the aging process instead of trying to fight it. (Although I wouldn’t mind a few less crows’ feet and if my knees stopped making those squishy noises going up stairs.) But one of the reasons I love my gray hair most is that it’s something I inherited from my dad—a piece of him I’ll carry with me the rest of my life.

copyright © 2010 Nan McCarthy

nancy with the laughing face.crop 

photo by KMA Photography

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Comments

  1. Gerarda Simmons August 27, 2013 · Reply

    Love it! And I love that picture of you 🙂

    ________________________________

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  2. Nancy Sammarco August 28, 2013 · Reply

    Great piece Nan!
    I especially love the last line….a piece of him I’ll carry with me the rest of my life.

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  3. kathy arvia August 31, 2013 · Reply

    ever since the reunion, I have tossed the idea of letting my gray come thru, or as I call it, my natural highlights. Not sure how much has turned white (which is from my mom’s side) but letting it go would be so much easier than the 6 week hair appointments

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    • Nan McCarthy September 1, 2013 · Reply

      Kathy it’s definitely easier and less time-consuming!

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  4. Jeannette Thele August 31, 2013 · Reply

    I get it. I’ve been completely gray since 23. I just can’t bring myself to let it go. Although the idea of not having to “touch up” every 2 weeks is enticing!

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    • Nan McCarthy September 1, 2013 · Reply

      I think what type of job you have also is a factor in whether or not to go gray. It’s probably not a coincidence that I stopped coloring my hair about a year after I left the corporate world.

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  5. Mike October 12, 2013 · Reply

    A heard of a man who once complained about not having any shoes until he met a man with no feet. Having GRAY hair is better (i guess) than not having any hair at all. I have always known you with the gray hair and cannot imagine you with any other color. Don’t change the color now.

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