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To Go Gray or Not, That is the Question

Where are you on the issue of going gray? Are you firmly for, against, or ambivalent?

Before Me, My Hair and I came out, I thought the most risqué piece in the book was Alex Kuczynski's "And Be Sure to Tell Your Mother," about, well, pubic hair. But once it came out and the New York Post interviewed contributor Anne Kreamer on her decision some years ago to go gray, I realized this was a much more fraught issue than I'd imagined.  It has to do whether whether we're going to age naturally or intervene in the process - and what the costs of each decision are, financially, emotionally, and culturally.

My own story: my essay in the anthology is called, "No, I Won't Go Gray," but soon after the book went into final production, I changed my mind. My hair dresser mistakenly dyed my hair black - it had been a soft brown, close to the original - and after a few weeks of trying to live with it, I decided I couldn't bear to go through what's necessary to get it back to brown - months of highlights, aluminum foil in the hair, money and time - and I decided to take the going gray challenge.

Ten months later, there's a bunch of gray and still some brown. And I'm still not sure where I'm going or my hair is going, but I'm OK with not knowing. With waiting to see. With giving up the need I felt to color. And I've been heartened by all the Pro-Gray women who've posted on various sites.

Here's an abridged version of my essay in the book from Huffington Post, "No, I Won't Go Gray."

Visit the book's Facebook page and share your Pro-Gray/Con-Gray story, and/or send it to me in an email, to ElizabethBenedictOK@gmail.com, and I'll write up the results. Best if your story is 250 words or less.  (Please note the OK after my name in the email.)

And if all this talk of hair makes you anxious, you're not alone.

If you're curious about the book, read us in paperback, on Kindle, Nook, or your favorite ebook platform. And follow us on Twitter: @HairBookEliz


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