What’s So Bad About Gray Hair

When I decided some years ago to stop coloring my hair and let my gray shine through, people were aghast!  I thought it was a great idea – I didn’t have to spend a fortune at the hairdresser or spend a significant amount of time coloring my hair myself.  How did the idea that gray hair was bad ever get started? 

I did some research and discovered that people have colored their hair for one reason or another for thousands of years.  That being said, in the 1950’s only about 7 percent of women colored their hair.  In that era the stigma was that women who colored their hair were of poor moral character, if you get what I mean!  In 1955 history was changed when the Clairol ad came out stating:  “Does she or doesn’t she? Only her hairdresser knows for sure.”  The next Clairol enticement for hair coloring was:  “If I have only one life . . . let me live it as a blonde.”  The last knockout punch was the Clairol jingle that is now firmly entrenched in history:  “Is it true blondes have more fun?”  As a side note, the woman who wrote all of these slogans was Shirley Polykoff who was one of only five women in history ever inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame!

Consider this ad that was printed in 1943:

WOW!  So that’s how it all got started – makers of hair dye – specifically Clairol!  It’s amazing what we can be convinced of.

There has now been a reversal of the idea that gray hair is unattractive.  The new trend is to have “Granny” hair!  Young women are stripping the color from their hair and dyeing it all sorts of stunning silver shades!  Check out this website to see some of the gorgeous gray haired young ladies.

 It’s actually nice to know that gray hair isn’t just for old geezers like me!!

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