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Friday, January 3, 2014

it's real and it's spectacular!

Well, as usual, I've been a BAAAAD blogger.  The last time I wrote a post was waaaay back on July 30 of 2013 - and now we're 3 days into 2014!!  I swear - it was fully my intention to keep this blog up to date as I transitioned from dyed blond to grey hair - but as usual, time (and life in general) got away from me.  I suppose the upside of it is, looking back, I had anticipated the process to be very long and drawn out - but in reality, it took six short months.  Now, I realize that if you're just starting the process, six months sounds like a MIGHTY long time - but take it from me, blink and it's gone.  (Even more true the older one gets, but that's a topic for another day).

Before and After
Anyway...I'm here to say that - I did it!!  I successfully transitioned from dyed to my natural grey (or as I like to call it, silver) hair!  About six months in, as much as I thought I had the mettle to stick it out and keep my hair at least bob length through the transition, one day, in a very impulsive flash, I just said, "that's it!" - and called my hair stylist for a same day chop.  Before I had the time to think it over, I was sitting in her chair, and within minutes, the deed was done.  I've got to admit, it was definitely a bit of a shock at first...not only was all the colour gone, but so were the curls that I'd only just learned to embrace.  And there I sat in front of the mirror - feeling sort of....meh.  All those months of excitement and anticipation, and it was sort of an anti-climax.  I actually think I mourned the loss of the curls over the colour...but in combination, yeah, I did have an inner "OMG what have I DONE???" moment.  Although most of the stylists at the hairdresser's were giving me a lot of positive reinforcement on my way out the door, I felt a bit like I had to run to the safety of my car and just let out a long deep breath...which I did.  First things first...OUT with my old rimless glasses. With this new 'do, they just screamed a little bit too "granny"  for me...so out came the newer frames that just hadn't been working with my transitional hair.  Okay - that was an improvement.  Funkier, not to mention something to hide behind now that I had NO. HAIR.

Next up - home to where my daughter was waiting to see the new me...with a sound of panic in her voice - as in..."oooooohhhh nooooooo Mom you didn't!"   I think she was expecting this:

Not ready to be a golden girl yet...

When I walked in the door, she actually held her hands over her eyes in anticipation of the horror...but then, something amazing happened.  She uncovered her eyes, and a huge smile spread over her face - and she exclaimed...."I LOVE IT!!!"  Okay...this was good.  When my youngest says it's good, I go with it - she's my little fashionista, with truly a great eye for fashion/style.  (And believe me, if she didn't like it, she would have said so).  So with that vote of confidence, I re-evaluated.  And then I remembered all my reasons for doing this in the first place, shook off all the doubt, and decided to OWN this.  After all, this was finally my natural colour, unveiled after almost 30 years - and on second (and third, and fourth) look - it was actually kind of - amazing. This was a colour that could NEVER come out of a bottle - although many try.  And I will NEVER have to worry about those "shameful" roots ever again.  Yep, this was good!!  With each passing minute, and then day, and week, I have completely embraced the new me...and unless they're lying through their teeth, so has almost everyone else that has seen it.  Oh, there a few that don't say anything (I put them in the "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" category) - but in the big picture - who cares?The main thing is that I'm happy with my new colour, it's real, and it's spectacular! ;-)  For those of you who might wonder about the full transition, here's a little collage I put together:


So, yeah, I'm done!  With the colour that is...still missing the length, even though I do continue to be told I should stick with the pixie.  For now, I'm aiming again for the chin length bob - and I'm determined to grow this baby out gracefully!  No mullet for me this time - (which, looking back on my old short to long transitions was a problem for me):

Hmmm....let me mullet over...



Wow.  Okay, moving on.  So now this turns into a "how to grow out a pixie cut" blog!! And not only that, but a GREY/SILVER pixie cut!!  (Believe me, I've googled the heck out of that combo, and NOTHING comes up - so this is a first, people!!) :)  I had my pixie on November 22, 2013 - and exactly one month later, here's a comparision shot (before on left):

what a difference a month makes... ;-)

It's getting longer, right?  RIGHT?? And the curls are starting to come back too....right?  Okay, so maybe you don't see much of a difference, but it's there.  And tomorrow, I'm going for my first trim since the pixie cut, but just the back, to fend off the aforementioned and dreaded mullet. I will try my darnedest to record THAT transition in photos, but I'm not making any promises.  Obviously, keeping a consistent blog is not one of my strong points, and to be honest, I'm not sure a blog devoted to the life and times of my hair is all that interesting. That said, I will try to keep it up - because I KNOW that there are some of you out there that just might happen upon  this in your quest for either a grey transition or a pixie cut transition - and perhaps this might just be of assistance.  Stay tuned...but don't hold your breath... :)


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12 comments:

  1. MarinMarketingMom.comJanuary 5, 2015 at 5:39 PM

    Love this! I too am considering stopping the coloring nonsense. I'm never happy with it, it costs a fortune and I'm not loving the idea of all the chemicals. Well done! You look great with the pixie! ☺

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2015 at 11:31 PM

    You look YOUNGER with the pixie gray! I've got the bug to grow my hair out, but I know the skunk stripe will make me nuts. But six months . . . that's doable. If I cut my hair FIRST, that transition alone will be huge. And then the grow out process will come faster. Do I want to give up my longer hair though? Gah! You're an inspiration, I'll say that. Maybe I'll really do it.

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  3. Sue Anne McKinneyFebruary 5, 2015 at 9:56 PM

    I LOVE your hair! I have been going thru my own transition since last coloring in June 2014. Just an inch or so left! I found your blog looking for gray pixie cuts. I pinned your cut to show my hairdresser. I had just above the shoulder blond hair last summer and now it's a short cut and thought I would go back to my 'long bob' cut. Now I'm not so sure since I saw your pix. Our faces are similar in shape. Come visit my blog austinana.blogspot.com where I'm doing the Whole30 mealplan. I think on day 14 I posted a pic of my gray almost grown out! Thanks for showing us your transition. :)

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  4. UnknownAugust 20, 2015 at 8:38 PM

    So cute. Making the same decision. Your journey is very encouraging.

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  5. UnknownAugust 19, 2016 at 8:31 AM

    Bravo for you!you look fabulous!
    I grew silver in over the last two years. I have slow growing hair. Finally at a bob. My husband says the silver is cool looking all highlighted naturally, but I feel older looking than him which is hard at times. I bought a box of blond wash out color as I was tempted to dye again this week but your blog has helped me stay the path. I keep updating my pinterest gray hair posts for weeks sich as this. I did not like feeling ashamed of my hair, me, or the roots, hiding till I could color my hair. Plus I have an autoimmune disease I am trying to get rid of so decreasing chemical load was part of my transition. Folks are always looking at me now. I don't think there are enough of us younger gray haired ladies out there, so it stands out.
    Thank you for the encouragement today!

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  6. UnknownAugust 19, 2016 at 8:32 AM

    Bravo for you!you look fabulous!
    I grew silver in over the last two years. I have slow growing hair. Finally at a bob. My husband says the silver is cool looking all highlighted naturally, but I feel older looking than him which is hard at times. I bought a box of blond wash out color as I was tempted to dye again this week but your blog has helped me stay the path. I keep updating my pinterest gray hair posts for weeks sich as this. I did not like feeling ashamed of my hair, me, or the roots, hiding till I could color my hair. Plus I have an autoimmune disease I am trying to get rid of so decreasing chemical load was part of my transition. Folks are always looking at me now. I don't think there are enough of us younger gray haired ladies out there, so it stands out.
    Thank you for the encouragement today!

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  7. greymattersAugust 19, 2016 at 10:14 AM

    Thanks Laura for your kind comments (and especially for calling me a "younger" grey haired lady!) :) I too am battling an autoimmune disease and the way I look at it, the more natural the better, in all areas of life - one day at a time! There are days where I wonder what it would be like to go back to dying my hair, but it's simply not an option - I know as soon as I did, I'd regret it! Best of luck in your silver journey!

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  8. AntonetteDecember 25, 2017 at 1:05 PM

    I'm in the same boat: over 50, tired of dying my hair, and ready to embrace my gray hair. But, I have grown to bra-strap-length natural hair, finally, and not ready to cut my hair. Your journey was inspiring and helpful. Thank you!

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  9. Ney Ney stitchesApril 5, 2018 at 9:19 AM

    You changed your eye color to match the silver? I have brown eyes too...

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    Replies
    1. greymattersApril 5, 2018 at 10:24 AM

      Hi Renee, no I think it's just a trick of the lighting, or a reflection of the area I was in in many of those photos - my natural eye colour is actually a grey/green (probably closest to the colour in the lower right hand corner photo of the "six months to silver" collage above). It's my belief that if you are naturally grey/silver, you'll look fabulous no matter what your eye colour is! It's all about "owning" it (as they say) :) - and being confident in your authentic self! Thanks so much for leaving a comment, and good luck on your journey to silver!

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  10. MarciaFebruary 5, 2019 at 1:31 PM


    I just started my transition last week. I have your pictures on my fridge door. Turning 65 this fall. Excited to see what's been under the dye. I also wear contact lens almost exclusively, but bought black plastic readers pretty much like your glasses.

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  11. JoanJewelMay 17, 2019 at 8:33 PM

    Hi Noelle. I love this blog. I have been coloring my hair for the last 28 years. I was pretty grey when I started coloring it at the age of 36. As much as I've liked the hair colors I've worn thru the years I've just gotten tired of the once a month expense of keeping the skunk away. On last months trip in to my hairdresser I passed on the color touch up and went with some heavy highlighting in platinum. It pretty much matches my silver/white natural color. I was really thrilled to see the results. I remarked "Oh! I remember this color!" I have one more heavy highlighting planned along with a shorter pixie cut than I have now and I will be back to the natural me. Your pictures on pinterest and your blog have done wonders for making me feel like I've made the right decision. Up next, some new snappy glasses. And some new snappy fashions.

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