Update

Still haven't got a great shot of how my hair is looking lately but this is close...

Slow Growing

It has been a few months now since I have posted and it's partly due to major hair frustration. It's mainly due to life events happening and time going by too fast!!  I have hit a wall with my hair! It has been growing and I have had a couple of "shape up" trims with the goal still being to have a one length bob. Unfortunately, I am not all that happy with this in between length, how my hair is feeling to me, and I am currently fighting a strong urge to cut it short again and be done with it, especially with this ridiculous heat in middle Tennessee!! I am trying hard to persevere for now though I think my hair is thinner due to some meds I have to be on for Rheumatoid Arthritis and that has me a little doubtful as to how good it will look when the front and sides catch up with the back. I guess I won't ever know until I get there. In the meantime, this photo was taken at my mom's 90th birthday party about 3 weeks ago. It looks like my hair is darker than it really is but it's bad lighting I guess. The style is not my favorite and I had too much hair spray on it that day. But it's the only current picture I could find of me. I will try to post a different (better) one sooner. In the meantime here is what's happening for now.....

Progress

Just a quick post with a couple of recent growth progress photos. I am beginning to enter in to that "in between" phase where my hair is feeling longer but still too short to pull up or put up yet. I feel like it is looking pretty good and when I take time to "fix" it some with products and a blow dryer I get some nice body. The bangs are growing as well just not long enough to make it behind my ears yet but all in good time. I am still pretty much a minority in my community with my natural hair color but that's okay with me too. I always liked being a little different!!

Just a Trim and a Compliment

I know I have been sounding like a broken record on here with the "long takes longer when you cut" mantra but after five months of not cutting (except that little self trim job off the bottom back quite a while ago) I finally got to the point where I just couldn't take it anymore and called my stylist. I learned something...

Yes, long does takes longer when you cut. However, if you don't trim every now and then, the hair splits and breaks and appears not to be growing at all! Wow! What a revelation! I got a nice trim without feeling like I lost any growth progress plus my hair looks much healthier. I also learned that hair grows faster in the summer. Come on summer!

I had a very nice compliment yesterday that made me feel really great. I was leaving my local exercise place after completing a pretty intense 30 minute cardio workout on an arc trainer (trying to work on that "I can't have gray hair and a frumpy body" thing) so I looked pretty ragged and sweaty. This gentleman was leaving ahead of me and kindly held the door for me. As we were walking out he turned to me and said, "I really like your hair." Well, it surprised the heck out of me that he would even comment about my hair much less say he liked it. I thanked him and we got to chatting about the hair thing for a minute. He mentioned that he remembered seeing me in the gym with my colored hair. It turned out that his wife had quit coloring her hair a while back and so I assume that's why he noticed mine and said something to me about it. We had a great conversation about her and her hair experience and how much he likes hers. Anyway, it totally boosted my ego and made my day!

I'm thinking maybe I need to start a little group here in my area like the ones I've read about on the "Going Gray Looking Great" website. There are several around the country. They call themselves "Silver Sisters" and they get together periodically for fun and support. It might be interesting to meet some other women around here who have made the natural hair color choice. I'll keep you posted.

My "Goal" Hair

Since I embarked on this journey of discovering and embracing my natural hair color, I have found that there are many others out there on this same path and that many of them blahg about it as well. One of the blahgs I follow on this topic is called "Loving Gray" and the writer makes a statement on her home page I just love that says, "Excuse me while I obsess over my hair." This blahg of mine started out as a means to chronicle a significant physical change I was making in my life and it has provided a way for me to look back at photos of where I started and how far I have come. This is where I obsess about my hair and I make no apology.

On another note...

I find myself constantly noticing other women my general age who have their natural hair color and have to resist a strong urge to "interview" them. On the occasions that I do have the opportunity to chat with them, I find it interesting to hear their stories about it. Some never started coloring, others stopped after being sick and losing their hair from chemo, and others like myself just got tired of keeping up the ruse. There are so many well known women with natural hair color and I often wonder, "have there always been and I am just now noticing or is it truly becoming more of current trend?" In any event I am always happy to see them and am inspired by them. I am interested in how they choose to wear it...long, short, curly, straight. There are so many ways, some much more becoming than others like any color hair. This is a photo of a person whose hair style is one I very much admire and have set as my "goal" hair.

Her name is (text "borrowed") Susan McGraw Keber, a very talented model, actor, writer of children's books, fashion stylist, top producing real estate executive in the Hampton's . I found her photo on "Loving Gray's" blahg you can find here. I look so forward to reaching that length. In the meantime, I continue on... growing, obsessing, noticing, asking, and periodically posting updates and photos about my progress and other women's grayt looking hairstyles!!

SuzeInBoots

These photos are for Donna at Rock the Silver where a lively debate has ensued over woman tucking their jeans in their boots. It has been an interesting conversation! I have been wearing my jeans tucked in these tallish black boots all winter long. I have also worn them with black leggings. I always wear something that is longer on top than this red sweater but oh well. This is me in my boots with jeans tucked in and I feel all right about it. Of course I'd feel even better if I was about 10 or 15 pounds lighter but hey...I'm working on it. I am seriously happy with the way my hair is growing in. The longer it gets the more silver I see and I still haven't had a cut since September. Hope I can resist the temptation to get one but when I have that urge I just remind myself....long takes longer when you cut!!