Beauty: Color, or embrace, a few stray gray hairs?

I was 14 when I discovered my first grey hair. You heard that correctly, 14. To emphasize my youthful age, I was on the bus to summer camp when my best friend leaned over and plucked the fateful hair out of my head, stating loud enough for the entire bus to hear, “Is this a grey hair?!?” Kids can be cruel.

I’d been well aware of this hair long before my friend called me out. But I had just read a tween fantasy novel where the protagonist had silver hairs that she would pluck to grant wishes, and truthfully, that’s what I thought it was. It’s almost more embarrassing to tell you that I believed in magical silver hairs than the fact that I started greying at 14.

Nowadays, I strategically pluck any sign of silver in my mane, an effort aided by the fact that they show up drastically against my dark hair, but I know that there will come a time when the grey will become overwhelming. I will be forced to make the decision: to dye or not to dye.

Recently I have been inspired by Vogue fashion feature writer Sarah Harris, who at 31, rocks a head of silky silver locks unapologetically. Her long, shiny look contains multiple dimensions of the grey hue, making her color less granny-white and more ashen-silver.

But what about those of us that don’t make a living in high fashion; who live in a world where grey is still grey, not silver or platinum? While I wish that I could rock a long head of grey like Harris, I know that in today’s society, I would just be aging myself 10 to 20 years, not starting an Avant-garde beauty trend.

Thankfully there are options available for that fateful day when plucking isn’t good enough to get rid of my grey problem. L’Oréal Paris Superior Preference Fade-Defying Color and Shine System ($8.97) boasts an application process that is easy to use and non-messy, and is accompanied by a shine-boosting conditioner. A new innovation in the at-home hair color family is Garnier Nutrisse Nourishing Color Foam ($8.49), which replaces a liquid formula with a foaming pump dispenser. With avocado oil, olive oil and shea butter used as conditioning agents, this foam might be my first endeavor into the do-it-yourself hair color.

For men who are not quite ready to embrace the title of silver fox, there are options out there, as well, to help cover the grey. Clairol Natural Instincts for Men ($8.99) is a non-permanent solution to hair coloring that lasts up to six weeks. Its non-ammonia smelling formula provides natural covering that won’t shriek “Dye Job!” like other coloring systems.

Companies have even thought of options to address the greys “down there.” Subtly named Below the Belt hair-coloring product ($14.99), it’s water based to insure the most comfort to your special area and comes with detail instructions to prevent any unfortunate mishaps. Created by L.A.-based (where else would they think of something like this?) inventor Shawn Porter, Below the Belt is available for purchase at www.belowthebeltcolor.com.

So until the day where my greys will be accepted by society, I am thankful for the multiple at-home hair coloring solutions that will be available when I begin my DIY dying. Secretly though, I am still waiting for them to become those magical wish-granting hairs of my youth. A girl can dream, right?