No, it’s not a mug shot. My hair stylist took this picture after my cut and style yesterday. The last traces of hair color are now gone, and what’s left is 100% me—my natural hair.
In February I wrote about why I stopped coloring my hair. You can read the details here. In short, it’s part of the process of learning to love myself the way I am, and not buy into definitions of beauty set by those whose main objective is to sell their products.
I also watched “The Story of Cosmetics” by the Story of Stuff Project, which opened my eyes to the number of potentially toxic chemicals I was applying to my body every day. I decided to eliminate as many chemicals as I could, by minimizing the number of “beauty” products I use. Most salon hair dyes contain hundreds of chemicals, some of them known carcinogens and neurotoxins.
Tracie has been my stylist for 11 years. It was she who convinced me to stop shampooing every day, and to embrace my natural curls rather than fight them. She’s also used to my hair-related whims. For example, I’ve been known to go from shoulder-length waves to Halle Berry short in one fell swoop. So, when I first told her I wanted to stop coloring my hair, she probably thought it was another phase, but I plan to stick with it.
It’s now been six months since my decision to go dye-free. To be honest, it doesn’t look that different. The color Tracie used was a semi-permanent, very close to my natural color, with a few reddish-gold highlights. Most of my friends haven’t even noticed.
For me, though, it’s a small victory. When I look in the mirror, instead of seeing “ugly” gray that must be covered, I see me. It’s been nice getting to know the real, natural me again.
I also see a bit of my brother. We are going gray in the same places, and noticing that in my reflection helps me feel a bit closer to him, since we live in different cities and don’t see each other often.
On top of the emotional benefits, there is an additional, financial benefit to not coloring my hair. A color and highlight used to cost me $75, on top of the $45 hair cut. I’m saving around $300 a year, just by learning to embrace my natural color.
Some people have asked why I don’t switch to henna or another, non-toxic hair color. The truth is I’m tired of the hassle and upkeep, and frankly, I have better things to do with my time than spend more time fussing with my hair. I like my new natural look.
You can see more pictures of my dye-free hair on Flickr. Next on my list of beauty products to eliminate: nail polish.
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Looks great, Chica! You’ve got great hair. I too have gone to the shampoo every other day thang – it’s absolutely helped me hang on to some of the natural oils and prevent drying. I’ve also toyed with the “natural” look myself but find the blonde in me hard to resist! Maybe some day!
Great story, once again (:
Grey is a color too – and one of my favorites. I’ve got a lot of the salt and pepper going on and just wish I’d turn white all over. No amount of money can get my hair to that color. Maybe I should look into one of those Dolly Parton wigs
You look great Cheryl. And if you’re having an off day, well that’s why God made cool hats and scarves!
You are beautiful and getting better every day. So confident. I do worry about the perms and coloring …as far as the cancer causing elements. I have known so many women who have died of brain cancers and I always wonder ….they had all colored and permed their hair their whole lives. I love the way your articles bring attention to these issues. Good job!
Thanks, Mom. You’re the one who taught me not to follow the crowd.
Cheryl, you are so cute. You look great. Your second cousin, Sandy You look a lot like your beautiful Mom.
Thanks, Sandy. And thanks for reading.
“The truth is I’m tired of the hassle and upkeep, and frankly, I have better things to do with my time than spend more time fussing with my hair.”
Aaaaaabsolutely. Your hair looks great to me!
Have you read the book “No More Dirty Looks”? They have a blog, too, nomoredirtylooks.com. Lots of good information about toxic or unsafe cosmetic ingredients, but a lot of their product recommendations are mighty expensive, and their “girlfriendly” tone gets to me. They DO recommend some non-toxic nail polishes/removers, but if you’re trying to save time/mental energy on nail care, that won’t do you much good.
Thanks, Rebekah. I haven’t read that book or blog, I will definitely check it out. I do like to paint my toenails from time to time, so nontoxic polishes and removers would be great!
I was truly inspired by this post. I have been coloring, perming, straightening, messing around with my hair since I was 12. Many years later, I now have 3 daughters. One has brown wavy hair, one has straight blonde hair, and the last has blonde ringlets. When my first daughter was 5, she wanted to go to the salon and have her hair straightened. I asked her why, and she said “all the pretty girls have straight hair.” As I was trying to figure out the best way of handling this, I came across your post about going natural. I knew that this was what I needed to do. At my next appointment I told my hairdresser what my plan was and why. She totally agreed. It has been about 6 months now. My gray hair shows more and more each day. My daughters have not asked to straighten or color their hair since. Thank you for helping me teach my daughters to love themselves and not an idealized version of what they should look like.
Wonderful that you’re embracing your own identity verses one for others. I stopped messing with my hair 1 yr ago & it’s the best thing I ever did. I recall looking in awe at my natural brown/grey hair…..nice to finally see oneself.
Cudos to you.
I like your short pixie cut on the side of the screen. It’s super cute!
Thanks, JoAnn. I love wearing my hair short. I’ll probably go even shorter for the summer.