For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction. Heather Warman
In June 2019 I retired from teaching and from covering my gray hair.
The “don’t cover your gray – celebrate it” era had started and as I approached retirement I was excited to join the ‘hair is hair’ movement and see just what my natural hair looked like.
Then the pandemic hit and seeing anyone about doing anything to my hair was not an option so I was able to see exactly what my hair would look like naturally. TikTok was there also to give me a bird’s eye view of the beautiful naturally graying and gray folks all over the world.
However, the reality was not the same as the hype. My gray hair was uneven and blotchy in spots. I felt awkward and self conscious. It was not so much about the gray but the imbalance that left me feeling out of control. As we re-emerged into society after the pandemic I found that many of my gray friends had been playing with spots of color – blues, greens, purples, reds, oranges in lovely designs that were well suited to their souls and absolutely beautiful to look at. They were ‘coloring’ their hair… NOT to hide anything but to celebrate who they were. Imagine!
My new transformation began (and is still a work in progress). Now when I go to the salon we talk about NOT covering the gray but about what colors we want to accent it with this time…. AND I have gotten so bold as to work with products that help me bring out some curls in my thick hair as well.
And oddly enough, this transformation ON my head has helped me transform some of the things going on INSIDE of my head as well.
~Lydia Patrick
