Hair today, white tomorrow

I let my fake blonde hair grow out before the pandemic created a non-salon coloring crisis.

I was bald after chemo for breast cancer, but I started bleaching it again the minute it grew out.

I’m a brunette who evolved into blonde streaks. They were popular at the time, and gray was definitely out.

“Oh, I thought you were older,” a stranger said after he tapped me on the back when I turned around. I was only in my 40s, so I knew it was time to do something. My hairdresser was already on board.

The blonde worked for a few decades, but by 70 I couldn’t afford the cost or the hours it took for hair dye. So, I consulted a respected Boca Raton philanthropist whose personal style I admired. She said, “go for it.”

My husband always called the blonde streaks ‘clown hair,’ so he was thrilled.

Luckily my real hair came in white all by itself. It took a while for the yellow to grow out, and I had to resist a few colorists’ urging me to use rinses until that happened.

I liked it right away, but I didn’t realize it would become something of a trademark. It’s even on my emoji. People recognized me right away, even wearing a face mask.

My takeaway is that white hair no longer translates into old. Probably for the same reason I let mine go, and later when salons were closed during the height of Covid.

I knew I was trendy when I saw who else was sporting white hair, albeit with black roots on purpose. Thank you Kim Kardashian.

For feedback, email marci@bocaratontribune.com