Greyed Expectations

This weekend saw me scheduled for my routine visit to the salon, a Saturday session that has suddenly gained increasing frequency and, as a result, has become more of a surgery than a sanctuary.

Greeted by a ‘Back so soon?’ surprise from my colorist, I am reminded of the quite literal root cause of my rapidly recurring rendez-vous. Coffee before coiffeur, served with a mix of magazines, I am soon adequately attired in my colour cape and placed face to face with the mirror-reality that shows how I have, practically overnight, generated the groundings of the perfect Cruella Deville DNA. Ahead of harnessing a century plus one of doting dalmations at my ankles, I quickly scan the seasonal samples of henna hues that are needed to de-stress my tress-stress and I wonder... what is it that allows men to be so free of the folly of fading follicles but women to be committed to colouring in order to escape going grey disgracefully?

Clooney, Gere, Pitt…one by one the poster-perfect princes of our past-passions build prowess with their prime and mature to even higher finery, like a vintage wine. Admittedly for some of our men, this vintage victory can often be a little too full bodied to the point of pot-bellied. Indeed some even aim to mystify a receding hairline by hailing it as the balding beginnings of a venture with virility, however isn't it interesting how quickly they re-brand themselves in the packaging of a mid-life crisis sports car as the process to the polished head progresses?

Nevertheless, as our men grasp their grey with grace, I wonder how it is that they have managed to master the mystery of their man-years through a miracle that women can never manifest?

The converse, indeed controversy,  for women is that the colour palette of au natural paints only a picture of feel-good fatality as opposed to one of femme-fatale. For the self-preserving female the question remains ...is an acceptance of ‘distinguished’ enough for the collar and cuffs? Or, as we denounce the signs of demise of our sexterior design, I wonder ...is it really that important if the carpets and curtains are not a perfect match?

So, as I check out my change to chestnut and confirm my salon return for another 4 weeks, I wonder ….when faced with the fearful find of the fading follicle should we really give in to the gratuity of maturity and go grey gracefully or, when the choice of colour co-ordination becomes permanently bleached, is colour revival the real root cause of our survival?

 ‘Til next time, Pandora