Covid Coiffure

My hair in mid-April and mid-May

Are you keeping a Covid diary?  I tried writing down what I accomplished every day, but the repetition of “sew masks, walk, read mystery book” became boring fast.  For me, the real document of this pandemic is my hair.

After decades of hair dye, I am finally beginning to see the natural color of my hair.  I’m cutting it myself, with the help of my husband.  As a seamstress, I’m not afraid of scissors and my curly hair is quite forgiving.  And I have an easy goal—cut off the red.  Maybe once the red is gone it will be a bigger challenge.

In the photo on the left from mid-April there is still quite a lot of red, with the gray visible at the roots.  In the photo on the right, taken May 19, red is still visible at many of the tips, but gray is taking over.  Most surprising to me is that there is a lot of brown still there near my neck. Like most people of my age, my hair isn’t yet gray all over. 

Every morning I have a surprise when I look in the mirror.  I think of myself as a red head—a decades- long delusion–and am stunned to see that it isn’t true anymore. Will I still look good in my red-head wardrobe when all of this is over? Will I immediately dye my hair again once salons are open?  Stay tuned.

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5 Responses to Covid Coiffure

  1. Marianne says:

    I totally remember you as blonde. Well, dirty dishwater blonde, as we used to call it, but still, blonde. Odd to think that I’ve never known you as a redhead.
    xxoo

  2. Lizzie says:

    I am keeping a journal, but then, I always keep one.

    I starting dying (bleaching, actually) my hair 25 years ago when my natural medium brown started looking grayish. The highlights worked for a while, but then I started having more gray than brown, so my colorist went with adding streaks of brown. Finally we went with an all over brown. I’m not sure what triggered my rebellion against dye, but when I did about five years ago, I found my hair to be almost completely white. I’m really glad I stopped dying it, but the kids next door are trying to get me to try blue or purple.

    Salons open here in NC this Saturday, but I’m going to let people more desperate than me go first. My hair is the longest it has been since I returned 15 years ago!

    My guess is that you’ll return to the red!

  3. Angela says:

    My hair does the same – still brown at the neck but quite gray and silver everywhere else. My mom’s did the same, I didn’t realize how common that pattern of graying really is, which seems rather unfair. Turn gray at the temple first, then move back along the head. I had gray hairs (and not a few) in my 20’s.

  4. Susan says:

    Do expect a few wardrobe changes when you stop being red or auburn haired. But some colors that didn’t use to work may look great when you’re gray or white. (Purple? I can wear purple now? But do I want to? Well, something has to replace my old standby, olive green….)
    I love my white in the front, gray in the back hair, but I really wasn’t prepared for white eyelashes! There’s no subtle way to apply mascara to the lower ashes, and, when you get a white eyelash in your eye, it’s hard to find! On the other hand, dark stubble in the armpits is no longer a problem! Too bad I gave up going sleeveless a couple of decades ago….

  5. Katrina B says:

    Wow, your hair grows fast! I’m so thankful I decided to grow out my golden blonde color a couple years ago, so I’m not having anxiety over the current inaccessibility of hair professionals. My hair is usually below shoulder length, so it was an 18-month long ordeal, but it was a relief when it was done. Now I just don’t know what to call my actual hair color. Bright white in front with cool dark brown and a sprinkling of gray in the back. I’ve given up trying to come up with wardrobe options that match or coordinate with any of my hair, and I’m just wearing what I like.

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