Be Yourself: It's OK to Be Gray

For the first time in 42 years, I'm fashionable.

Why? Because gray, apparently, is the new black -- and I'm loaded with it.

Gray hair inspires varied reactions, especially among those of us who have spotted at least one growing on our own heads. Some of us color it; others shave it off. Me? I conceded the fight early. Actually, I never entered the ring.

I don't remember the first time I noticed a pale hair, but it was before my 30th birthday. They've multiplied many, many times since that point.

All I ever had to do was look through the family photo albums to realize my fate: The men have little hair, but what's left is gray. The women have lots of hair, most of it gray. My husband may claim responsibility for causing this condition, but it was wired into my DNA from the get-go.

There's an entire industry built on our desire to cover up any sign of gray. I never knew there were so many types of hair coloring until wandering down that particular aisle to find temporary color for my kid's Halloween costume. You never have to lose your original hair color, thanks to these products. You can even change your color completely. What a country!

I couldn't care less if people color their hair. When it's done correctly, it looks gorgeous. My explanation for not going that route boils down to two things:

One, I'm OK with gray.

Two, I don't need another thing to maintain. Family, work, house and pets require more of a to-do list than my brain can organize. If I added another hair appointment to the list -- because there's no way I'd attempt such a feat on my own -- we could be looking at a system shutdown.

Therefore, gray it is. This does mean occasionally dealing with some interesting comments. I saw a high school classmate not long ago and got this response: "Wow, you got gray! Really gray! Gee, what happened?"

Then there was the day I walked into a store with my newborn daughter and listened to a greeter tell me what a "beautiful granddaughter" I had. That was weird until I remembered a significant number of Puebloans younger than I am are grandparents. Yikes.

The only response that's ever puzzled me is surprise. Some people truly are shocked that anyone with gray hair would leave it alone. All I can say is most of the time it's easier just being who you are.

Maybe the fashion world is coming around to that fact. Now we've got runway models dyeing their hair gray for shows and men using products that remove some, but not all, gray -- so they can keep that supposed distinguished look. (Guess there's no getting rid of that double standard.)

Or maybe we have Betty White to thank. This 88-year-old woman gave "Saturday Night Live" its best ratings in more than a year and has become the nation's favorite grandma. She's the coolest person on the planet right now -- and her hair is winter white.

So wear that gray with pride, people. If it's good enough for Betty, it should be good enough for all of us.

View Photos of Betty White's Career