These 50 Women Who Ditched Dyeing Their Hair Look So Good It May Convince You To Do The Same

Back in the day, gray hair used to be associated with wisdom and knowledge. In many places, it still is, for men at least. But our society still seems to have a collective issue with the natural aging process of the female human being, so reaching for the dye as soon as the first silvery sprouts appear is de rigueur for the vast majority of women under the age of 60.

However, the times they are a-changin.' Think of the hours and money spent in the hairdressers' chair, unquestioningly accepting the 'taboo' surrounding something perfectly normal and natural. Why should it be this way? 26-year-old Martha Truslow Smith decided that enough was enough, and founded the Instagram account grombre as a place of support and positivity for those women who choose to embrace their roots.

“The underlying reason I started Grombre was to start a different dialogue around gray hair on women and find the answer to some earnest questions of my own: "Is it true that my gray hair is ugly, makes me look old, and means I'm no longer good enough?,” Martha told Bored Panda. “I’m only in my twenties. If that is true, how will I feel and what will I believe about myself when I’m in my 40s, 50s, 60s?" I want to challenge the way we think about what we consider “beautiful,” and why, and propose that we have more important things to spend our precious time, energy and resources on if we find our hearts aren’t aligning with the things we find to be someone else’s biases.”

Helped along by celebrities like Lady Gaga who promoted the silver/platinum 'trend,' having gray hair is becoming something to be celebrated, rather than hidden, although Martha is a little skeptical about this. “The thing about silver hair dye is that it’s just that; it’s dye,” she told us. “I respectfully don’t understand the comparison between natural silver hair and dyed silver hair: between these two, one challenges the perspective of yourself, your priorities, and your insecurities, all while being a public statement of vulnerability that takes patience to endure, while the other is a chosen color that can change on any given day and may or may not reflect your natural self; the comparison takes two different categories and wraps it up in several neglected conversations. This isn’t said to knock anyone who is dying their hair- if you enjoy it, go for it! If you don’t, then the question I ask is: should you have to?”

These women have all ditched the dye and look simply stunning, and their stories only inspire more to have the courage to do the same, if they so choose. We here at Bored Panda have collected a list of the inspiring ladies from grombre, you can scroll down to meet them yourself. We'll leave you with some wise words of advice from Martha for young women who find themselves going gray: “Don’t fret over others opinions, instead, follow your calling, and you’ll surprise yourself with how strong you are and where your path will lead you.”

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