Some of you may remember back in 2015, when I met chic, savvy Candace Walters, owner of
When I interviewed Candace in 2015, she had beautiful shoulder-length, auburn hair. Now,
I couldn’t resist contacting her to ask about her journey. Here is the letter she sent me.
Hi Sharon,
I had been thinking of going gray for at least a couple of years before I decided it was time to take action. When the gray hair started coming, I tried to cover up all my red hair with my hands, except for the roots, so I could get an idea of what shade of gray it would be. I was in luck. It looked to be a beautiful silvery white.
At one point, I thought about getting a white wig to see if going gray was actually something that I was going to be able to handle. It helped quite a bit to see several of my customers who had done the DEED. On all of them, the gray looked very pretty.
I told my hairdresser that we should go ahead. But, when I began to get cold feet, she said, “The worst thing that can happen is you won’t like it. In that case, we can just color your hair back to red.”
I said, “DAH! I should have thought of that.”
My mother always said that I would know when to stop coloring my hair. She said, “Your skin color will no longer go with the hair color you have been using.” She was absolutely correct!
My stylist started by putting silvery highlights into my red hair. I didn’t care for that look. So, I said, “Cut my hair very short and do what needs to be done to go white.” I was in that chair for some time while she removed the red color. But, it was so worth it!
The next day at work every time I looked in the mirror I was blown away. And my customers didn’t recognize me. They walked right past me in the store! When I would say hello, they were so surprised. They all said, “Wow you look so much younger!”
Now, they tell me I am giving them the confidence to go for it.
Since I’ve changed hair color, I have really had fun with clothes. Now wear an entirely different color palette. I always loved cool colors, but I could never wear them with my auburn hair. Now they are perfect for me! My redhead, earthy wardrobe no longer works. I do miss them. But not enough to change back–that’s for sure!
My confidence level is so great. I have joined a modeling agency for mature women. They have a program called the Silver Division. It has been a wonderful adventure for me. I have truly enjoyed it!
By the way gals, my husband loves it!!
You can find Candace’s Victorian Cowgirl clothing at her website: www.Victoriancowgirl.com.
And follow her on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/victoriancowgirls/
Thank you, Candace, for sharing your story with us. You are a stylish inspiration, no matter the color your hair!
I love these boots!
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8 Comments
Sharon, so happy you posted this blog. I did the DEED 4 years ago when I turned 60 and have not regretted going gray. I was so tired of coloring my hair. I must admit going gray took some getting used to and I just cringed every time I looked in the mirror for the first two weeks. Now I LOVE it.
Lita,
Thank you for your lovely note. I don’t think it is the color of the crown that matters as much as the WOMAN wearing it!
Love her story. She looks fabulous!. I’m still coloring because when I look at my sister that had hair color close to mine, it is gray not silver. My other sister has beautiful silver hair. I’m afraid my hair will be a “beige-brown” gray. So I’ll wait a little longer for mine to turn silver before I stop adding the gold.
Janet,
Everyone has to take their own journey through the aging process. The important thing is to be “happy” wherever you are in your singular journey.
I love my natural color of white/grey. I was so tired of coloring every six weeks and sometimes it was too dark as I wasn’t any good at just covering my roots. I’ll never go back to coloring.
Cindy,
The theme of this week’s blog is choices. Of which we all have many. The depth of our beauty does not lie in the color of our hair, but in our quintessential diversity.
Hi Sharon, what a coincidence you wrote about going grey. I sat down to read your blog while I was waiting the 25 minutes after I put color on my hair! haha I’ve been coloring my roots, and most of the rest of the hair, since I was 25 and you know that I’m almost 80!! Of course, the funny part about me coloring my hair, pretty close to my natural black, I wear a wig when I’m leaving the house!!!! And my wig is a combination of red and brown, after many years wearing a black wig! I knew I was suppose to wear a lighter color when I got old, but I really had trouble doing that!!
I still don’t recognize myself when I look in the mirror and I’ve been wearing this color for about 10 years!! I have lots of natural hair everywhere but the crown of my head. I use to get perms and then spend 30 minutes trying to cover my head!!! And I was sick of doing that! I had worn “falls” in the 70’s and so I was quite comfortable wearing wigs this time. Bottom line…I will never go grey!!! I will continue dying my hair dark brown, and wearing my lighter color wings! Now, when I’m on the beach in Maui every year, I wear my own hair! 🙂
Hilde,
I love that you “know yourself” well enough to recognize what makes you feel most comfortable. Votre Chois (your choice) is always the best choice. I know lots of women who would never consider going completely gray. It’s not really about styling your hair, it’s about styling WHO YOU ARE.
Thanks for writing!