The women letting their grey hair show, and the many who don’t but continue dyeing it for fear of being seen as old

Many women are unwilling to show their natural grey hair, preferring to dye it than be stigmatised as being old

Silver Sisters is a group of women who celebrate their grey hair and refuse to embrace ‘a frumpy life’

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Silver Sisters International is a community of women boldly embracing their grey hair, to fight ageism and sexism surrounding silver manes. Photo: Nicole Barton

Published: 7:15pm, 20 Jun 2021Updated: 8:55am, 28 Jun 2021

Many women have struggled with the “should I, shouldn’t I go grey?” question – especially during coronavirus lockdown. Being unable to visit a hairdresser has led (in my case) to disastrous at-home attempts to colour our own hair. Hidden away from the world, you might have thought it would be the perfect time to gracefully grow silver.

And you’d think it should be easier to go natural, especially since grey hair is natural: it turns that colour because, as we get older, the cells in hair follicles that produce pigment gradually die off. It is usually age-related, but genetics play a role, as can stress and illness.

A study by the University of Exeter in the UK suggests women “risk” allowing grey hair to show to feel authentic. The key word is risk. The 2008 study asserted: “Grey hair on a woman produces one of the least desirable personas in Western society – an old woman.”

The study’s lead researcher, Vanessa Cecil (who notes in her email signature that she ‘is stopping colouring; lockdown induced’), said the study was prompted by the awareness that as women get older, they are likely to encounter ageism and sexism based on how they look.

Researcher Vanessa Cecil studied how ‘risky’ it is for women (but not men) to stop dyeing their grey hair. Photo: Vanessa Cecil

That’s the primary reason women use hair dye: to avoid being stigmatised as old or invisible, as study participants underscored. “In the workplace the appearance of youth is the first impression. You have to appear on top of your game,” said Isabel, in her mid-40s. Noelle, 60 admitted: “My former boss treated me differently after I stopped colouring my hair. It’s hard to explain, but it is almost like I lost credibility with him.”