Hair!

 

My sister used to complain that I got the hair and the boobs. She was right on both counts. Even I knew it was unfair.

In my glory days, my hair was dark, thick, and naturally curly. One year after this photo was taken, I discovered my first gray. At 26, a friend guessed my age was 35, and for the next 14 years Miss Clairol and I became the best of friends. As my 40th birthday approached, I made the decision to let my hair go natural and I loved it.

 

2004, salt and pepper, mostly pepper.

For the past several years my hair has become progressively whiter. I went through a time when I colored it again, but began to notice thinning around my natural part. Not cool, not cool at all. In the Fall of 2015, I gave up coloring it for the last time.

2016, salt and pepper, mostly salt.

Last summer (2017) I decided to do a little research on whether or not it would be possible to restore my darker color without, you know, color. I discovered some Ayurvedic herbal remedies that claim to work miracles on hair. Never mind that they are most effective on people under the age of 35, I decided to try them anyway.Turns out, Amla is the key ingredient to helping hair return to its natural (pre-gray) color. Reetha helps, as does triphala and bhringraj. A little time spent on Amazon and you can find all sorts of products with these ingredients in them.

I use all of the above products now (despite an inability to pronounce them), and although my hair has not turned black again …

 

… it feels softer and healthier than it has since the gray started coming in 35 years ago. It seems to be growing faster too. It has definitely thickened up considerably since I began using these herbal remedies, and the bare patches along my part have completely disappeared! That benefit alone has been worth it for me.

Namaste,

~Cindy