North Bay Woman

14 NORTH BAY WOMAN | S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 GOING GRAY Bonita Clifton Senior loan agent, All California Mortgage cliftonhomeloans.com.bonita@allcalifornina.com What advice would you give a friend contemplating going gray? Just do it… Whether it is transitional coloring; going lighter and lighter and exposing more gray – or – just shaving your head and cutting off all the old color, which I did. It's hair. It will always grow back and you can always color it again if you do not like it. But, you will never know without trying. Anything else you'd like to say about "going gray gracefully?" Age is not the color of your hair, it is the wisdom and bravery to express yourself and be authentic, without concern of what others think. Brooke Gelber Second-grade teacher What does your spouse/child think about your hair? I decided to grow it out about a year and a half ago. It was not easy growing it out. Friends and family advised me against it and I looked pretty awful through the transition but now I'm so glad I did it! My hair feels much softer and I love the color. I'm not sure it's flattering but I don't care. I feel free! (and no one's called me Grandma yet!) Pete, my partner, didn't want me to go gray, but he's commented recently that he actually likes it and I like the message I'm sending to my 11-year-old daughter. Crissi Langwell Local author and online content producer crissilangwell.com.crissi@crissilangwell.com At what age did you begin to go gray, and how did you feel about it? I found my first gray hair at 19! It was also the same week I found out I was pregnant with my oldest daughter. I absolutely believe the two are related. What made you decide to go gray? I decided to just stop dying my hair, mostly out of curiosity to see what it looked like. At first, it was shocking to see how much gray I had. Then it was awkward, as I went cold turkey and the stripe of natural vs. dyed hair was a sharp contrast. Eventu- What our models say about their natural tresses: 'unconventional,' 'freeing,' 'love,' 'beautiful' Bonita Clifton, Colleen Jordan, Crissi Langwell and Brooke Gelber, (from left), at StyleBar in Greenbrae – All photos by Stuart Lirette

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