<p>The algorithms give me exactly what I’m looking for in my social media feed, but not my beautician. A few weeks ago, after a customary trim, she prodded me to colour my greying locks. I know she means well. She is just brutally honest. Part of her beauty agenda is wanting to see women colourful—shades of grey and silver are just not part of her aesthetics. Beauty comes with pain, as we are programmed to believe. For me, the decision to let my hair just be is due to health concerns and reactions I may have to amines and other chemicals.</p>.<p>While searching for inspiration online, the smart algorithms churned up a whole lot of content about what my other grey-haired companions were up to—vlogs about women who chose to ditch the colour and reveal their greys, some with trepidation, some with glee, documenting their grow outs diligently. Making friends with the new person in the mirror after the grow-out doesn’t seem to be easy, especially if you’ve been colouring for years. Some find their greys just unflattering and dull. My favourite, possibly unintentional, grey grow-out moment, though, would have to be Sunita Williams in space smiling with her hair flying Einstein-like, a “solid head of hair” Donald Trump is in awe of.</p>.<p>I’ve noticed that doctors seem to be able to carry off their greys with elan, which makes me wonder if greying gracefully has more to do with a personality or profession that gives one an innate feeling of worthiness. <br>The shades of grey and even white I’ve seen them flaunt with pride just add to their eminence, giving them an aura of great expertise.</p>.<p>Yet, we are a growing economy, and hair colour is projected to be a billion-dollar industry in India over the next few years. However, many studies have shed light on the potentially dangerous health and environmental damages from hair colour and dye constituents—aromatic amines, such as p-phenylenediamine (PPD). Add to it the lax regulatory controls in Asia, <br>impacting water bodies and marine life. Beauty is perhaps a bigger pain for the environment. </p>.<p>It can also be a pain for people who don’t grey as expected, with age, like my brother. He would be embarrassed each time colleagues asked him about the hair colour he used, subsequently marvelling at his thick, naturally black hair. Much to his relief, he has started greying, with a few strands of silver-grey showing up now. I often joke to him that it’s because he doesn’t work really long hours and doesn’t have enough job stress that he’s escaping the brutality of age, though seriously it’s probably just in the genes.</p>
<p>The algorithms give me exactly what I’m looking for in my social media feed, but not my beautician. A few weeks ago, after a customary trim, she prodded me to colour my greying locks. I know she means well. She is just brutally honest. Part of her beauty agenda is wanting to see women colourful—shades of grey and silver are just not part of her aesthetics. Beauty comes with pain, as we are programmed to believe. For me, the decision to let my hair just be is due to health concerns and reactions I may have to amines and other chemicals.</p>.<p>While searching for inspiration online, the smart algorithms churned up a whole lot of content about what my other grey-haired companions were up to—vlogs about women who chose to ditch the colour and reveal their greys, some with trepidation, some with glee, documenting their grow outs diligently. Making friends with the new person in the mirror after the grow-out doesn’t seem to be easy, especially if you’ve been colouring for years. Some find their greys just unflattering and dull. My favourite, possibly unintentional, grey grow-out moment, though, would have to be Sunita Williams in space smiling with her hair flying Einstein-like, a “solid head of hair” Donald Trump is in awe of.</p>.<p>I’ve noticed that doctors seem to be able to carry off their greys with elan, which makes me wonder if greying gracefully has more to do with a personality or profession that gives one an innate feeling of worthiness. <br>The shades of grey and even white I’ve seen them flaunt with pride just add to their eminence, giving them an aura of great expertise.</p>.<p>Yet, we are a growing economy, and hair colour is projected to be a billion-dollar industry in India over the next few years. However, many studies have shed light on the potentially dangerous health and environmental damages from hair colour and dye constituents—aromatic amines, such as p-phenylenediamine (PPD). Add to it the lax regulatory controls in Asia, <br>impacting water bodies and marine life. Beauty is perhaps a bigger pain for the environment. </p>.<p>It can also be a pain for people who don’t grey as expected, with age, like my brother. He would be embarrassed each time colleagues asked him about the hair colour he used, subsequently marvelling at his thick, naturally black hair. Much to his relief, he has started greying, with a few strands of silver-grey showing up now. I often joke to him that it’s because he doesn’t work really long hours and doesn’t have enough job stress that he’s escaping the brutality of age, though seriously it’s probably just in the genes.</p>
