Interesting article on pressure to dye rather than grey

[dropinthebucket]

An interesting article on pressure to dye hair, rather than going gray and increase in sensitivity to PPD.

http://www.newsweek.com/2007/04/02/a-real-head-scratcher.html

[Ravenne]

PPD can be so scary. I got a black henna tattoo at a mall one day, and only after I got home did I start reading up on the stuff (looking for info on real henna, which I thought this was). Thankfully I came out of that with no allergic reactions, but I warn everyone about PPD.

It's sad that a woman with silvering hair may not be able to keep doing a job she loves and is *good* at! The thought that the experienced may be replaced by the incompetent with no one to train them properly just because the experienced have hair with no pigment is... well, just pitiful.

I'm always interested in what modern society thinks about grey hair on women. I've got a white streak on the nape of my neck's hairline that I'm frankly very proud of and show off whenever possible. I only wish it'd come in at my forehead. :p

[HintOfMint]

It is times like these when I am very nervous about my future and the field into which I am going. Law and finance tend to be very conservative fields, and any place where conservative gender roles in a dress code are maintained, naturally there is more pressure placed on a woman's appearance than a man's. I have no intention of letting my boss or coworkers see me with my hair down. I'll admit, I am a s*xy beast with my hair down, I'll just drive the boys to distraction:eyebrows:
However, I do not WANT to have to cover my greys. I take pride in the fact that my hair is completely free from dyes, root to tips. My mother started to grey in her late twenties and early thirties, so that will probably be around the time I grey. That falls just a few years after graduation. Yeah, I'm pretty worried.

[pennylane]

Yes, well... every now and then articles come up... i do not pay any attention, i have been coloring on and off since i was 13 years old and here i am alive and well and with thick healthy hair too.

But then i know that many people are even allergic to the air they breath...

That is not my case.

[FrannyG]

It is an interesting article, but I have been dying for over 20 years, with no sensitivities to it. Also, I don't feel pressured at all to dye. If anything, around here, I feel pressured to go natural.

However, I like having colour around my face and I like looking at the shade of my hair (which is a lot darker than it looks in my siggy).

I figure it's all about personal choice, and what one's body will allow. Naturally, if I were breaking out in a rash, I'd have to change my course. However, I don't see me giving up the dye in my immediate future.

[mellie]

Interesting article, I'm glad that the media is exposing these dangerous PPD dyes.

I don't think anyone would lose their job for going natural, just as long as they keep up a good professional-looking appearance. There are women in Congress and very high positions that have let their hair go natural (Sebelius for one example comes to mind). I think we are our own worst critics. Honestly I don't think supervisors and customers really care if we have natural-colored hair, as long as it looks professional.

[ilovelonghair]

I used to dye my hair and it used to hurt when the dye was on my scalp. It wasn't that bad that I stopped, but I'm glad now I use henna I don't have that anymore.

[KahlanAmnell]

I think there does tend to be pressure to dye hair to look more youthful at work. People tend to equate youth to initiative unfortunately. Most of the ladies I have worked with have dyed their hair, except for my last boss, who had shorter silver hair. (which was lovely)
On the other side, my grandmother had beautiful straight, white hair to her hip, and she felt pressure to cut her hair short. Apparently once you get older people think your hair should be short and curled. LOL I do miss her longer hair, she is the main reason I want to have long, white/silver hair.

[Coffeebug]

Something I never understood about hair dye is this.

They always tell you to do a patch test 24 hours in advance, yet a lot of the kits contain two chemicals that are to be mixed together right before you use it, in a click together dispenser.

You can't get a test amount of the product out without mixing the whole lot so how are you supposed to do a patch test? They never explain that and I don't understand!!

[Caldonia Sun]

I'm one of those that reacted, presumably, to PPD. I dyed my silvers for 13 years without incidence and then it started: itching, redness, sore spots. I continued almost for another year, trying to ignore it, then quit. I have worked in non-profits and have not felt any pressure, but I can imagine that in certain businesses, as HintofMint suggests, there would be.

[drquartz1970]

never had the inclination to ever colour or dye my own hair - it's going gray underneath and on top gradually and hey why is there such a fear of having grey hair? and as well as that can only think of the hassle of regular high maintenance dyeing new regrowth, funnily enough some people have asked if i dye my hair as i do have all these natural highlight streaks which come from exposure to sun and salt air on the coastline which is completely natural and not artificial at all. obviously badly mismatched dyed hair with natural hair colour looks pathetic. grey and long white hair on mature aged people i think is more beautiful and glamous looking and says that here is a content person who isn't insecure about looking older.