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Saying Goodbye to Hair Dye: Embracing the Gray

A History of My Hair

Bonni Brodnick
Age of Empathy
4 min readAug 23, 2022

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Photo by Cristina Gottardi on Unsplash

It was the time of month when my gray roots began to show. Plus, I had to go to the dentist and could imagine what he would think when he looked down at the top of my head, which was practically in his face.

“This babe really needs to get her roots done.”

But no more! The last time I had my hair dyed was February 2020; lockdown from Coronavirus began in March. Foregoing dye had been something I wanted to do in ten years anyway. While many ran to the hairdresser as soon as they could, I had come this far with growing out my real hair. So I decided to stay gray.

My hair has its own unique history.

Starting in sixth grade, I used lemon juice to get that kissed-by-the-sun look. When Sun-In came to market, I was thrilled. It’s intensity worked faster than lemon juice ever could and you didn’t even have to wait all year for summer.

Fast forward to college: I did henna, an ancient medicinal plant that’s been used as a natural dye for over 4,000 years. The powder is mixed with water and has a “unique” odor. Anyone who came onto the floor in my dorm could tell from the stench that someone was getting their hair henna-d.

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Age of Empathy
Age of Empathy

Published in Age of Empathy

We publish high-quality personal essays, humor essays, and writer interviews. Our goal is to provide a place for experienced writers to share authentic stories and connect with others, collectively celebrating a common passion, striving toward an age of empathy.

Bonni Brodnick
Bonni Brodnick

Written by Bonni Brodnick

Writer. Creative. Thinker. Humorist. Author of "My Stroke in the Fast Lane" + "Pound Ridge Past." A proud Stroke Survivor. Visit me at bonnibrodnick.com

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