Accepting my gray hair was one thing. Going back to school was another

"I did not pack hair dye. But as I looked out over the shiny heads brown, black, blond and red I started wishing I had. I had dyed my hair for so long I had no idea what was underneath I was functionally a brunette. But I stopped coloring during the Covid lockdown. I despised the roots as they muscled their way through. After the ugly misery of growing it out, I expected never to think about it again."

"Gray is a lack of pigment we have been programmed to mistrust, to interpret as slovenly and unfashionable. Major beauty brands bolstered this idea with effective advertising as far back as the 1930s, then a resurgence in the 1950s, selling an at-home way to hide your real looks and discreetly preserve the status derived from youthfulness. Three-quarters of a century later, it's typical for women to use hair dye to disguise age and avoid being stigmatized as old."

"Ageism in the workforce has proliferated since mass media, literacy and technology devalued the accumulated wisdom and skills of elders. Such discrimination against older people is well-documented in recruiting, according to studies and stereotypes about older workers limit their professional opportunities. The effects of this prejudice against the feared future self are insidious. Looking back, I inherently knew this when I went on job interviews or dates and did not want to admit my age to anyone."

A graduate-school entrant returned to New York from California carrying books, clothing and foods from local markets and noticed uncolored gray hair among peers. The entrant had stopped dyeing hair during Covid and struggled with growing out visible roots, feeling self-conscious. Gray hair is framed as a lack of pigment that society interprets as slovenly and unfashionable, reinforced by decades of beauty-industry advertising promoting at-home dye to preserve youthfulness. Many women use hair dye to disguise age and avoid stigma. Ageism in the workforce has increased as media and technology devalue elders' accumulated wisdom, and hiring stereotypes limit older workers' opportunities.

Read at www.theguardian.com