To dye or not to dye, that was the question

First off, THANK YOU, readers. I had mentally prepared myself for an onslaught of "Dude, I don't even share that kind of personal information with my HUSBAND. Why should I tell you whether or not I color my hair, much less WHY." So your generosity of personal information and compliments and food-for-thought was like a totally unexpected economic stimulus check ... albeit infinitely more appreciated.

Here was the breakdown of Pros and Cons of covering my gray as per my fabulous readers:

Pros:

It can make you feel happier.
It can actually HELP your hair.
Going to a pro can give you tones that look more natural.
It gives you a perk and a spring to your step.
It's fun to look different at different times.

Cons:

It's not free.
It can result in nasty-looking roots.
It involves bad, bad chemicals.
Stinky, bad chemicals!!
It takes TIME and ENERGY (hard to come by with a herd of small children)
And the dying does not change your hair's coarseness, unfortunately.


So let me remind you that I am KIND OF FREAKING OUT ABOUT THIS SUDDEN BLITZ OF GRAY. Needless to say, those pros really look PRO to me. By the same token, I'm an Earth Mom Wannabe at heart and, as such, it's super hard to make peace with anything that is bad for the environment.

To further help me make my decision, I did some researchin' and found myself a couple of articles. There appears to be some gentler alternatives out there for anyone who wants to play with color without playing with chemicals. And one of the aforementioned articles claims that you can ask your salon about "natural" alternatives. The problem is that hair color isn't government-regulated and, hence, the word NATURAL is up for interpretation here in the U.S.. Which, I think ALSO applies to NATURAL apple juice and NATURAL granola bars and NATURAL chimichangas as well.

i.e. BEWARE OF THE NATURAL.

I've hear that Deepak Chopra has some interesting ideas about going gray. He believes that you can meditate your way to gray-less hair. But I suppose if I'm going to use meditation for purposes outside of inner peace, maybe I should request something a little less... superficial?? Like, maybe, no more allergies? Or... a puppy?

If I wasn't surrounded by friends and co-workers who live naturally and aren't falling for Corporate America's definition of beauty, the one that says you can always be younger, prettier, thinner, happier, maybe then I wouldn't feel this deep-seated need to be validated in my desire to be NOT GRAY. BUT. I am. And I do. and I appreciate knowing that you lovely ladies don't judge me for it.

I'll let you know what I decide. Yes, the Queen of Indecision is still NOT SURE. In the meantime, you can find me on the floor in the lotus position meditating on your answers.