A woman who spent £62K ($76K) dyeing her hair for 25 years has embraced her silver locks and says strangers think she looks so young they mistake her son for her boyfriend.
Kathy Wilson, 50, was “mortified” when she found her first gray hair aged 17 and started dyeing her hair in her 20s to “hide” her sliver roots.
The mom-of-one would go to the hairdressers every two to three weeks – costing her £2,477 ($3,038 USD) a year.
By her 40s, Kathy would find herself touching her roots up every Saturday, as she was “self-conscious” about what people would think of her hair.
Kathy finally embraced her natural look after having a realization in 2021 and following other "silver sisters" online.
She initially found the transition “weird,” but now she feels “empowered” and is her “full self”.
Kathy, who also proudly shows off her growing collection of 17 tattoos, says strangers are always mistaking her son, Zach Davis, 28, for her brother or boyfriend.
Kathy, who works in sales, from Dallas, Texas, said: “People think my son is my brother or that we are dating.
“I don’t feel what 50 should feel like.
“I’m my full self since embracing my gray.
“This is me.
“I’m a rebel.
“The older I get, I think – ‘what does Kathy want that’s not going to hurt anybody’.
“I’m in the best place.”
Kathy found her first gray strand aged 17 and “freaked out.”
She said: “I just started plucking out the grey hairs with tweezers.”
She started dyeing its dark brown in her 20s and spent the next 25 years “covering” her natural graying hair.
Kathy said: “I spent a good $200- 250 dollars every time I got it done.
“I was going every two to three weeks.”
She started box dyeing her hair in her 40s – and eventually had to touch up her roots once a week.
Kathy said: “I always felt I had to hide it.
“Always felt like I was doing it to make sure no one saw it.
“I couldn’t put my hair in a ponytail.
“I was so self-conscious about what people would think of it.”
During Covid, Kathy started following other "silver sisters" online to build up the courage to embrace her own gray locks.
She was also spurred on by the loss of her dad, Jimmie Wilson, 83, in 2020 – who she said had the “most beautiful white hair”.
Kathy said: "I looked in the mirror and it hit me.
“I just thought – ‘why are you doing this?’
“Is it because society tells you to?
“I still had the box dye open and I decided – I’m not doing this anymore.
"My dad was my hero. He taught us to be fearless and that anything was possible. I wish he could see my hair now."
Kathy struggled for the first six months as she grew out her dyed her but now she loves her new look.
She said: “I don’t want to tell women everyone should embrace gray hair but if you dread dyeing it stop.
“When I’m out, people ask – is that your natural hair color? Wow.
“People still say ‘you’re too young for gray hair."
“But I feel so empowered.”
Kathy says her husband, Johnny Horne, 46, who works in the IT industry, is 100% on board with her gray hair and is “supportive.”
The mom also loves getting tattoos and has 30 inks on her arms, stomach and back.
She said: “They were something I kept hidden before too.
“Then I got my sleeve done as I embraced my gray hair.
“People say ‘love their hair but eww on the tatts."
“But it’s not your body – I don’t need anyone’s approval.
“I wish I’d felt this way before but I think I had to go through what I did to get here.”
Kathy says her son Zach is also “supportive” and even has a few gray hairs of his own.
She said: “Zach is also going gray and he’s proud of it.
“It’s weird because we grew up together because I was young when I had him.
“When people think of 50-year-olds, they think these people are letting themselves go.
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