"I ditched hair dye and embraced my silver skunk stripe at 31 - I love my grey locks"
- 3 months ago
A woman decided to embrace her "silver skunk stripe" at 31 - after ditching the box hair dye to go grey "prematurely".
Blakely Jones, 35, was spending £134-a-year on black box dye until March 2020 - when she decided to embrace her natural look.
She says she left work in February 2020 with long, dark hair - due to the Covid lockdown - and came back six months later with a natural grey "skunk stripe" bob.
But she reckons her drastic new look has opened up conversations about what it means to age gracefully - and Blakely wants women to know it’s OK to go "prematurely grey".
Blakely, a social media manager, from Huntsville, Alabama, US, said: "I feel like a brand new woman - I’m so happy to finally be embracing my greys while I’m still young.
"Whenever I told people I was going grey, I always used to preface it with 'but I can always dye it back if I’m not happy with it.'
"I knew I wouldn’t, but I wanted to ease them into the transition.
"I used to spend hundreds on box dyes, root sprays and salon appointments - they made my hair feel greasy and dirty - and started to give it an orange-ish tint.
"I just stopped doing it after I stopped enjoying it."
Blakely says premature greyness runs in her family, through her dad’s side - and she first noticed changes in her hair during high school aged 14 when she got her first grey hair.
While she wasn't phased by it at first, she began highlighting her hair because her friends were doing the same.
After seeing how “beautiful” her grandma, Laura Jones, 84, looked after she went grey at a young age, Blakely knew she wanted to let it happen to her eventually.
She said: “I always knew I’d embrace my natural hair young - my grandma’s hair was beautiful, so I knew it would happen to me. I just didn’t have a plan.”
At 33, in March 2020, Blakely began to seriously consider ditching the box dye in favour of her natural locks.
She read articles and Facebook posts written by women who stopped going to the salon during Covid - and planned on doing the same.
Using Pinterest photos of grey hair for inspiration, she sent a screenshot to her hairdresser - who said she could achieve the same results, but not to expect them overnight.
“I got an overwhelmingly positive response after asking around on Facebook,” she added.
“So I got on Instagram and Pinterest and searched up ‘silver inspo’ - I saw women of all ages embracing their natural colour.
“I sent a picture to my hairdresser, and she told me she knew I’d ask her for advice about this one day.
“She said she definitely thought my hair could look like the Pinterest pictures, but it’d take a lot of time.”
Blakely started her “transition” by getting a haircut, and letting her grey roots grow out.
Five months later, she returned to her old job as an elementary school teacher with a totally new look.
She said: “I had a white skunk’s stripe at the top of my head for some time.
"I left school in February with long, near-black hair - and showed up in August with a bob and grey roots.
“It was the elephant in the room - I had to talk about it. The neat thing is, my pupils became my biggest support.
“It really shocked them, they didn’t realise young people could have grey hair.
"I spent time helping to shape their views - I told this group of 60 kids they’re always allowed to look a little bit different.”
Blakely said friends, family and strangers have been “overwhelmingly supportive” and they were keen to see the final results.
Two years later, in March 2022, she completed the transition - and had gone totally grey.
She added: “I’ve asked several women who’ve gone through the transition themselves and it seems like two years is about average - but for anyone with thicker or darker hair, it could take a lot longer.
“I was proud of myself for making the best decision for me - I grew so much, not just my hair, but my personality, too.
“Grey hair isn’t just for older people - you can go silver at any age, and while you should always do ‘you’ - I encourage people to embrace it.”
Blakely Jones, 35, was spending £134-a-year on black box dye until March 2020 - when she decided to embrace her natural look.
She says she left work in February 2020 with long, dark hair - due to the Covid lockdown - and came back six months later with a natural grey "skunk stripe" bob.
But she reckons her drastic new look has opened up conversations about what it means to age gracefully - and Blakely wants women to know it’s OK to go "prematurely grey".
Blakely, a social media manager, from Huntsville, Alabama, US, said: "I feel like a brand new woman - I’m so happy to finally be embracing my greys while I’m still young.
"Whenever I told people I was going grey, I always used to preface it with 'but I can always dye it back if I’m not happy with it.'
"I knew I wouldn’t, but I wanted to ease them into the transition.
"I used to spend hundreds on box dyes, root sprays and salon appointments - they made my hair feel greasy and dirty - and started to give it an orange-ish tint.
"I just stopped doing it after I stopped enjoying it."
Blakely says premature greyness runs in her family, through her dad’s side - and she first noticed changes in her hair during high school aged 14 when she got her first grey hair.
While she wasn't phased by it at first, she began highlighting her hair because her friends were doing the same.
After seeing how “beautiful” her grandma, Laura Jones, 84, looked after she went grey at a young age, Blakely knew she wanted to let it happen to her eventually.
She said: “I always knew I’d embrace my natural hair young - my grandma’s hair was beautiful, so I knew it would happen to me. I just didn’t have a plan.”
At 33, in March 2020, Blakely began to seriously consider ditching the box dye in favour of her natural locks.
She read articles and Facebook posts written by women who stopped going to the salon during Covid - and planned on doing the same.
Using Pinterest photos of grey hair for inspiration, she sent a screenshot to her hairdresser - who said she could achieve the same results, but not to expect them overnight.
“I got an overwhelmingly positive response after asking around on Facebook,” she added.
“So I got on Instagram and Pinterest and searched up ‘silver inspo’ - I saw women of all ages embracing their natural colour.
“I sent a picture to my hairdresser, and she told me she knew I’d ask her for advice about this one day.
“She said she definitely thought my hair could look like the Pinterest pictures, but it’d take a lot of time.”
Blakely started her “transition” by getting a haircut, and letting her grey roots grow out.
Five months later, she returned to her old job as an elementary school teacher with a totally new look.
She said: “I had a white skunk’s stripe at the top of my head for some time.
"I left school in February with long, near-black hair - and showed up in August with a bob and grey roots.
“It was the elephant in the room - I had to talk about it. The neat thing is, my pupils became my biggest support.
“It really shocked them, they didn’t realise young people could have grey hair.
"I spent time helping to shape their views - I told this group of 60 kids they’re always allowed to look a little bit different.”
Blakely said friends, family and strangers have been “overwhelmingly supportive” and they were keen to see the final results.
Two years later, in March 2022, she completed the transition - and had gone totally grey.
She added: “I’ve asked several women who’ve gone through the transition themselves and it seems like two years is about average - but for anyone with thicker or darker hair, it could take a lot longer.
“I was proud of myself for making the best decision for me - I grew so much, not just my hair, but my personality, too.
“Grey hair isn’t just for older people - you can go silver at any age, and while you should always do ‘you’ - I encourage people to embrace it.”