Conventional beauty norms bid women in western society to cover their gray hair, either with dye or a wig, to perpetuate a youthful façade. Dominant cultural standards tell women that gray hair communicates ugliness, poor health, and irrelevance. (1) However, Sara Sophia Eisenman, an author, entrepreneur, and neuroscientist strongly disrupts these standards by sharing images of her beautiful silver tresses and experience of ‘going gray’ via social media.
A New Attitude Towards Gray Hair
Sara Sophia Eisenman brought a powerful new perspective to the quarrel between gray hair and beauty. A 43-year-old resident of Sedona, Arizona, Sara Sophia shares with her 16K followers on Instagram bright, beautiful photos of her enjoying life with gray hair and defying all ageist stereotypes. She neither looks old nor unhealthy, but emits undeniable vitality from under her silver curls.
The discord between societal norms and Sara Sophia’s realized perspective of gray hair deepens when she shares her personal story of becoming gray. Sara Sophia explains on her website that at the age of 21 her hair turned to silver almost completely overnight. Witnessing her mother’s struggle with gray hair, Sara Sophia began to immediately dye her silver roots. Although, dying her hair brought a unique set of struggles upon Sara Sophia. She felt ashamed and found herself continuously covering her hear to avoid others seeing her silver roots or the ring of dye left on her skin after a coloring. Finally, after 15 years of dying her hair, Sara Sophia’s realized there is no true reason to cover her gray hair and positively shifted her perspective. Sara Sophia writes on her website, “I started to see my shiny silver roots as beautiful: an exquisite and profound symbol of the divine feminine, not ugly or shameful at all.” (2)
Acceptance of Grey Hair and Spiritual Wellness?
In the most recent blog post on Sara Sophia’s website, she shared that her appreciation for her natural gray hair has grown to include a spiritual oath. Sarah Sophia writes, “In vowing my hair to the Divine (aka, the highest good) in the Nazarite oath, I have agreed to cleanse/purify my hair of all energetic connections that do NOT serve life beginning with my own.” (5) Outlined in further detail in her new book Splendor, Sara Sophia claims the Nazarite oath improves her hair (length and thickness) and ability to live a true, authentic life. Currently, formal research is limited on this topic area, and we can only hypothesize a link exists.
Gray Hair as an Indicator of Illness
As a normal part of the aging process, the appearance of gray hair is not unforeseen by most people. Yet, in some cases, gray hair can be a sign of an underlying illness or medical condition. Nutritional deficiencies in vitamin B12 or cyanocobalamin, copper, iron, and protein can instate gray hair. (3, 4) Vitamin B12 deficiency is a condition common among vegetarians and people with gastrointestinal disorders. (3) Early-onset graying (less than 20 years) has been linked to hyper- or hypothyroidism, the premature aging syndromes of progeria and pangeria, autoimmune disease, HIV, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, allergic rhinitis, hay fever, and bronchial asthma. Stress, smoking, substance abuse, and specific medications can also accelerate gray hair. (4) Medical assistance should be sought when any of these conditions are of concern.
How gray hair will be perceived by women in the future remains unclear. Hair dye has, and continues to be, a prominent means for women to ‘hide the gray’. Widespread advocacy and outreach, as seen with Sara Sophia via social media has the potential to alter this practice, and change how women perceive their bodies.
