going grey gracefully

My 17 Year Old Son Cut My Hair During Lockdown

Haircut 1.jpg

A special hello to all the new people this week! I’m Catherine, and you’ve likely found me from my book, The 10 Minute Fix. Thanks for joining us as we Love Our Age together! I’ll send a note like this every week on my Sunday morning (Australia) or Saturday evening (America, Canada, UK).

But first: oh, Germany! The floods look terrible…and I hope the rains stop by the weekend.

Our news is that lockdown continues here in Sydney and I got pretty desperate on Thursday. I think hair stylists are considered essential services but I didn’t want to be out there in Covid-ville.

That’s why I asked my 17 year old son to cut my hair. Eeep!

He’s done it before (totally untrained, I might add). It was a teeny bit NERVE-WRACKING but my hair is easy—a simple bob with no layers—and he did a good job.

I may have kept shouting instructions (you know how much teenagers love this, right??? To be told what they already know???).

Oh we had some fun in that bathroom, I can tell you…

I don’t think teenage eyes could roll back any further in their sockets than what I saw during my haircut.

You guys know I’m my natural grey, right? I stopped colouring when I was 49, so I’ve been completely silver since I turned 51. In the photo above, my hair looks dark when wet but it’s more of a light silver. At 88, my beautiful mum is completely Mrs.-Santa-white, so here’s hoping!

I’m not saying you should do what I did—and honestly I love the look of coloured hair—but in case you’re curious, here’s what I also love about being grey:

  1. I like my silver hair. Yes, I do look older than my friends but I don’t mind.

  2. My colour-free hair is so much healthier. (You won’t believe the difference if you stop colouring.)

  3. It’s easy.

  4. I also love the ‘grab bag’ effect: your silver colour might be absolutely beautiful but you just don’t know that about yourself yet!

Here’s the After haircut selfie. Not bad for a 17 year old skateboarder, right?

Haircut 2.jpg

To compensate for my lack of colour, I find that I need a little more make-up and definitely darker eyebrows…but I’m forever grateful for less time in the stylist’s chair. That’s just me!

Hope you’re well in your part of the world. However you decide to do it, let’s love our age together :)

Catherine x

PS.

  • Thinking of you if you have friends or family in Germany. xo Also cannot wait til Covid settles down here in Sydney, and now Melbourne is isn’t great either. I hope you and yours are coping with our extended lockdown.

  • We’re doing puzzles to feel connected to the world. We’re finishing our first map puzzle, and I just ordered Europe and America. Thought it was good for me to brush up on my Geography, plus people are drawn to a puzzle on the coffee table like moths to a flame. It’s a great way to relax, chat and be together. These trays from IKEA (see below) are perfect to sort puzzles. They’re stackable!

  • Here’s an article on How to Learn Geography quickly. Pro tip: big stuff first!

  • Do you like pearl earrings? Smaller similar ones to mine here!

  • New people: I love that you’re here! For fun and inspiration, check out LoveOurAge.com. Older posts you may like: when you can’t sleep and how to take a micro-break anytime.

Ikea tray.jpg