‘I found my first grey hairs at 13 and I’ve been dyeing it ever since’
Arts Council employee Gilly Campbell (46) lives in Belfast with her husband Daniel and their daughter Sally (8). She went grey in her early teens and has covered up all trace of it ever since.
“I was around 13 years old when I started going grey,” she says. “I just remember one day this kind of streak of maybe three or four grey hairs began to grow and got bigger. I started plucking it, and that old adage of if you pluck grey hairs they come back two-fold is true. There were definitely more coming back and they were really coarse.
“I was embarrassed by it but even though back in the teenage years things are usually difficult, in a way being different wasn’t as awkward as it is now. I don’t think any of my friends said anything at the time. And because I started dyeing it straight away, maybe they didn’t notice it.
“I have dyed it ever since. I went blonde in my late 20s because it was easier to hide the grey. God knows how much grey is under there. But when the roots grow back, I’m still seeing some grey and at my temples also. I am always very quick to go to the hairdressers.”
Gilly says she is happy maintaining her blonde hair if it keeps the grey away. “I have friends who are greyer than me and they are really embracing it and I think that’s great,” she says. “And maybe one day I will too, but for now I am happy to be blonde and not go grey.
“My husband is younger than me and he is going grey at the sides and I think on a man, it looks nice. But for me I’m happy keeping it covered up. I like being blonde. When I just come out of the hairdressers my skin looks good, my eyes look bright.
“As I’ve got into my 40s I’ve embraced getting older a bit, so I’m not too bothered about going grey eventually and entering a time of life that is a bit different than my 30s.”