Irena Tammik

“Everything harmonious is beautiful,” explains Irena, an artist and barista. “It doesn’t have to be visual, but a well balanced person is always beautiful. There’s a fine line between being confident and loving yourself and being egocentric or self-centred, but if you have a healthy self-love, it means you are confident and at peace with yourself. That’s beauty to me.” Following a visit to a therapist and a lot of self-reflection, Irena realised she was valuing the opinions of others over her own. A short time later, she took the decision to stop dyeing her hair, something she had done since the age of 18. “It was so liberating. My grey hair is genetic – my mother went grey at 25 and my daughter is 13 and she’s starting to get silver streaks too. The media’s perception of grey hair has to change. Men are seen as silver foxes, but women are portrayed as old. I love knowing I can help others to think differently and embrace their natural beauty, especially my kids. It’s amazing to have the knowledge and the courage to be vulnerable. My daughter loves my grey hair and has told me she’s never going to dye hers. She loves that it makes her different.”