‘IT ALLOWED ME TO BE GENUINELY ME’
Cate Preece, 48, from Staffordshire, wanted to be accepted for who she really was. She ditched the dye in November 2017.
In my 30s, my hair was such a huge part of my identity, some people didn’t even know my name. I was simply known as the woman with the red fringe. My hair was dyed dark and my fringe was a vibrant, pillar-box red. It needed touching up every three weeks but I didn’t mind. I let my hair speak first so I didn’t have to.
I met Martyn, now 44, when I was 34 and kept my red fringe for our wedding day. After we’d had Gabrielle, now 12, I felt ready for a change and had the dark colour stripped out, then went fully red all over. I kept this up for years, even though the condition of my hair suffered. I needed to convey something about myself that wasn’t really me. I wanted people to think I was loud and confident, but the truth was I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin. My quiet personality hid behind my loud hair. Then, in January 2016, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and started on a journey of addressing all the toxins in my life.
I stopped buying cosmetics and cleaning products containing nasty chemicals and cut out processed food full of dubious ingredients, but, ironically, I kept dyeing my hair bright red. There I was, trying to be as natural as possible to aid my healing process, but I still justified dyeing my hair. Until, one day, I suddenly felt ready to stop.
I knew I was now grey underneath and felt that allowing my true hair to shine would allow me to be genuinely me for the first time in my life. It wasn’t just about the chemicals in the hair dye, it was about the emotional toxicity I felt by trying to be authentic in all other areas of my life, while still hiding behind an unnatural hair colour. I knew I’d no longer have a bold, immediate impact on people, so they’d have to see me first, not my hair. It felt daunting, but right.
In November 2017, I cut the length off and went for a pixie crop, then a year later, had the last bits of orange tips cut out. I kept it short and grey for a few years, then in October 2019 grew it out. Now, sometimes I style it wavy, sometimes straight, and for a while I’ve had an undercut, which I love. It has helped me learn to be comfortable with who I am and, ironically, my grey hair sparks more conversations than my dyed red hair ever did. But they are different conversations. They are better. Men and women alike comment on how much they love my hair and many tell me they wish they were brave enough to go grey. This leads to real, deep conversations about the pressures we feel in society and the freedom felt when you unburden yourself. Now that I’m not hiding behind loud hair, I connect with people and feel true to myself.
✱ Follow Cate on Instagram @vida._jewellery
‘My grey hair sparks different conversations’