Age is just a number. Right?

[litterbug]

I was someone who never expected to care about age, or be bothered by it.

I feel ya', TeleChica. Around 45 I realized that I'd never be 25 again and that there were things I simply would not be able to do because of slower recovery and taking longer to build strength and endurance, but after a short period of grieving I decided I'd earned my incipient wrinkles and white hairs mixed in with my light brown, and smugly thought I'd come to peace with it.

Silly me. How could I imagine having chronic health conditions and how grey and obviously post-menopausal I'd become and, as you said, how differently I'm treated, no matter how chipper or energetic I feel. Heck, sometimes I put actual lip color on and enjoy how many more people look me in the eye and smile. And I may have earned my grey hair, but although I might like it better if it ever turns white, I've started thinking about putting some kind of color in there--just enough to take away that dour grey look.

Which is why I love skiing. Blinded by high winds and windblown snow late this afternoon, I felt completely liberated from my chattering mind and as free as I ever have, marveling at my skis cutting through velvet, flitting and flying around and finding that everywhere I went felt and looked and was beautiful.

Maybe I should stop being such a fuddy duddy and dye my hair. Maybe I should do it myself, the heck with paying $80 to have special wonderful Aveda products carefully applied to my hair!

 

[sibhusky]

Multiply it by how often you'll need to do it so you don't have white roots. Compare to the price of skis.

 

[Serafina]

Maybe I should stop being such a fuddy duddy and dye my hair. Maybe I should do it myself, the heck with paying $80 to have special wonderful Aveda products carefully applied to my hair!

Pay the $80. You'll be so much happier with the result. If you get the professional stylist to do it, you don't have to do it as often. I get mine done probably 3 times a year, because the stylist puts in a combination of highlights and lowlights that do a magnificent job of blurring the line between "colored" and "au naturel". If I've gone light, my roots can be 2" before I realized that I MUST do something about this. If I want dark hair, I need to go 4 times a year instead of 3.

I do both. Ski AND cover that grey. I started going grey in my 30s, and started coloring my hair immediately. At first it was important to me that it look "natural". Now, I don't give a flip that people know I color my hair. But I bloody well don't want all that grey hanging about my face and making me look even more tired and old than I already do. Some people can go grey young and look absolutely dynamite. I'm not one of them, sadly. And at a certain point, skin changes make grey look better than darker colors do, but I'm not there yet either. When my skin catches up with my hair, I'll stop coloring it. Maybe. I've found I kind of like changing my hair color up a few times a year.

 

[SkiBam]

My hair is totally white. When we were in Vail last year, I quite enjoyed the fact that whenever we piled into the shuttle bus to get back to our condo, all I had to do was whip my helmet off and I was immediately offered a seat! I used to be kind of offended by being offered a seat on the metro or bus (surely I'm not THAT old), but I've got over that stage and now accept gracefully.

 

[mustski]

Pay the $80. You'll be so much happier with the result. If you get the professional stylist to do it, you don't have to do it as often. I get mine done probably 3 times a year, because the stylist puts in a combination of highlights and lowlights that do a magnificent job of blurring the line between "colored" and "au naturel". If I've gone light, my roots can be 2" before I realized that I MUST do something about this. If I want dark hair, I need to go 4 times a year instead of 3.
.

I have been completely grey since my mid-30's. I have to touch up my roots every 5 weeks because I dye it dark. I also discovered the hard way, the professional products are much milder on your hair. My hair started falling out from harsh hair colors. I actually had bald spots and had to chop my hair super short and wear wigs for about 6 months.

 

[VickiK]

My hair is totally white. When we were in Vail last year, I quite enjoyed the fact that whenever we piled into the shuttle bus to get back to our condo, all I had to do was whip my helmet off and I was immediately offered a seat!

Work it, baby!
My mom's caregiver dyes my hair for me, for the last year or so. Before I used to get it done at a salon. I'd go back to my hairdresser for highlights though. I've toyed with the idea of going REALLY blond. I'd keep my dark brows. Maybe I need to try that dark-root look. My beau would flip.

 

[sibhusky]

My hair is totally white. When we were in Vail last year, I quite enjoyed the fact that whenever we piled into the shuttle bus to get back to our condo, all I had to do was whip my helmet off and I was immediately offered a seat! I used to be kind of offended by being offered a seat on the metro or bus (surely I'm not THAT old), but I've got over that stage and now accept gracefully.

Totally white here as well, plus it's long. I get away with a ton of stuff being "old". (The only potential downside, how I am initially treated in ski shops, was actually no better 20 years ago when it was dark brown.) I actually find this old lady stuff quite freeing. Unfortunately, my family doesn't let me get away with near as much as the public..

 

[marzNC]

I put up a post about this topic on my blog today, featuring our own Ski Diva, Lil Georg.

Go here if you're interested.

For those who missed the blog post from Feb 2015, it's a good one for anyone feeling older. Especially good for women over 50, or 60, or 70, or . . .

Recently had a birthday so was thinking about how I thought about my skiing when I got my daughter on skis 10 years ago. She was 4. I was old enough to wonder if getting beyond the intermediate stage was possible. Finding SkiDiva made it very clear that if I was willing to spend the time on the slopes, anything was possible. It's been great fun and now I know for sure that I'll still be improving in my 60s.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I love this and plan to ski "forever". I loved the article and its so inspiring and she looks so free and happy.

DH will be retiring in 10 years and we'll likely move somewhere else. We can ski often here but CT isn't the ideal retirement location. My only caveat is that we must live somewhere where I can ski, no florida for this girl.

I have been getting random grays since my 30s and have really been highlighting my hair forever. I stopped highlighting because my hair was never blond enough so I switched to straight up dying it blond. I like to change my hair color. In the last year I have been burgundy, red, brown and now bleachy blond. I do my own hair and go to my guy Jack at the salon once or twice a year for a trip and color correction if needed.

I honestly don't feel my age. I am the oldest in my family and have sisters that are 8-10 years younger than me so I think that helps me stay young. I love to get out and do stuff on the weekends and can still still pull an all nighter when I go to vegas.

 

[heather matthews]

I love how we've gone from aches,pains and energy levels to hair.I henna mine-it's a luscious deep burgundy at the moment and have little intention of showing my grey just yet but I'm only in my early 50's so a mere spring chicken compared to some.It's funny but this season(I'm in NZ) I seem to have more energy and am skiing for longer than the past few years.Maybe its better technique or just that I'm happier and feel all round healthier.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Well, heck - maybe the hair color is the secret?? I don't get offered any seats anywhere, and I'm "of age!" (Should I flash my Medicare card? - No, when skiing, my pass clearly states, in all but glaring red letters, SENIOR) Quit the color stuff a couple of years ago and was surprised to find it not nearly as drastic as I'd thought. Oh my, this IS easier.

 

[karrie lou]

Oh I'm loving this thread! You are all giving me so my joy and hope! I'm 42, have just started skiing and plan on having a good 30 year skiing 'career' ahead of me!

For what it's worth, I'm almost totally grey, decided a year ago to stop fighting it after finding my first grey hair at 16 and colouring my hair continuously since I was 20. It took some getting used to and I do know that I look younger when I dye it, but I had to touch up the roots every week to have dark hair!! EEk! And I was over being blond, I wanted some darker hair back which ironically letting it grow out grey has given me. There's some lovely natural dark pieces (very small!) but enough to feel like I'm sort of still a brunette.

 

[altagirl]

I haven't dyed my hair in a few months, and there still really isn't enough gray to be very noticeable. I just color my hair because it's fun. I rarely stick with the same thing for more than 6 months. Currently is nearly black for the bottom 1/3 of my head, then light blonde highlights and copper lowlights for the rest. Now with several inches of dark blonde roots (that actually don't look too bad with the rest of the rainbow that is my hair)

I will say, it does make a big difference to have it professionally done. The home stuff damaged my hair a lot more.

They can also work wonders with creating something that can grow out without a hard root line if you want.

 

[tinymoose]

I've been lax about going to the hair salon recently and because I've always been such a color junkie, I kind of lost track of the state of my natural hair. Let's just say the grays have multiplied since last my hair was au naturel. This reminds me, I need to make an appointment!

 

[altagirl]

I've been lax about going to the hair salon recently and because I've always been such a color junkie, I kind of lost track of the state of my natural hair. Let's just say the grays have multiplied since last my hair was au naturel. This reminds me, I need to make an appointment!

I know that feeling! I do too! My rainbow of colors is still looking alright, though, just faded.

And I'm to lazy to do the 10 step process to rotate the picture.

 

[Pequenita]

Well, heck - maybe the hair color is the secret?? I don't get offered any seats anywhere, and I'm "of age!" (Should I flash my Medicare card? - No, when skiing, my pass clearly states, in all but glaring red letters, SENIOR)

It's partially geography. I get offered seats with some regularity, so I have to think it's southern transplants who are doing this.