What made you go grey?
Author, screenwriter and advertiser Anuja Chauhan talks about her salt and pepper journey
What made you go grey?
We actually go grey very young in my family, so by the time I was in my late twenties I had a sizeable amount of grey. But there was this whole thing about not colouring while you’re breastfeeding, so I used henna. But once I weaned my third baby and was free to experiment, I went a bit nuts with all the just-arrived-in-the-desi-market Loreal shades. I tried mahogany, plum, darkest brown, chocolate souffle...it was really exciting! But the monthly touch-up became a drag eventually. It felt artificial and dishonest. My face started ageing, the contrast became too stark.
The bright and the dark side of going grey…
I love to wear outrageous clothes and making two pigtails, neither of which is age-appropriate. If I sported those with my greys, I couldn’t be accused of trying to look like my daughter’s older sister. Why would I want to look like that? I am her mother. But it’s not all sunshine on this side of the hill. I am complimented for my hair but often, when I’m with my dad, I get mistaken for his wife. He’s 86, I am 49.
How do you manage to look gorgeous?
It helps to be fit, so you get that nice, startling contrast of a youthful stance and grey hair. But I would also urge you to be colourful with everything else. Your clothes, earrings, flowers, makeup. The idea is to celebrate being older, wilder, stronger, not a demure, eager-to-please young girl anymore, but a powerful, care-a-damn woman.
What your friends and family have to say about it?
The ladies loved it mostly. The men weren’t so hot on it. They were all like you look so much older. We hate it! Colour it! But I feel coloured hair was infantilising me (coupled with my short stature and chubby cheeks). This new grey forces man to acknowledge my age. People take me more seriously. Also, I get saluted by security now. That never happened before.