Should I Go Gray?

A reader wonders whether it’s time to quit hair dye.

To color or not to color? This is a dilemma Hamlet would understand. When salons were closed during the pandemic, many of us had to face our original hair shade for the first time in years (or learn how to become our own colorist in the bathroom). After some initial horror, many of us also experienced the liberation of going back to our … well, roots. Others, of course, went pink or lavender or shaved it all off. Either way, there was a lot of hair experimentation going on (hello, Kaia Gerber), in part because if things looked a little weird for awhile, it didn’t really matter because there were so few people around to see. Now, of course, a return to the office is looming. As is the decision about how you want to return, or who you want to be when you return. As much as anything, that is what should steer your choices, not concern about the colors in your wardrobe. It is true that darker hair can coordinate differently with, say, bright blues or reds than do blond or white-gray shades, but the real question is how does it make you feel and what message do you want to send?