A Hair Raising Tale With Fabulous Boomer Sister Cathy Johnston
Special guest, Cathy Johnston, has reminded me just how empowering midlife can be. Her blogs on The Fabulous Boomer Sisters is tagged as a lifestyle blog for baby boomers, but the messages within their posts and topics contribute so much more to the Pro-Aging movement. Cathy and her crew are paving the way for all of us and we’re just grateful she’s got some wisdom to share with Midlife It followers too!
Oh, and Ms. Johnston also included my guest blog on her site - Calm Before THe Storm.
Thanks Cathy!
When Tera invited me to write a post for her blog, I had intended to write about my perimenopause experience. But when I sat down to write that story, I felt uninspired and at a loss for words.
(If you knew me at all, you would know that me not having anything to say is an earth-shattering event — it rarely, if ever happens!)
But to my point, my journey into THE CHANGE started ten years ago. While my passage certainly wasn’t a breeze, it wasn’t a horrendous ordeal either. Aside from a seemingly unending heavy period and a few power surges (otherwise known as “hot flashes”), my progression through this stage was pretty much a non-event. I was one of the lucky ones. I did not experience many of the common symptoms of perimenopause, such as night sweats, headaches/migraines, bloating, insomnia, or wild mood swings.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all easy. There was some brain fog. Okay, okay, there was quite a bit!
And now that I think back — a stretch of depression where I felt invisible, incompetent, shriveled, and useless. Oh, and did I mention the never-ending HEAVY period?
Now that I have reached my 60s, perimenopause is just a remnant of an unsettling dream. My feelings around ageing have changed a lot. I feel liberated and fearless — determined to live my best life on my own terms. I feel invincible, vibrant and alive, ready to face new challenges and curious about the adventures that lay before me. Well, most days I feel like that! (I’m still unlearning negative habits and building new healthier ones. It’s a process, right?!)
One aspect of ageing that I am learning to accept, and love is my changing appearance. I find it a little daunting to look past the wrinkles, dark circles, pouchy body and saggy skin and see the beauty of me. But I am getting there, slowly.
Of all the changes my body has undergone, my hair is one that surprised me. It was quite the metamorphosis.
From the moment our mothers put that first tiny barrette in our wispy bangs, hair has commanded our attention. Throughout our lives, our hair has conveyed powerful messages about our identity. Who we are, who we aspire to be, and the image we portray to others, our hair said it all. We have put a lot of time, effort, and money into our hair. We shampoo it, condition it, spray it, wax it, pin it, straighten it, curl it, iron it, dye it, cut it, and that’s just our lovely locks. We also shave, wax, laser, and pluck the other hair that grows on various parts of our bodies. Phew — that’s a lot of work!
Our hair is the ultimate fashion accessory. We can change the style whenever we wish. We can wear it up or down, long or short. Our hair can reflect our identity or project a different mood or personality to suit our whims. We can attract attention or change our style in an infinite number of ways simply by sporting a new hairdo.
Hair affects our emotional well-being, too. Who hasn’t had their mood ruined by a bad hair day or experienced the doldrums for weeks after a horrible haircut? Is there anything better than the feeling you get after a shampoo, cut and style?
Our hair is the ultimate fashion accessory. It affects our emotional well-being.
Like many women, I despised my hair when I was a teenager. In those days, THE look was long, bone straight, hair, preferably blonde. Mine was none of those things. My hair was dark brown, coarse and super curly.
Growing up in the sixties and seventies, I tried many of the trendiest hairstyles — pixies, bobs, pageboys and shags. But no matter what hairstyle I tried, mine was still dark brown, coarse and super curly! Well, except for the ultimate style, the Farrah cut. I had blond streaks put in and wore it a little longer for that one. It looked fantastic but was much too high maintenance for me, and I ended up chopping it to the shortest pixie cut ever. It wasn’t the best look, but it sure was easy to manage!
As well as an unruly mop of hair, I was blessed with furry arms and bushy legs. I spent a lot of time making friends with the razor until my girlfriends introduced me to Nair (a chemical hair removal cream)! Wisely, my mother forbade me to use it, so it was back to my love/hate relationship with the blade.
As I grew older, I came to accept all the beauty regimens and implements of torture required to have the body beautiful and hair that looked and smelled fantastic!
(Remember the shampoo: “Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific”?)
So, I tried the trendiest hairstyles. I used all the products — gels, hair masks, rinses, and more. I leafed through fashion and hair magazines for the “in” cut and sat for hours in salon chairs with foul-smelling chemicals designed to give me the colour I was meant to have!
When I turned 55, I decided to end the madness. I went to the hairdressers and had my hair cut extremely short. The hair that was left on my head was 98 percent grey. In other words, I went cold turkey and left the colors and rinses behind. I decided to let my hair grow long — despite the unwritten fashion rule that women over 40 should never wear their hair past their shoulders!
My beautiful grey hair is past my shoulders, and I ADORE it! I am firmly in the #GreyRevolution camp! I love the freedom and confidence that going natural has afforded me. I admire Baby Boomer and Gen X’ers who choose to be themselves — whether they are giving up dyeing their tresses or loving the versatility of colouring their locks. They are owning their wants/needs and rocking their styles.
But wait! Where did all the hair on my forearms go?
I haven’t had to shave my legs in more than a year, and my armpits only sport a few stragglers. Mother Nature has even supplied me with a natural “Brazilian” - painless, waxless and chemical-free!
I still marvel that instead of tending to a Frida Kahlo brow line, I now must draw my eyebrows on, or I look weird when I try to look surprised!! And don’t ask me about that moustache! Every week, I will be frantically tweezing my upper lip while wondering if a Chevron or a Clark Gable-style moustache would suit me best!
All joking aside, I love the age I am right now. I love being a part of the Pro-Ageing Movement. A movement where women in their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond are boldly smashing ageist stereotypes, becoming visible, powerful and vibrant.
The Pro-Ageing Movement is one where women in their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond are boldly smashing ageist stereotypes, becoming visible, powerful and vibrant.
I love that simply by living our best lives, by sporting our natural grey or having fun with hair colour, we are changing the narrative of what it means to grow older. We proclaim that age does not define us by wearing our wrinkles proudly and adoring our changing bodies.
We are a growing network of women talking about the joys, trials, and tribulations around growing older. We are having conversations about perimenopause, menopause, and other changes that we are experiencing in our bodies and our minds. We are showing that ageing is not something to fear or cure. Growing older is not a barrier to enjoying life. It is a time to embark upon new adventures. It is a great time to share our wisdom, keep learning, and live life to its fullest.
Life is beautiful, do you agree? I love being alive right now and, I love my age (and my silver locks). I hope you love yours!
I need more Fabulous Boomer Sisters in my circle…I’ll start with Cathy Johnston!
Special Featured Guest…
I am a transplanted prairie girl — I moved to the West Coast more than 30 years ago, where I fell in love with the ocean at first sight! One of my greatest joys is walking along the beach, listening to the waves break — a sound that never fails to soothe and inspire me. I live in Metro Vancouver, BC with my husband and our adorable dog, Frankie. Our two grown daughters live close enough that we hardly feel like “empty-nesters."
I am a media and marketing coordinator — a career that combines two of my passions, writing and graphic design. I love watching BBC mysteries and superhero/suspense movies (Hello, Netflix!) When I’m not trying to figure out my superpower you can find me immersed in a book (ask me what I’m reading), writing blog posts, or attempting to capture the perfect shot of Frankie!.
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