A bit of a rant about grey hair

I apologize for today's post, in advance. I don't usually do rants. But...

A friend on facebook drew my attention to comments reportedly made by the hairdresser Nicky Clarke. The original post can be found here, but to summarise...

He's reported to have said at a party at his Mayfair salon:

'Kate (Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge) needs to get rid of her grey hair - it's not a good look... She does have amazing things done to her hair and it can look great, but unfortunately it's the case for women - all women - that until you're really old, you can't be seen to have any grey hairs.'

Say what?

He's also quoted as saying:

'It's different for men... Men can go grey in their mid-50's and still be considered attractive - it's the whole silver fox thing - but it's not the same for women.'

Excuse me? So he's saying that unless a woman is 'really old', she must avoid grey hair at all costs? (Usually blinkin' expensive costs too, according to those I know who do choose to colour their grey). That if she has grey hair, she can't be attractive? Or that if you have got grey hair, it automatically makes you look older than you are?

*blows very loud and very long raspberry whilst pointing to the Naturalistas website*

Please note - this is not a have-a-go-at-a-famous-hairdresser' post (I couldn't afford the lawyer's fees), but it is a 'why-the-heck-does-anyone-think-they-have-the-right-to-judge' post. 

Why? Why is it OK for men to have grey hair, but not women? I notice from the Nicky Clarke twitter feed that the salons are not averse to bigging up the young (I repeat - young) celebs who have embraced the trend for grey dye recently. It seems it's OK for them to have grey hair, even if it isn't natural...

Most folk who know me also know that I'm proud to be silver - I embrace my grey. And that's a choice I've made. It's no different to someone who chooses to colour their hair, whether in 'natural' shades or brighter 'unnatural' hues.

I will always be encouraging of those women who, for whatever reason, decide to ditch the dye. Most of the time it takes guts to do so - especially if they've left it so long, they go from colour to very silver. I will always respect those who choose to keep colouring too.

It's a choice! But you know what, when people say these kind of things, it makes the choice more difficult; these kinds of sweeping statements perhaps force those on the cusp of a decision back to the (dye) bottle.

Don't EVER say anything like this to my face. I will not take kindly to it.

The world would be a much happier place if we respected each other's choices and looked beneath the outer appearance to what lies within. The colour of your hair won't matter then...

Rant over.