I must confess that, in the last decade, a lot of changes happened in my personal life. These included moving from one continent to another, selling my favourite sports car, living through Covid in an alien country, losing dear friends to sudden illnesses and learning to read, write and speak a new language.
While all this was going on, another strange phenomenon occurred around me, which is that a whole lot of people my age suddenly turned grey. Just like that – without any fuss, warning or prior notification.
It was as if one moment these folks my age had a headful of lush-dyed brown, black, brunette or peroxide blonde hair, and the next instant, they were sprouting various shades of grey. On their head, that is. It felt like the entire hair-dye industry had halted production, or had become defunct worldwide and, therefore, they had no choice but to go ‘au naturel en masse’, so to speak.
I can not think of any other explanation. The 10 years between one’s 50th and 60th birthdays are not designed for the faint-hearted anyway because this is the period when one’s hormones shrink, belly expands and joints creak at every step that we take. One’s eyesight and hearing also deteriorate, so we read things with eyes half shut and can only get the jokes that are narrated clearly and concisely in a booming tone of voice.
Also, our teeth take the cake, or rather – in a literal twist of idioms – the cake takes our teeth, one rotting tooth at a time, till we become so well acquainted with our dentist that his telephone number is on our speed dial; sometimes superseding even that of the SNS 24 emergency contact, or the police or the fire department numbers.
However, Robert H. Shmerling, MD, Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing, says: “In humans, most grey hair is not related to stress. Once a hair follicle produces hair, the colour is set. If a single strand of hair starts out brown (or red or black or blond), it is never going to change its colour (unless you dye your hair). Your hair follicles produce less colour as they age, so when hair goes through its natural cycle of dying and being regenerated, it is more likely to grow in as grey beginning after the age of 35. When and how your hair turns grey is influenced by the genes you inherit from your parents. Though stress may play a role in the process, it is more helpful to look to past generations to predict when or if you will go grey.”
Right! But taking a good look at my own genetic past is quite worrying because, though my parents had not greyed prematurely, they had passed away quite early. In other words, they had not lived long enough to go completely or even partially grey.
Pondering over this sombre thought on the eve of my birthday, I look at the packet of my favourite hair-dye and contemplate chucking it in the bin.
“Hey! What are you planning for your big day?” my friend asks on the phone.
“I am thinking of going grey,” I confide.
“Aha! Grey themed birthday party!” she exclaims.
“My hair strands could match the theme,” I say.
“Excellent! What will you call it?” she giggles.
“It will have to be Sixty Shades, minha querida,” I reply.
“Of what?” she quips.
“Of grey, of course,” I decide.
By Nickunj Malik
|| features@portugalresident.com
Nickunj Malik’s journalistic career began when she walked into the office of Khaleej Times newspaper in Dubai thirty-one years ago and got the job. Since then, her articles have appeared in various newspapers all over the world. She now resides in Portugal and is married to a banker who loves numbers more than words.
