Look the Part

I had the TV on and a commercial come on for men’s hair color for grey hair. It said it was to help you be a “…better man…and look the part”.

I inherited early graying. At nineteen I had a round grey patch behind my right temple. Not only did the patch grow each year, but I also kept my hair short. This meant I had to get my hair colored every three weeks. And in between those colorings, I watched my hair grey more and more until my next hair appointment. It was like watching myself age every three weeks.

And with every coloring, my scalp and eyes burned from the chemicals. Then my scalp itched for a week.

I had stopped coloring my hair until an elder male relative told me I was “too young to have grey hair”, and said I should color it. So I went back to coloring. I had to “look the part”, right?

A few more years of playing that game, I stopped permanently.

I don’t begrudge anyone for...Read More


by Jan Toomer