Kelly Pegg: Why I'm refusing to accept my own shades of grey

'You're 30 per cent grey, you knew that right?' The words came at me like someone pelting me with eggs.
GREY POWER: Kelly is refusing to embrace her own silver highlights.GREY POWER: Kelly is refusing to embrace her own silver highlights.
GREY POWER: Kelly is refusing to embrace her own silver highlights.

“No, I didn’t know that. It’s just light blonde hairs, isn’t it?,” I replied, fearing what was going to come out of my hairdresser’s mouth next.

There I was, sitting in my gym gear, no make-up, feeling tired as usual and now, thanks to this new revelation, feeling old. Lilly, my stylist – gorgeous, slim and 22 – starts to scoff. “You can’t be serious? Of course you knew it was grey hair! What are you like you coffin dodger.”

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At this point I’m far too humiliated to feel any anger. My thoughts about how no-one is 22 forever come much later, once this news has sunk in. So it’s finally happened, I am officially old. My hair is grey and I’m only 35. I never thought I would ever join the silver crew, which is silly I know.

My mum had jet black hair and dyed it religiously and my Nana Jean went white in her early 40s but embraced it and has never dyed her hair to this day.

Of course it was going to happen to me. Along with saying goodbye to my partying days, aching after gym sessions and deciding to give up alcohol, going grey is indeed the final nail in the ‘I am officially ancient’ coffin.

For days afterwards I pressed my face up against every mirror I could find to inspect this newly found grey hair. I keep telling myself ‘It’s light blonde Kelly, you can’t be grey, only old people have grey hair’.

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Well apparently not, although when speaking to my Nana Jean she informs me I’m middle aged now so what do I expect. Never expect sympathy from family, eh?

For as long as I can remember I’ve been telling myself I’m still 25. Why? Those were the days when I felt young and free. Those are the days where I felt like I would be that age forever and I would never fully grow up and accept adulthood. I’m aware I’m not 25, marriage, motherhood and lines around my eyes tells me otherwise.

I try my best to slow down the ageing process. I have facials, I use eye creams and I would totally have Botox and fillers if my husband weren’t so against it.

When men turn grey it’s considered sexy, distinguished – think George Clooney. My husband Chris has grey sides and people still think he’s at least 10 years younger than his 48 years. Men can carry the grey look off in a way women just don’t seem to be able to.

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When women turn grey they are seen as old, past it, dowdy. You don’t see Madonna, Helen Mirren or Meryl Streep embracing silver locks, do you? They are all trying their best to stay looking youthful and they know sporting grey locks would only have the opposite effect.

Take Theresa May; every time I see her on TV I think, “She needs a make over, starting with her hair!” She’s 60 and has a great figure but her hair is grey and she looks more like a granny than a glam, powerful woman who is in charge of running a country.

I talked about this on the radio, asking the listeners for advice. Should I embrace the grey or dye my hair for the rest of my life? The majority of listeners told me to keep dying my locks, citing it would only age me if I didn’t.

Leave it and prepare to look like an old crow was one message I received – and yes it was from a man!

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Louise and Jo did tell me to embrace the silver look though. They said I should be proud to stand out and be different.

It didn’t change my mind. I’m just not ready to turn grey, I don’t know if I ever will be. Growing old terrifies the life out of me nearly as much as not being blonde anymore.

So this week I the ‘coffin dodger’ has a full head of highlights booked in with the 22-year-old stylist Lilly.

I’m praying greygate (as I’m now referring to it) won’t be mentioned.

FOR ME, THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER

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So Tom Jones is rumored to be dating again a little over a year after losing his wife Linda.

It got me thinking that most couples at some point will ask themselves that question: If I were suddenly alone, would I date again?

I think it depends on the person and the situation but it’s down to what feels right for the individual.

My Nana Jean lost my grandad far too early – they had just entered their 60s. She’s now 84 and has never dated anyone else. Geoff was the love of her life and that was that.

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She has had numerous men after her but refuses to date any of them. There is one guy she went to school with who never stops trying to convince her she should date him!

For Nana, my grandad was it and she will never love another.

Their love story has always inspired me and they are the reason I believe so strongly in marriage.

Watching them as I grew up, they were a true team who never argued and only ever had eyes for each other.

Their love was a rare and beautiful thing.

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My husband is 13 years older than me so I think too much about us growing older together.

I couldn’t imagine my life without him or dating another man.

Chris is my beginning and my end and I’m fine with that.

WHEN CINEMA TRIPS GO WRONG

My daughter Ava-Lilly wouldn’t stop going on about the Lego Batman movie and how much she wanted to see it.

We have a bad track record when it comes to cinema visits.

The last time we were at the cinema together was when we went to see Kung Fu Panda in Halifax.

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After she had eaten her sweets she wanted to go. We had barely been seated for 10 minutes when she was screaming that she wanted to go to the toilet at the top of her voice.

I vowed not to return to the big screen with my girl for a very long time, however after a little persuasion I decided to risk it and I wasn’t disappointed.

Once the popcorn had vanished I was inundated with questions ranging from ‘Mummy, when’s the big Batman coming on?’ (thank you hubby, turns out they’ve been watching the Dark Knight together) and ‘Has it finished? I want to go to the Disney shop’.

Although Ava-Lilly wasn’t taken with the superhero in Lego form, I actually enjoyed it and it even made me laugh.

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