A woman who spent $2.3k dyeing her hair for 18 years now loves her "witchy" grey locks. <br /><br />Cristina Saieva, 37, found her first grey hairs aged 15 and thought it looked “cool”.<br /><br />But when strangers told her it made her look “old” Cristina started dyeing it out of habit.<br /><br />She spent the next 18 years box dyeing her hair every two weeks – spending around $2.3k in total. <br /><br />But when lockdown hit and she struggled to get hold of hair dye, Crisitina decided to let her natural hair grow out.<br /><br />Although she “hated” the process she has now grown to embrace her natural hair colour and is now 50 per cent grey.<br /><br />Cristina, an advertising copywriter, from New York City, US, said: “Every two weeks I’d dye it.<br /><br />“It became a part of my routine.<br /><br />“I didn’t even think of the option of not dyeing it.<br /><br />“In 2020, all the hair dye was sold out.<br /><br />“I went to the store and got the last one but I thought ‘this could be an interesting opportunity’.<br /><br />“I’m just going to do it.<br /><br />“As it was growing out I hated it.<br /><br />“I thought I looked ridiculous.<br /><br />“As roots got longer it was different. I thought ‘wait a minute, I love this’.”<br /><br />When Cristina found her first grey hair aged 15 it didn’t bother her.<br /><br />She said: “Everyone in my family goes grey really early.<br /><br />“I thought it was cool. It was witchy and fun.<br /><br />“I worked at the grocery store and people told me I should dye it and it ‘makes you look old’. <br /><br />“They said ‘you have to cover it up’.”<br /><br />Crisina started getting highlights before then opting for a full head of box dye when she started to get more silver hairs.<br /><br />She said: “It was just something I did.”<br /><br />It was only when the lockdown hit in March 2020 and certain shops had a shortage of hair dye that Cristina decided to try to ditch the dye.<br /><br />She stopped putting heat on her hair and realised her hair was “fried” by the dye and hear damage over the last 18 years.<br /><br />Despite “hating” the growing out period, Cristina continued to go without dye.<br /><br />She said: “I really didn’t love it.<br /><br />“People kept telling me ‘I bet you can’t wait for salons to open’.<br /><br />“For some reason people think you can have an opinion on someone’s hair.”<br /><br />As Cristina’s roots grew out she started to like her natural colour.<br /><br />She said: “I grew to love the fact it was something that a lot of people fear.<br /><br />“This visible marker of ageing.<br /><br />“By embracing it was my way of saying f**k off to that.<br /><br />“Being younger and having grey hair is an option.”<br /><br />Cristina is now 50 per cent grey and only dyes her roots with temporary fun colours.<br /><br />She takes good hair of her locks – sleeping in a satin bonnet with a satin pillowcase and keeping her hair hydrated.<br /><br />She hopes to help let others know they don’t need to hide and dye their grey hair.<br /><br />Cristina said: “People tell me ‘this is making me excited to go grey’.<br /><br />“I want women to be less afraid of certain aspects of ageing.<br /><br />“People who age are celebrating that they got there.<br /><br />“I get to be myself it my natural state. There’s no reason not be confident about it.<br /><br />“This is me.”<br />
