Ask Ugly: all of the ‘iffy’ comments about my gray hair bother me. Should I start dyeing it again?

Beauty culture conditions us to believe that if we don’t have this, we at least have to have that. So we negotiate. Illustration: Lola Beltran/The Guardian

Hey Ugly,

Tired of a two-to-three hour, $100 hair appointment every three to four weeks, I stopped covering my gray with dark brown dye. Two years (and many hats and headbands) later, it is finally grown in: shoulder-length silver. My amazing teen daughter was my main encouragement during my weakest days – she loves it.