Hello Blog, It’s Me Nikol

November 14, 2019 ·

I realized on a recent flight this month that I have not been writing on this blog as much as I would like for 2019. This post will be a little catch-up and news on upcoming events. Most of the content I upload is here and here, but I view this blog as an outlet to interview other women that are breaking the beauty rules to encouraging you through your transitioning beauty.

To catch you up to speed on where I have been for the past six months, I have been in the studio filming and producing videos that feature makeup tutorials on women from fifties to eighty-four on my YouTube channel, which hit 80K subscribers. These videos have been such a rewarding series called #FierceAging. The series started as a four-part series but now has turned into a monthly feature. I have an inspiring project coming up that I will be announcing on my YouTube channel and Newsletter, so make sure you tune in and are signed up (find my sign up here).

If you have not joined my private Beauty Reinvented Facebook group, this is the perfect time to get inspiration and support from women all over the world. We are almost at seven thousand women sharing and helping each other through aging and gray hair. I am so proud of this little group, and I have been posting LIVE Q&A’s randomly to answer your questions in real-time.

If you love Fresh Beauty Studio Cosmetics/Nikol Cosmetics or are curious, get ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday! New beauty products added every week. You don’t want to miss out on the specials that are coming up for the holiday season. Early access will be announced here, so make sure you are signed up.

I hope you ladies are doing well and are enjoying all the content that I am creating for you on all my platforms.

Silver Sister Spotlight with Kristen Karlisch

July 13, 2018 ·

Celebrating another Friday with a Silver Sister Spotlight. Kristen found me on YouTube about a year and a half ago when she was just starting her gray hair transition. I thought she would be a great feature to inspire you ladies.

Kristen is a proud mom of two creatively kind girls (now tween/teen), wife and business partner to an incredibly talented interior and commercial photographer of 20 years. Originally born and raised in Houston and then moved to Dallas 25 years ago. Kristen feels so lucky that she gets to see the world and meet new people through her travels in the photography industry.

Silver Sister Spotlight with Kristen Karlisch

Photo Credit @stephen_karlisch_photo

Kristen says there are moments in our life that a big decision is made which shapes your destiny. I have had many but one significant one was changing my career at age 30 and then meeting my husband because of it. He has always encouraged and supported me in my many different interests. I love marketing, being in the creative visual field, I have been certified in teaching full comprehensive Pilates (although I don’t teach but practice) and also certified as a health coach from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. I did the IIN year course to just educate us as a family to learn directly from the source versus reading articles and being confused. Highly recommend for anyone, it’s an amazing school and community. Much needed in this world of increasing health problems. My dedication has been to our photography career, however, I think teaching kids about entrepreneurship, saving and giving back is truly important. Our daughters are dabbling in the e-commerce world targeted to tween, teens on up to moms. It is empowering them with my help and they are giving back a portion of their sales to Pencils for Promise and fundraisers to support education.

Kristen with her husband Stephen in Italy

Q: Tell us when you first started seeing gray hair?

My mother found my first silver when I was 20. We were in California in a convertible sitting at the stop light, and I can still feel the sting from that strand of hair being pulled out by mom showing me my first silver with a smile. Thanks for the chuckle of a forever memory Mom.

Q: What were your initial feelings about seeing the silver?

I think we just laughed it off and then I just pulled them for the next ten years before I started coloring looking back I wish I would have had the confidence to let them grow. My paternal grandfather was all silver in his 20’s so I definitely inherited more of that gene.

Q: Being in a creative field do you feel that your silver hair is more accepted by your industry?

Absolutely! I receive compliments all of the time, however, owning it proudly makes a huge difference.

Q: What do you teach your daughters about beauty and aging?

I made the decision to start this journey two months before my 50th birthday. It had been on my mind for two years. I am glad our girls will have this memory as I fully expect them to have to face this decision one day. Many of my friends my age have shared with me remembering the time their mom decided to stop coloring and how much they admired their mom for making that difficult decision that society has shamed and labeled for so many years. Our girls have been VERY supportive and could see the negative effects of the chemicals that I was experiencing for years. I am truly grateful to them, my husband, mom, sister and other close family members for their support as I know many who have no family support. None of them felt I would be considered “old” or that “she has let herself go” or any of those other messages that are whispered or in our head. When I was in doubt for those first 6 months they were cheering me on and didn’t want me to give up. We try to live a pretty clean lifestyle with organic skincare, food, health, activities, kindness to others and gratitude. Our girls amaze us with the beauty they see in others that may be judged negatively by people. They are the friends that are there taking up for the kids being bullied, have a learning difference, who needs a friend and are in need of a little support.

Q: As a photographer, you see beauty through a lens do you feel like you see your gray hair beauty differently than the world?

Photographs were what helped me daily. I saved many images on my phone of women I admired that I found on Instagram, Pinterest, and private support FB groups. I saved those images and looked at those women I admired to help get me through those days that I felt weak and wanted to go back to faux color. My husband photographed me this time last summer on the beach. It was about seven months and the first time I had felt pretty again. He loved how I was starting to embrace my look and directed me, so I was showing my grey and silver confidently. That shoot made me want to secretly take up some lifestyle modeling representing women middle age with grey hair. It was a lot of fun.
As a photographer, I think it would be fun to do a portrait project of women 30-60 with their natural grey/silver hair. Photographs are truly inspiring, and it is definitely becoming more accepted to see younger silver sisters, and I love the movement that is taking place. It is pretty sexy.

Q: What is one thing you would want women to know that are starting out on their gray hair journey.

Luckily I had a very supportive stylist. I chose to use very fine sheer low lights on the cap of my head to help the demarcation as the grey and silver were growing out. For some, they chose to use highlights and some just go for it and do nothing but let it grow. Just know there are options (but please don’t try to pull the color out) but having a stylist support is so helpful in being successful especially in those weak moments. You have to get out of your head. The old messages of “ I will look old”, “what will people think”, “I let myself go” or “they are looking at my hair” are negative old messages from old ways of thinking. Believe me, vanity does get challenged but OWN IT and you will rock the sexy silver. Use support groups on Facebook if you have none, find the many silver sisters on Instagram and just try to make it past the rough 6 months. It does get better. Your hair will become so healthy, so soft (no more straw brittle hair) and lots of new growth. As my wonderful husband told me from the beginning, “If this makes you feel better then I am all for it. It’s just a color and you can choose whatever color that makes you happy.” Remember you are doing this for you, not anyone else.

Connect with Kristen on Instagram @kkarlisch

Silver Sister Spotlight with Maryam

June 29, 2018 ·

Happy Friday Ladies, I am so excited to feature Maryam Remias today as one of our fierce Silver Sisters. I found Maryam on YouTube a couple of years ago and loved her spunky attitude and fun beauty videos. Let me introduce her to you.

Maryam lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband Eric and eight-year-old daughter Arianna. Maryam creates makeup, beauty and gray hair videos on YouTube and Instagram. Her favorite thing is to hang out with her family at the beach. She loves Persian food and Korean BBQ. It’s safe to say she’s a major foodie.
Before her YouTube career, Maryam had a corporate job working as a graphic designer. When she had her daughter, she decided to stay home with her, but because of her workaholic nature, she needed to do something else besides being a stay at home mom.

At first, her hobby was collecting makeup and binge-watching YouTube videos. At the time Maryam was silently going through depression and was feeling very lonely, and YouTube was her escape. Her husband suggested she start her own YouTube channel rather than watching other people’s videos. Creating beauty videos began as a hobby but now has become an exciting career path for Maryam. The community of supportive women encourages her to keep going.

Q: Gray Hair is becoming a huge movement right now, when did you start embracing your gray?

I discovered few strands of gray on the crown of my head at age 19. At that age, I related gray hair with being old. So, I refused to let anyone see my gray roots, and that’s when hair color and I were inseparable.
Through my mid 20’s, I had developed skin allergies to hair colors. I knew something was wrong with coloring my hair, but I wasn’t ready to show my gray.
It was in 2014 that I started to embrace my gray hair journey. What led to me embracing my grays was that I was tired of coloring my hair every two weeks and the skin allergy on my scalp had gotten terrible.
I remember the day when I thought that growing out my gray hair could work for me. I had looked up gray hair on Pinterest and found beautiful older women with naturally gray hair. Also, pictures of young women with colored gray hair that looked fantastic. That’s when I started to become curious about how I would look with gray hair.
I spoke to my husband and showed him the photos on Pinterest. He was supportive, and we both wanted to see how it turns out. I’m very thankful that it became a trend because it gave me the courage to stop coloring my hair.
So, I started my transition journey and embracing my gray hair in 2014.

Q: You have a YouTube channel where you teach women about beauty and style did you feel insecure doing videos with gray hair?

I was insecure in the beginning about doing beauty videos as a 40-year-old woman with gray hair. It was scary to put myself out there and get out of my comfort zone. I was also going through so many ups and downs with transitioning to gray hair.
The only way I could deal with the emotions was to talk about my gray hair transition on video. I used my YouTube channel as a vehicle to tell my story and share my journey with others.
I figured by sharing my story I would help someone going through the same situation and hopefully make an impact in their life. Check out my Playlist HERE

Q: How do you encourage other women to start their gray hair journey?

The way I encourage other women to start their gray hair journey is by sharing my story and sharing tips on how to get through their transition. I give the resources that helped me transition to gray hair. I also share the videos that I’ve made about gray hair on my YouTube channel.

Here are a couple of resources that I used on my journey.

• Looking up “Women with Gray Hair on Pinterest” – You’ll find many beautiful women with gray hair with different skin tone and hairstyles.
• I also recommend joining Gray Hair Facebook groups – They are a very positive and an encouraging place for anyone going through the transition.
• Lauren from How Bourgeois was an inspiration to my journey to gray hair

Going gray is not for everyone, and the only way you know for sure is to try it out. You may fall in love with your gray or silver hair and never think about coloring again.

Q: Do you feel that gray hair is a trend or a movement?

It was a trend for younger people to dye their hair gray but that trend seems to be going away.
In the past six months, I feel that there is a movement of natural gray hair. I’ve been seeing lots of women with gray hair on social media sharing their transition journey or just rocking their beautiful gray hair.
It became undeniable when a few months ago, Maye Musk became the new face of CoverGirl. I also knew that beauty industries view of women with gray hair was changing when beauty companies started to reach out to work with them.

Q: Social Media can be harsh at times with the negative comments. How do you handle negative comments about your gray hair?

It can be very harsh. I’ve gotten my fair share of negative comments on Instagram but very few on YouTube. What’s weird is that I get negative comments from women close to my age, but the younger generation is more accepting.
I don’t answer negative comments because the people writing them are looking for attention. I believe that the more focus you give the negativity, the more you receive it.
My hope is for everyone to embrace their uniqueness, no matter what their hair color, size or age. We all have a voice and story to tell, and we can all learn from each other.

Check out Maryam on Instagram and YouTube where she shares beauty for women over 40 and tips on transitioning to gray hair.

Silver Sister Spotlight with Hayley

May 18, 2018 ·

I am very excited to feature Hayley another Silver Sister from Australia; I am obsessed with booking a flight to this gorgeous country in 2018. Hopefully, I can make that happen.

Hayley is from the beautiful Gold Coast In Australia and has two gorgeous kids and happily married. When Hayley was younger, she worried about what others thought of her and suffered from body image issues, but after having a large cancerous tumor removed from her abdomen when she was twenty years old, it made her realize life is too short. Since then Hayley has tried hard to live in the present moment which is sometimes easier said than done. Hayley finds that Yoga helps her with living in the present and she makes practicing Yoga a priority.

Before having her kids, Hayley worked as a makeup artist and still uses her make up skills by volunteering with The Look Good Feel Better program that teaches and helps women battling cancer to know how to apply makeup and work with their skin after chemotherapy and radiation. When Hayley is not working, she loves to study Italian, and she currently sings in an Italian choir for fun. Traveling and learning about different cultures is one of her passions.

A few years ago she came across pictures of young women with natural grey hair who looked amazing. She thought, what if Mother Nature got it right? What if my natural hair color suited me? So she stopped dying it and has never looked back.

Q: When did you first start seeing gray hair? What were your initial thoughts?

I saw my first grey hair twenty years ago when I was sixteen! I wasn’t too fazed but a little surprised if anything thought it was funny. Being that young, there was never a feeling of “Oh no I’m getting older.”

Q: Being Australian do you feel Australian Society is more accepting of gray hair compared to America?

Australian culture is influenced by America, so I think the beauty ideals are similar. I have had overwhelmingly positive feedback and not one negative comment about my hair but Australians are pretty laid back, and if someone didn’t like it they’d never tell you to your face. I do feel like we see a shift here in what’s considered beautiful and diversity is genuinely embraced.

Q: How did you become a gray hair model with Silver Fox Management?

I read an article about Silver Fox Management and it caught my eye as my husband called me his Silver fox. I thought why not? I sent a photo in, and they replied. Silver Fox Management said they would love to sign me on. I’m also with Extra Edge talent, I’ve been doing some extra work with them they too are big fans of my hair, and it’s uniqueness. A casting director told me recently “Don’t ever color your hair; there’s no one else that looks like you!”

Q: You seem to be very passionate about supporting women, can you tell us how you share and encourage women to embrace their beauty?

I think a woman supporting other woman is powerful; we need to boost each other up. I also have a ten-year-old daughter; I want to be the best role model I can be for her. Embracing and accepting your true self and living an authentic life is a message I like to convey. It goes beyond hair and what we look like it’s celebrating our differences and experiences that make us unique. A few of my friends have recently stopped dying their hair, they don’t have grey hair yet, but they colored their hair because it’s just what they felt they had to do. I’m not against people wanting to dye their hair by any means but if women say to me that they are sick of going to the hairdresser every four weeks I encourage them to give it a go and see what happens. Nothing to lose!

Q: What has been the hardest transition personally for you going gray?

I had very long dark hair, so I chopped it off to above my shoulders. I didn’t feel like me without long hair, but It didn’t take long to grow back. At first, I was worried what people would think, but as I went along, I cared less and less. You have to rock the skunk look!

“Worth $49 Unlimited.”

May 14, 2018 ·

This blog post is inspired by a company that stole this picture below of me recently to advertise their company in a sponsored post on Instagram. They told me that they could buy my pictures for “$49 with unlimited usage.” Not true but I am not going to get into the legal issue of using copyright photos without permission in this post, however, I will get into how you value your worth.

Who do you allow to tell you what you are worth? Society? Your job? Social Media? Your peers? Your husband/boyfriend/partner? Making bold choices in life takes a particular type of person and personality, and everyone is capable of developing this type of attitude.

I spend extended hours planning and scheduling my photo, shopping and styling clothes for the right “look” for the shoot, doing my hair and makeup, creating a “theme” for each photo session and paying my photographer. Nothing comes easy when you are building original content for your brand. Having a company take my photos and use them for their benefit without permission is just unreal to me but seems to be a new reality. No responsibility, no morals, no honesty take, take, take. A company telling me I am worth 49 dollars was amusing to me but what happens if I took that to heart? What if I started to believe that? The book I am reading currently You Are What You Think, says it perfectly “Words, said either in the privacy of the mind or spoken aloud, are powerful.” What are you saying to yourself about your worth?

I wrote about how we have a whole new type of insecurity because of social media. We place value on ourselves because of a number on our account, a number of followers, google analytics. Think about that for a second and say it out loud. How ridiculous does that sound? I get it when it comes to building your company and brand image, but numbers and followers are not the entire picture. You have so much to offer this world ladies; it doesn’t start and stop with social media.

I am going to share with you a couple of practices that I have found to be helpful when you need a break or if you feel like everyone else has the “Gorgeous life,” “Perfect family” “Best body.”

Take a 24-hour break from all social media (yes, believe me, you can do it, and you might like it). Breaks will give you time to switch off your brain and the constant scrolling.
Want a more extended break? Delete the (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.) app not your account from your phone. This way you won’t feel tempted to get on and download everyone else’s life.
Grab a cup of Dream Dust and download a guided meditation app (I love using Mindful Meditation right before going to bed) on your phone to replace the time you spend on social media. Night time rituals like these will give you time to regroup and be inspired by YOUR life not everyone else’s life.
Put your phone in another room before going to bed. Waking up and checking your social media before your eyes are even open sets the tone for the entire day and this might not be positive for you. Replace checking your feeds with breathing techniques, five-minute meditation or writing in your journal on your intentions for your day, week, month.
Spend your time reading a motivating book. Maybe you want to write a book, or you want to learn how to get to the next level in your job. Spend your valuable time feeding your brain and getting productive, positive information that will advance your career and enhance your life.

These are just some suggestions, ask for what you are worth, don’t second guess yourself and always know that YOU and only you are the one that decides what you are worth.

*some links are an affiliate

Silver Sister Spotlight with Rhiannon

April 27, 2018 ·

I have decided Friday’s will be the day that I feature our Silver Sister Spotlight. I think it’s a great day to kick off the weekend and give you some hardcore inspiration. Today I am featuring the gorgeous Rhiannon not only is she rocking her gray hair journey as a young Mom she also has curly hair. I know so many of you struggle with gray and having unruly curly hair. Rhiannon shares with us in a bonus question what hair care products she uses to tame her curly hair.

Rhiannon is a Licensed Esthetician and Cosmetic Laser Technician but decided to stay at home for a while to focus on her kids and her health. Rhiannon will be celebrating her 15th wedding anniversary this year and is very excited about this milestone. Her husband’s support through her gray hair journey means the world to her. Rhiannon posts YouTube videos of her documented gray hair transition. She recently created an Instagram account to continue inspiring others as well as herself. Her followers love the fact that she’s not only growing her gray but that she is also a naturally curly girl. There is a demographic of women out there who are looking for ladies embracing both silver hair and curls, hence the title of her channel: Silver Curl Journey. Rhiannon hopes to be an example to her daughter, showing her that gray hair is ageless and beautiful. Head on over to Rhiannon’s YouTube Channel and Instagram and show her some Silver Sister support!

Q: When did you start seeing gray hair and what were your initial thoughts?

I remember the day I found my first gray hair. I was about 16-years-old, and at the time, I thought it was a rare strand of platinum blonde hair because it had no color. I actually plucked it right out of my head, twirled it into a circle and saved it in a velvet ring box. A few months later, I discovered another one of those colorless hairs in my head. That’s when I realized, “Oh wow. I’m getting gray hair already??”

Q: Did you have support from friends and family with your gray transition?

Oh yes. My husband had been encouraging me to grow out my naturally gray hair for at least a decade. Every time I had a baby, my gray hair would become more intense. He thought it was awesome, but I was having too much fun playing with vibrant highlights and fun box colors just to stop and be natural. When I finally decided to grow it out, he was ecstatic.

Q: As a young Mom do you find other Mother’s celebrating your decision to go gray?

You know, it’s hard to tell. Some of the questions I was getting, in the beginning, seemed very superficial. People thought I was going through a phase. They would ask how long I planned on growing it, whether I liked it or not, etc. It wasn’t until very recently that I finally started receiving what I recognize to be genuine compliments.

Q: You have some very hip and trendy gray hairstyles from braids to super sleek tell us about your personal style.

Oh, thank you! I try to be creative because I do become bored very quickly with my hair. Hence the reason I played with hair color for 20 years. My style is more about simplicity than anything else. My kids have hectic schedules, which means I am always on the go. So whatever I can do in 10 minutes or less is my goal. I hardly ever wear makeup, but when I do, it only takes me a few minutes to apply it. You won’t catch this girl contouring and ‘baking’ her foundation! Ha! I have naturally curly hair, so the easiest thing for me to do is a wash-and-go style. I have no shame in rocking ponytails (synthetic ones are fun!), pigtails, baseball caps, or bandanas on days when I’m in a rush. In fact, I seem to get more compliments when I have my hair pulled all the way back, exposing the majority of my silver hair. That’s when braids come in handy. I braid my hair when I feel like I want a little attention. Haha!

Q: What advice would you give other women going through the first six months of not dying their hair?

Those first six months are the most eye-opening months for both yourself and the people around you. When you own it with cheerful confidence, everybody recognizes that as a type of beauty you didn’t even know exists, even if you look and the mirror and don’t see the beauty in yourself just yet. Your hair changing on the outside is kind of like that cocoon wrapping around that beautiful butterfly just waiting to be revealed. So hang in there! Once your transition is complete, you will feel like a new kind of beautiful. You will flutter around and attract all types of new people and adventures. I mean, look at me! I’m just a regular person who wanted to embrace her natural hair, and here I am being featured on the website of the very person whose videos inspired me to make this decision in the first place!

Q: Working with curly hair can you tell us what hair products you currently use and recommend?

Sure! I use sulfate-free, silicone-free products. My current favorite brand is Cantu. I’ve tried a couple of others, but my hair texture and curl pattern didn’t agree with them as much as they agree with Cantu. If I could sample every curly girl product out there, I would! I just haven’t had the chance to experiment some more. I recommend trying anything and everything until you find what works for you. Some curls do well with silicones and a little sulfate. I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all method for curls. However, for those with curly silver hair, it is an absolute MUST to avoid too much heat (flat irons, etc.) and to use colorless products. Any cream or oil tinted with even the slightest shade of brown or yellow will stain our lovely white strands and dull the overall appearance of our hair. When and if that happens, there are plenty of purple shampoos that will help correct it. 🙂

How To Get a Gray Attitude

April 25, 2018 ·

Ladies I get it, going gray is not fun no matter what your age. All the stereotypical statements go through your head that people say from “I am so old,” “Grandma Hair,” “Frumpy old lady.” You name it you’re thinking it. So what are you to do? Default to what society says is beautiful and young? Allow your negative self-talk to keep you from being true to yourself? Or keep on dying your hair, so it looks entirely unnatural for your age? Maybe give up and add more toxins every two weeks so that you can feel accepted? I think NOT.

I know gray hair is not for everyone, but I don’t think I need to remind everyone that Beauty Reinvented is all about women that WANT to go gray.

Photo Credit; Rick Gomez Photography

When you are feeling down, and very unattractive how do you pick yourself back up and get in the game? How do you feel confident when all your peers are sporting golden locks or rich chestnut hair? I have created a list for you ladies to print out and post to your mirror or somewhere you will see it on a daily basis. I am your biggest cheerleader because I felt everything you are feeling. I didn’t have a gray-haired role model that did videos or wrote a blog about it when I was first going through this crazy gray transition over two years ago.

When your gray hair journey gets hard, and you are at your last dark hair strand NOW that’s when you need to push for your gray and own it even more. You need to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself “This too shall pass.” Ladies, it’s a hair color that means nothing except for a bold, fierce and downright powerful attitude. If you dyed your hair pink, purple or green like a lot of women, not just teens are doing do you think anyone would care? So why do they care about gray? Think about that for a second.

Here is the plan, read this list below, print it out to give yourself the encouragement you need to get through each day. I promise you it gets more comfortable you have to commit and not look back.

I designed a couple of hats like the one I am wearing in this photo that is available on my website. Perfect for the days where you are just like I can’t take it anymore. It’s a fashionable statement to help you through the growing out period. You have seen me wearing this hat a lot on my Instagram. I love how I make a statement without having to say a word.

Ladies with a Gray Attitude

April 18, 2018 ·

Let’s face it you have to have a fierce attitude when you go gray. Now, this is not a negative attitude, it’s not an unattractive attitude it’s an attitude that shows confidence and self-worth.

PC: Rick Gomez Photography

From my experience, I felt very uncomfortable when I first decided to ditch the dye. I would look in the mirror and separate my hair and say OMG what are you thinking? What are you doing? I would flip through magazines and see hair campaigns with girls my age sporting gorgeous brunette glossy locks and then I would see commercials with girls in slow motion running with their beautiful freshly dyed hair waving at me. I felt so alone, so weird and so unattractive. Can you relate?

“When Society Says NO, You Say YES!”

PC: Rick Gomez Photography

In life, we all know the saying it’s not what happens to you it’s how you handle it or something along those lines. I decided to start looking at myself as lucky, lucky that I had hair, lucky my hair was gray, lucky that I could be an inspiration to other women wanting to embrace their gray hair. That’s when it all changed for me and my gray hair and I became friends. How long did this take? Probably a good year into the transition. What made my hair journey so much easier is that I didn’t try and stay the same with the style of my hair. I cut it to a chic bob and kept cutting it every six weeks so the black dye would quickly disappear. You can’t half-ass going gray you are either in or out. There is no “Let me kind of see how this looks” or “Oh I will just do gray a little bit.” Cut your hair and get over it. It’s not cute to have hair on the ground and gray roots that will never catch up. That’s, where the fierce part comes in you, have to grab your personal gray movement by the roots and go for it. Ladies hair does not define you and cutting your hair is a necessity to your gray hair journey.

“You Can’t Half-Ass Going Gray, You Are Either In or Out.” Nikol Johnson

Maybe you have a boyfriend, spouse or partner that is not supportive. You and only you have to Own Your Beauty. Your gray hair journey is not for anyone else to decide Period. You are running this race no one else. So if you don’t have a support system head on over to my private Facebook group called Beauty Reinvented and join the other ladies that are going through the same thing you are. Remember it all starts from within.

Don’t Look Down

March 9, 2018 ·

I find it very curious that the more I encourage women to allow their beauty to be whatever that is, gray hair, wrinkles, a bold lip color I get passive aggressive comments, nasty comments or just ridiculous negative comments. This post on negativity is going to be my first and last post about this nonsense.

I cycle three to four times a week, and I am an animal in these classes. I have been cycling since 1996 yes, I know can you believe it? And I honestly am obsessed. It has always been a way for me to release stress, get mental clarity, think and come up with the best business ideas and blog posts. The music and beat just hits me in class in such a profound way that if I were listening to the same song driving, it wouldn’t have the same impact. In this mornings class, there was a song on that just ignited me to write this post.

I didn’t put a lot of thought into how women would react to my Beauty Reinvented website or message, but it seems that it does ruffle some wrinkles out there. Let’s be clear I am not driven by what others think because if I were, I would never have gone gray at forty. I am not here to please everyone, I am here to share my journey, to be bold and fearless in a world that dictates what beauty means, what beauty is and what beauty should be.

Going gray is like walking the line some days you are on point and don’t fall off and other days you can’t get your balance. It’s all about your mindset, and YES everyone can go gray, but if you don’t change your makeup, hairstyle or wardrobe than you are right, you can’t go gray. Women write all over my videos saying how they can’t go gray or that gray doesn’t look good on them. I am not sure what that means. Would you decide to be blonde and not change up your style? Do you think you can just rock blonde hair and not change up your makeup? If you are looking to make a significant beauty change and feel that it’s easy and there is no effort required on your part well then I have nothing else to say.

Life challenges you in ways you never thought possible, and I am not just talking your beauty. Living and having it all together is hard ladies, we all are dealing with something so the next time you say you can’t do something, start complaining as I have been for the past week that has altered my flow take a step back and whip out that gratitude journal. Writing down what is going right in your life will change your vibe and energy. Focusing on what is happening right this second will give you a new perspective and a fresh outlook.

To all the women out there that are lashing out at my bold, fierce message take a look inside and figure out what is lacking in your life. Where is that energy coming from, how can you change? Be a light in this beauty darkness, self-acceptance, self-love journey. You are only bringing yourself down, making your vibe run low.

I only have time for like-minded women in my journey, and I thank all of you that have commented and been so supportive! You are my strength to keep going. I will NOT alter my message because it doesn’t sit right with whoever. I am here to be a bold, unapologetic force of beauty.

Take your focus from looking down and set your eyes on what’s right in front of you.