Sarah Jessica Parker has grey hair. You might think that’s not news, but for many it has been. In fact, stories about SJP’s heroism for not covering her roots has been in the news cycle since promo pictures for the Sex And The City reboot And Just Like That... were published…nine months ago.
In an interview with Allure, the 57-year-old actress said of the surprising attention to her herringbone highlights: ‘It became months and months of conversation about how brave I am for having grey hair…I was like, please please applaud someone else's courage on something!'
And it turns out SJP’s decision to have her natural grey weaved through her cool blonde dye was down to one thing and one thing alone: lack of time. ‘I can’t spend time getting base colour every two weeks,’ she explained. ‘Can’t do it. Nope. Too much.’
Yup, having your hair dyed in the hairdresser can be a mammoth task, taking anywhere from two to six hours per treatment. And if SJP did that every two weeks, she would spend nearly a week of her life in the salon chair every year—that’s way too much time to spend wrapped in foils.
Going grey is a very normal part of ageing. While men are called ‘silver foxes’ and never expected to hide the evidence that time has passed, women with similar hair hues are regarded with shock and sometimes admiration. The real victory would be if it was nothing out of the ordinary. ‘A woman with grey hair? Who cares?’ is the optimum reaction.
‘When I walk out the door, I want want to feel OK—according to my standards,’ SJP continued of her mentality around ageing. I can't even tell you what those standards are. But you know how you feel when you feel most like yourself, whatever that means. I'm not without vanity. I guess I just don't care enough about everybody else's opinion.’