Tia Mowry, 44, on why she won't cover up her gray hairs: 'It is a blessing to get old'

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Tia Mowry isn't ashamed of her gray hair. In fact, she's embracing it.

In a new essay for InStyle, the Sister, Sister alum, 44, wrote about how she first found gray hairs in her 20s, and the grays "started to come in heavy" in her 40s. However, at the time, she said she wasn’t "alarmed" by the change.

Tia Mowry penned an essay for InStyle about her hair. (Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
Tia Mowry penned an essay for InStyle about her hair. (Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

"I've always had this perspective that it is a blessing to get old," Mowry wrote. "There are so many people on a daily basis that are not making it to the age where their hair starts to gray. And so when I see my gray hair, it actually is a blessing because it means that, yes, I'm getting older and I'm still here. I don't take that lightly — I really, really don't."

However, while The Game star was comfortable in her decision to rock her grays with confidence, not everyone was a fan. She said she was told by people in the entertainment industry that she should cover up her gray hair because "girls shouldn't be seen that way." Mowry said that she fights that stigma by remembering that she defines beauty in her own way, noting that "beauty is confidence, beauty is feeling good about yourself, beauty is embracing all of your flaws and beauty is aging."

"The one thing we all have in common as human beings is that every day, we are aging. I think we really need to start asking ourselves, 'Why are we trying to diminish or suppress the beauty and the blessing of getting older?'" she wrote. "I want to change the narrative, and that's why I show off my hair the way it is."

Mowry isn't the only star who embraces her gray hair. Recently, Criminal Minds star Paget Brewster tweeted about bucking the pressure to dye her hair, writing, "I like my gray hair. I have felt pressure to dye it, pretend to be 35 again, no thanks. We all have huge issues to address, I know. This is one small battle. But I think all of us have small personal battles. Let's start by being kind to each other, even when we disagree."

Maid actress Andie MacDowell echoed the statement in an interview with People.

“During COVID, I could see the roots with my face and with my skin and my eyes, and I liked it. I felt that I would be happier. And I am happier," she told the magazine. “I really like it. I'm 64, and this is the time of my life. Eventually, I'm going to be silver. And I wanted to have this experience of feeling what it is."

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