These days when the majority of women over 40 are dying their hair, it's hard to remember that this is a relatively new phenomena; that most women still had their natural hair color twenty or thirty years ago.

It's quite amazing to see how the massive hair coloring ad campaigns have altered our perceptions about gray hair over just a few years.

For women who are thinking of going gray, it's often a very difficult decision because of all the social pressure. Anne Kreamer is one woman who decided to let her hair go back to her natural color before she turned 50. And she really does look much better. (See her before and after pictures.) Her book Going Grayis a very interesting read. She gives us an honest account of how difficult it was for her to even make the decision, let alone go through the painful growing-out transition.

Once you read the book, which also has a great section on the beginnings of the hair coloring industry, you can see what's coming next. If the cosmetic surgery industry succeeds as well as Clairol in persuading us to hide our wrinkles, it will soon seem as odd to see wrinkles as it is to see gray hair on a woman today.

Somehow this vision doesn't give me a warm and cuddly feeling about the future.