So let me tell you how the title of this blog came to be:

About three years ago, sometime after my 42nd birthday, I was in my car doing what I do best: plucking unsightly chin hairs. Come on; I can’t be the only one who keeps a pair of tweezers in my car. Ladies, I know you’ve had to pluck a hair or two above or below the lip, and if you’re anywhere near my age, you probably figured out around 20 years ago that the car is the best place to do it. The sun always hits your face just right, and there’s no hair in sight that can be hidden. But I digress.

While doing my routine chin check, I noticed something whiteish in color. I thought it was lint, so I attempted to swipe it away with my hand. It didn’t budge. I angled my face toward the little mirror in my visor so the Lord could shine the sun on that spot. You know, because I imagine that’s what He’s up there doing, making sure we have proper lighting to perform esthetician work in the car, but this wasn’t lint. IT WAS A GRAY CHIN HAIR!

I gasped. I looked to my left and right. I was at a stoplight, and I needed to know if anybody else saw this gray hair on my chin. In my logical mind, I knew they couldn’t see it, but I felt like they could see it! I didn’t know gray chin hairs were possible and it was HUGE! Okay, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but the mere fact that it existed on my face was enough!

Immediately, curiosity got the best of me. I went home, grabbed a mirror, and my iPhone flashlight, and began my search for gray hairs in “other” places. It turns out, my chin isn’t the only “wise” part of my body. Because that’s what they say, right? “The older we get, the wiser we become,” and “gray hair means you’re wise!” Well, as much as I would like to believe that these newfound gray hairs represented a Gandalf level of wisdom, that just ain’t true.

Being that I’m a curious person (my mama calls it nosey), I did some research to figure out why my hair turned gray anywhere else besides the top of my head, and this is what I discovered: 

According to my good, good girlfriend, Google, our hair turns gray WHEREVER due to the lessening of pigment cells in a hair follicle. This causes a reduction in melanin in said follicle, which causes the hair to appear transparent in color. 

But you know what else I discovered? It IS true that stress can cause our hair to turn gray! Well, it’s true in mice at least. Researchers discovered when mice are stressed out (although I can’t imagine what a mouse has to stress about) their fight or flight response causes a release of the chemical norepinephrine into their bodies, which also travels through their hair follicles. 

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:31 that: “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.”  Well, since righteousness in God’s eyes is only attained through salvation in Jesus Christ, I guess it’s safe to say my gray hair proves I’m saved, so Hallelujah! 

Well, now you know why my blog is titled “Grays on my Anatomy,” and it’s probably a lot more than you wanted to know. But I felt it was important to start our relationship with full transparency and honesty!