A woman who started going gray when she was just nine years old revealed how she found the courage to ditch the hair dye and embrace her silver locks, noting that her boyfriend was “in awe” of her natural hair.
Zoë Miolla, 25, of Connecticut, says she was 10 percent gray by the time she was 12, and admits her hair change left her struggling with severe insecurities, particularly after other kids bullied her and called her ‘grandmother’.
The senior designer used box dye to color her hair for the next six years with the help of her mother, April, 51, but ultimately decided to ditch the dye at 18 after starting art school.
By the age of 21, her gray hair had grown to shoulder length so that she could cut the dark hair below, leaving her tresses completely silver.
A woman whose hair started turning gray when she was just nine years old has revealed how she learned to embrace her natural silver locks after years of dyeing them.
Zoë Miolla, now 25, from Connecticut, used black box dye every four to six weeks in an effort to hide her gray hair after facing cruel torment from school bullies.
The college grad says she noticed her first silver hair when she was nine, and by the time she turned 12, 10 percent of her locks had turned silver.
Zoë, seen as a child, says her father was stunned when he saw her first gray hair, but noted that early gray hair runs in the family.
Despite years of insecurities, Zoë says she now loves her ‘unique’ look and jokes to her boyfriend, Matt Griffin, 32, they are ‘fire and ice’ as he has ‘fiery red’ hair.
Zoë said: ‘I couldn’t be more proud of my hair right now. I didn’t always embrace it and feel confident about it. Now it’s my defining trait, I love it.
‘People always think it’s fake and dyed. I always say, “Do you really think I do my roots that much?”
Zoë’s father, Ralph Miolla, 52, first saw gray hair when she was nine years old.
“I remember the moment like the back of my hand,” he recalled. ‘My dad found a gray hair and was going crazy. He said, “What the hell is going on?”
Zoë grew up surrounded by ‘beautiful gray hair’, revealing that her father got her first gray hair at age 12, while her grandmother, Annie Hogan, now 72, discovered hers at just 14.
“My father always reminded me how beautiful our gray hair is,” she said. ‘He found his first gray at age 12 and was mostly gray at age 20. I always thought they had the healthiest, most beautiful hair.
“Grey hair was something I was proud to have from a young age.”
The senior designer used box dye to color her hair for the next six years with the help of her mother, April, 51, but ultimately decided to ditch the dye at 18 after starting art school.
By the age of 21, her gray hair had grown to shoulder length so that she could cut the dark hair below, leaving her locks completely silver.
She now enjoys her natural gray hair, having spent years hiding it thanks to the cruel taunts she faced from bullies in high school.
“It was a big insecurity of mine in high school,” she shared. ‘When I was younger, I just wanted to go unnoticed… There were people who called me Grandma’
But in her teens, Zoë struggled with comments about her graying hair, and that’s when she started trying to hide it from those around her.
“It was a big insecurity of mine in high school,” she shared. “When I was younger, I just wanted to go unnoticed. The gray was concentrated at the top of my head and people called me Grandma.
‘Or they would ask me: ‘What is happening there?’ “He was quite unique at the time, he wasn’t like everyone else.
“I was a big girl with pimples and adding the gray…it wasn’t the prettiest look.”
Zoë decided to dye her hair and re-dyed it every six weeks with the help of her mom, April, creative director.
But when she turned 18 and got ready to go to college in Florida, she decided to embrace her natural locks “out of curiosity.”
Zoë, who attended Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, said: “I was in art school, so all the hair colors were embraced.
‘I was 50 per cent gray when I was in college. After six months my bangs were all gray. I shook a bowl cut out of gray for a while. I also dyed the roots in fun colors.
‘At 21 she grew to shoulder height so she could cut it all off. He wasn’t quite used to a full head of gray hair. [so] it was a shock.
Zoë says she is now 90% gray and is fully embracing her new look, while learning to deal with reactions from people who are confused by her natural color.
Zoë met her partner Matt at a Halloween party and says she initially thought her hair wasn’t real
But now, Zoë says that Matt ‘loves my gray hair and applauds my confidence. He appreciates someone who stands out’
Zoë (left with her mum, right with her dad) grew up surrounded by ‘beautiful gray hair’, revealing that her dad found her first gray hair at age 12, while her grandmother, Annie Hogan, now 72, discovered theirs with only 14 years of age
“People are not used to a young person with so much gray hair,” he explained. “Some of my friends now have some gray hair, but thanks to me they are not afraid.”
Zoë met her partner Matt at a Halloween party and says she initially thought her hair color wasn’t real.
“Part of him thought it was like that for the party,” he said. ‘He definitely noticed, that’s for sure. He loves my gray hair and applauds my confidence. Appreciate someone who stands out.
Zoë now considers her hair her best feature and makes sure to keep it healthy by using a hair cream, frizz treatment and oil.
“I don’t wash my hair more than once a week,” she revealed. I am cautious with the heat that I am putting on it and I do not skimp on products.
“It’s my best feature, so I’m going to make sure it looks its best.”
Zoë hopes that sharing her journey to love her gray hair will inspire others to embrace their natural hair and appearance.
“It doesn’t go with every outfit, but I love it,” she said. ‘I hope to show the world that you can embrace natural beauty. Gray hair is not scary. Gray hair shows wisdom.