A woman who started going grey aged nine has ditched the hair dye and embraced her silver locks - and says her boyfriend is "in awe". Zoë Miolla, 25, says she was 10 per cent grey by the time she was 12.
She felt insecure about her unique hair colour and wanted to "blend in" after being teased and called a "grandma". The senior designer box dyed her hair for the next six years with the help of her mum, April, 51, but decided to ditch the dye at age 18 after she started art college. By the age of 21, her grey hair had grown out to shoulder length so she could cut off her remaining dark hair below - so she was 100 per cent grey.
Zoë loves her "unique" look and jokes with boyfriend, Matt Griffin, 32, they are "fire and ice" as he has "fiery red" hair.
Zoë, from West Haven, Connecticut, US, said: "I couldn't be prouder of my hair now. I didn’t always embrace it and feel confident about it. Now it's my defining trait. I love it now.
"People always think it is fake and dyed. I always say back – 'do you really think I get my roots done that much?'"
Zoë’s dad, Ralph Miolla, 52, first spotted a grey hair when she was nine.
She said: "I remember the moment like the back of my hand. My dad found a grey hair and was freaking out. He said 'what the hell is happening?'"
Zoë grew up surrounded by "beautiful grey hair" as her dad Ralph, a business owner, found his first grey hair at age 12 and her grandma Annie Hogan, 72, found hers at 14-years-old.
She said: "My father, Ralph Miolla, always reminded me how beautiful our grey hair is. He found his first grey at 12 and was mostly grey in his early 20s.
"I always thought they had the healthiest, most beautiful hair. Grey hair was something I was proud to have from an early age."
But in her teens Zoë struggled with comments about her hair colour.
She said: "It was a big insecurity of mine in middle school. When I was younger I just wanted to blend in. The grey was concentrated at the top of my crown.
"I had people call me a grandma. Or they'd ask me – 'what is going on there?' It was pretty unique at the time. I wasn’t like everybody else. I was a little pimply big girl and adding in the grey – it wasn't the cutest look."
Zoë decided to dye her hair and would re-dye it every six weeks with the help of her mum, April, a creative director.
But she decided to embrace her natural locks while at Ringling College of Art and Design, in Sarasota, Florida, "out of curiosity".
Zoë said: “I was at art school so every hair colour was embraced. I was 50 per cent grey by the time I was in college.
"After six months my bangs were all grey. I rocked a bowl cut of grey for a bit. I also dyed the roots fun colours. By 21 it grew out to shoulder length so I could chop it all. I wasn’t super used to a full grey head of hair. It was still a shock."
Zoë says she is now 90 per cent grey and fully embracing her new look.
She said: "People are not used to a young person with so much grey. A few of my friends now have a few grey hairs but because of me they are not afraid."
Zoë met her partner Matt at a Halloween party and says he thought her hair colour wasn't real at first.
She said: "Part of him just thought it was like that for the party. He definitely noticed it that’s for sure. We bonded over our unique natural hair colours.
"He loves my grey hair and applauds my confidence. He appreciates someone who stands out."
Zoë now considers her hair her best feature and makes sure to keep it healthy – using a hair cream, frizz treatment and oil.
She said: "I don’t wash my hair more than once a week. I’m cautious of the heat I’m putting on it. I don’t skimp on products. It’s my best feature so I’m going to make sure it’s looking in tip top shape."
Zoë hopes sharing her journey to love her grey hair inspires others to embrace their natural hair and looks.
She said: "It doesn’t go with every outfit but I love it. I hope to show the world that you can embrace natural beauty. Grey hair is not a scary thing. Grey hair shows wisdom."
Do you have a story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
