A woman who found her first grey hairs when she was just 11 years old is embracing her silver locks more than two decades on.
Emiriana Litsa, from north London, says she used to dye her hair jet black every two weeks and let her true hair colour remain a "well-kept secret."
But after turning 30, she decided enough was enough and ditched the hair dye for good - making her final trip to the hair colourist in June 2018, shortly before her wedding day.
She said: "I was about eleven-years-old when I got my first grey hair.
"I wasn't aware of anyone my age with grey hair and I didn't like how that early grey hair made me stand out.
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"When you're eleven, you just want to fit in and look like everyone else. I began dyeing jet-black it at home by my teens and my grey hair became a well-kept secret."
But she added that, by her mid-twenties when she had her roots dyed every fortnight, she was becoming exhausted and spending a lot of money.
"When I was in my late twenties, I started questioning beauty standards and the societal pressure I felt to hide my greys," she said.
"I would leave the gap between hair colour appointments longer and longer. I began to realise how much I loved my natural grey shade and how unique it was."
As her grey hair began to grow out, Emi said she began to feel "liberated and empowered" by her decision, and learned to love her natural colour.
Four years on from her decision, she said: "The only thing I regret is not making the decision to grow out my grey hair earlier."
Emi now shares photos of her silver locks on Instagram @silver_raven_emi - and has also gone viral on TikTok after a video of her tresses was posted by the @worldmicrophone account.
She said: "I believe that women can and should set their own beauty standards.
"I think there's something special about grey hair. It's a part of me and there's no reason to hide it.
"Women approach me and compliment me on my hair more now than before. It's always very positive and many tell me that they love that I've taken the decision to let my grey hair shine.
"I don't want to ever tell any women what they should or should not do with their hair. But I hope I can prove that grey can be cool at any age! It's my little contribution I guess."
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