For some of us, it’s a perpetual question: Should I continue to dye my hair and cover the gray or should I just stop and allow mother nature to take her course? Moreover, those of us who “dye” are often left wondering: What is this doing to the health of my hair? And are all of these chemicals safe? Well, recent reports and stories in the news have some answers and suggestions for the next time you’re posing these questions to yourself.

First, concern about the harm of hair dye. There have been some recent studies linking chemicals in hair dye to breast cancer occurrence in African American women. And it is known that some of the chemicals in hair dye are carcinogenic. That’s certainly giving many women (and men) pause about what it’s worth to perpetuate the myth of hair color when the reality is you have gray hair. There’s also research going on to study gray hair to see what it reveals about the aging process and to possibly even rejuvenate the hair with color by studying the melanocyte stem cells responsible for hair color (you may have seen recent reports that Harvard scientists have been studying these cells as well and have figured out why stress can turn your hair gray). Fortunately, if you’re into trends, gray hair seems to be everywhere these days. As well, if you can’t quite let go of the dye, maybe you can try something fun and a bit subversive, as writer Marie Bailey describes in her recent Medium post. As she proclaims, “I dye my hair not to look younger but to show how young I feel.”

And what about your hair health? Over at Women’s Voices For Change, Dr. Minisha Sood has published the first of a two-part series on hair loss in women, the first part focusing on how to optimize your hair health as you get older. Given that by age 40, 40% of women are affected by hair loss, those of us who dye our hair need to be extra aware of good hair and scalp health so as to lessen the likelihood of hair damage and even hair loss. And for further insights on hair loss in women and how to cope, put down your brush and click here.