Why Tia Mowry Sees Her Gray Hair As a 'Blessing'

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Tia Mowry is all about celebrating her hair, especially as it turns gray. The actress recently opened up about how she's learned to love her looks at every stage of life in a candid essay for InStyle.

Growing up in a world dominated by European beauty standards without seeing herself represented in the media took its toll, she explained. "There were just no visuals or representation of someone who looked like me — Black girl with curly hair. All I saw being showcased was blonde, straight hair, blue eyes, white skin," wrote Mowry.

Related: How Eurocentric Beauty Standards Harm Black Women

She developed a negative relationship with her hair, straightening it in an attempt to fit into what society deemed beautiful at the time and being told her curly hair was "a distraction" at auditions. "For me, the messages weren't only coming from societal standards and magazines, they were being voiced within my profession when I was just trying to get a job," she wrote. (Read more: 11 Black Women Get Real About Natural Hair at Job Interviews)

However, Instagram helped Mowry shift her perspective about beauty as a whole. "I started to see more girls like me. Meaning, there was this amazing community of curly girls, and just Black women celebrating all the various textures and colors of their hair at every age," explained the Sister Sister alum.

Now, she's embracing her ever-changing looks. "I am celebrating my uniqueness, I am celebrating who I am at every stage of my life," she wrote. And for Mowry, that includes celebrating the inevitable gray hairs, something she's long been open about on social media.

"I've always had this perspective that it is a blessing to get old. There are so many people on a daily basis that are not making it to the age where their hair starts to gray," explained Mowry. "And so when I see my gray hair, it actually is a blessing because it means that, yes, I'm getting older and I'm still here."

Related: All the Times Andie MacDowell Has Opened Up About Her Decision to Go Gray

Despite her confidence about her gray hairs — especially as someone in the public eye — Mowry still deals with outside pressure to conform to traditional beauty standards. In her essay, she revealed that someone at work recently told her to cover her gray hairs, but she had the perfect response. "No. I'm going to keep my gray hair. This is normal, this is what happens," she wrote.

Instead of letting others tell her what beauty is, Mowry prefers to decide that for herself. "I define what beauty is for me. And for me, beauty is confidence, beauty is feeling good about yourself, beauty is embracing all of your flaws, and beauty is aging," wrote the 44-year-old.

Her advice for anyone struggling with getting gray hair and aging in general? "Start embracing or allowing your energy and the people in your space to be supportive," she suggested. "It's so important to focus on the people around you who are supporting you to grow old gracefully, as opposed to those who don't."

Mowry's advice is spot on. If you've been having trouble embracing your grays, take a page from her book and surround yourself with the people who love you no matter what color or texture your hair may be. Finding that love for yourself is sure to follow.