Hilarie Burton is growing out her gray roots to show solidarity with frontline workers


Hilarie Burton is so great to follow on Instagram. She’s been sewing masks for weeks at home and encouraging people to make their own and reach out to the frontline workers in their community to give them away. She also has a biography coming out next week called The Rural Diaries and is personally signing hundreds of them before they go out to readers. (It’s unclear if the books from Amazon will be signed by her, but I think that’s what she’s saying in the Instagram below. She also promises her cooties won’t be on them!) In a recent post, she shared her gray roots and said that it’s not worth the time to dye it because she could better spend that time making masks.

The “silver lining” is literally growing out of my skull.
For all of our frontline and essential workers who are too busy to fuss with things like hair color, I grow mine out in solidarity with you.
When I see it, I’m reminded of all you’re doing to keep us safe.
I’m reminded that you deserve to be taken care of.
I’m reminded that any spare time I have shouldn’t be spent on vanity, but rather on helping our heroes. I can make 5 masks in the time it would take me to dye my hair.
It’s a small, silly symbol. Gray hair. Who cares, right? But I hope the nurse or the vet or the store clerk who is feeling tired and overwhelmed knows that it’s a visible thing I can show that says “I’m with you”. #stayhome #protectourhealthcareworkers #protectouressentialworkers

[From Instagram]

I’m ten years older than Hilarie and I’ve had gray hair since my late 20s, so I could relate to this. I just keep buying Clairol Nice ‘n Easy and dyeing it every three weeks at home. Luckily I was already doing this, but I don’t see why people with salon color don’t take the plunge at home, especially if they have a solid color and aren’t going to mess up their highlights. Of course the at-home dye is harsher than the expensive stuff at the salon, but I think Clairol and surely the other brands like L’oreal get it right and that you can find a color match at CVS.

As for her thoughts about dyeing her hair taking time away from working making masks, it only takes five minutes to apply the color! You can do other things while you’re waiting for the dye to set, which takes at least 25 minutes. I always put the dye on and then do something else. There’s no need to let yourself go gray for that, but I understand the sentiment and I’m sure it’s appreciated. We owe so much to the people working for us at this time.

Advance details have come out about Hilarie’s biography. She talks about how quickly she got together with her now-husband, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, after he pursued her in 2010. They now live an idyllic life in upstate New York on a farm with their two kids and a bunch of animals. Plus they co-own a sweet shop with Paul Rudd! She writes that she feels more comfortable in Rhinebeck because their definition of beauty isn’t one-dimensional. “An attractive woman is one who is hard-working, who can handle animals and lift up bags of dirt, not one with highlights or abs or nails. I’ve never felt more valued.” That’s really sweet actually. I get why she’s not as superficial as I am about dyeing her hair. I also live in the country though so I have no excuse except vanity.

Hilarie recorded a nice video in response to the attention she’s getting about her hair. She showed people how to make masks with Amazon gift bags, cotton fabric scraps and straps. She could have used this to promote her book but she’s making masks!

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Support small businesses! Many months ago when @harperonebooks was strategizing the release of my book #ruraldiaries, they graciously suggested giving my local bookstore @oblongbooks the position of carrying all the autographed copies for distribution. The plan was that I’d drop my son at school, grab a coffee at @samuelssweetshop , and spend some leisurely hours in Oblong with the amazing staff there to help me get through all the boxes of books. And then, the world tilted in this unexpected way and we all adjusted. Crates of books were brought here to @themischieffarm instead. We’d initially set a limit on how many copies we were going to sign. But due to the generosity of so many of you pre-ordering the book through @oblongbooks , we blew through that number. We’ve since raised it. Twice. Your purchases are keeping my hometown shop afloat in this uncertain time. And I could not be more grateful. Each pallet of books arrives – and because we are being extra safe about packaging – it lives for a few days on our front porch, taking in the views and being a part of our family. Then my right hand man Gus and I mask up (so we don’t touch our faces and so we don’t give anyone OUR cooties) and we work as a team. Unpacking. Signing. Repacking. On the day of this video we signed around 600 books. And all of this happens during the tiny window of time my daughter is napping. So for those of you who have these copies of Rural Diaries coming to you, please know they started their little booky lives not on a shelf, but here on the farm. They are coming to you with love and gratitude. Thank you for supporting the town I love so dearly. Official release date is May 5th. And I’ll keep on signing till my hand falls off. Xxx

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Three fold plan for my community: 1. Donate cash to https://www.giveinkind.com/inkinds/L6G7N5J/feed-the-medical-personnel-at-the-covid-19-ulster-county-testing-site to feed our front line medical workers using local restaurants. 2. Donate precious protective equipment!!! Masks, gloves, face masks, anything. Industries like nail salons, tattoo parlors, painters, drywall, etc have these materials. Schools have these materials. Look into your own business to help identify and secure these supplies. (For my hospital, Northern Dutchess in Rhinebeck, donations can be left without any human contact. Just put what you have in a bag. Write “Dawn Morrison” ‘s name on the bag and list the items inside. Then leave it on the doorstep of the Northern Dutchess Hospital Foundation at 6531 Springbrook Ave, Rhinebeck NY) 3. Sew masks like a crazy person! There are tutorials all over the Internet. Find one with a pocket in the mask to slip a filter in. At the hospital I am closest to, I was told they go through 9k masks on a normal day. These cloth ones can be sanitized but we need thousands of them. Be safe. I love you.

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22 Responses to “Hilarie Burton is growing out her gray roots to show solidarity with frontline workers”

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  1. klutzy_girl says:

    I’m still annoyed that the Page Six article (or at least the Tweet linking to the article) made her look bad. She responded to the people dragging her to tell them what she’s actually been doing to help the frontline workers and encouraged all of them to donate to help them even more.

  2. Tiffany says:

    I have liked her since her MTV days.

    That’s all.

  3. Sojaschnitzel says:

    I don’t know her but man am I envious of her eye colour <3

  4. a reader says:

    Her instagram post about the gray hair made me cry before I’ve even had my first cup of coffee…. such a beautiful sentiment. How in the world could anyone knock her for that?

  5. WriterMarie says:

    I know I will definitely be in the minority here, but I’ve never liked her. I don’t know why, I just don’t. Didn’t even realize she was big enough to write a memoir?

  6. Thaisajs says:

    Okay, I was definitely rolling my eyes at “actress does her part by growing out her gray roots” until I read the post and realized she was actually making masks and trying to do something that actually helped healthcare works. So good on her.

    Also, seriously, it’s not hard to do your roots at home. I’m too cheap (and too busy) to go to a salon to do it and I’ve also been going the Nice & Easy route for years.

  7. SJR says:

    No idea who this is, but after reading this article, good for her.
    Whatever it takes to help front line workers = all good.

    I am able to get food/meds for my older relatives, and for my nephew and his family I am able to help with paying some bills, etc. I also make sure to donate gift cards to local food shelf. I am grateful to be able to send help. I went thru hard $$ times for 15 years after my divorce, I know how hard this is hitting folks who live paycheck to paycheck. I don’t give a hoot about my looks anymore, I go for clean and comfy, and turns out I am too lazy to keep up even home hair dye jobs. 🙂

    Sunny day here in my corner of USA, hope it is a good one for everybody.

  8. sarah says:

    I really enjoy her instagram, generally. This crisis can leave us feeling so very helpless. On the one hand, many of us are lucky enough to be safe in our homes whilst on the other we are aware of the huge risks and horrific consequences facing front line workers. It can feel slightly surreal. Sewing masks and volunteering are great ways to help but I also wouldn’t knock someone who simply wants to see a tangible mark of the crisis in their grey roots in the mirror everyday.

  9. Other Renee says:

    I admire the sentiment but I won’t knock people for wanting to hide their roots. My own spirits were lifted immeasurably after I took the plunge and colored my own hair. Ordered the product online and got instructions from my stylist then sent her money via Venmo as a thank you. I realize she’s not working now and needs the money.

  10. lily says:

    I’ve had gray hair since i was 16 yo and i have grey roots too. It is expensive to buy hair dye and the income has decreased considerably. Besides, those who are working in health are so busy that there is not time not even for rest. Great she is doing something important to help, no matter how little is the action, everything help nowadays.

  11. Quincytoo says:

    I think she is great

    I am a color tech and color educator for a Loreal owned color company. I used to work
    For Loreal full time but the travel and hours were brutal so now I do it parting (up until
    March 15 lol when we went into lock down)
    I’m not coloring my hair until I get back to the salon

    I’ve had some clients text me and for those that are a single step colour, I let them know the level and tone and ask them to buy a Loreal or Garnier ( Loreal owned ) color
    Everyone is handling this pandemic and if coloring ones regrowth helps then that is a good thing
    Stay safe and healthy ❤️

  12. Case says:

    She’s a lovely person to follow. I love the sentiment behind growing out her roots and love that she’s raising awareness on how to make your own masks to donate.

    I have quite a few grays and I’m growing mine out just because I really don’t want the expense right now. I feel cute if I just keep my nails painted and don’t really care what my hair looks like in quarantine with my cats, haha. I’ve been trying to get it lighter without bleaching it for a long time anyway, so this is a good time to let my natural, slightly lighter hair come in.

  13. lucy2 says:

    She seems to be a good soul. I like that she’s putting out practical info on how to help others and using her platform to help.

  14. LaUnicaAngelina says:

    I tried to hold out for the salon but I put in some purple Féria dye on Sunday. I used to always use box dye in my early 20s. I have a white patch and lots of random white hairs, so the color pops in those spots. It turned out great.

    @CB – you’re hair looks great! I wouldn’t have guessed it wasn’t from the salon. And your blowout is always on point!

    • Celebitchy says:

      Ooh you have to put a pic of your new color on Instagram! Thank you for the compliments on my hair. I splurged on a Dyson Airwrap for myself for Christmas. I let it air dry and then use that to curl it and the results are really good.

  15. Bauhaus_chic says:

    She’s such a sweetheart! I love her on Instagram: she’s a genuine, hands-on, kind, down to earth person and is always contributing to her community (plus bonus pictures of the hubby, kids and animals!)

  16. H says:

    I bought her book from Oblong Books, her local bookstore in upstate NY. I never watched One Tree Hill, but know of her through her husband from his Supernatural days. I got the book for a friend who is a JDM fanatic as a birthday gift. I love to support local book sellers. Thanks, CB for letting me know about this.

  17. galina says:

    Wow thats amazing. Big sacrifice. So brave.

  18. Jujumanji says:

    And this is why Peyton was always my favourite.

  19. Cali says:

    She’s a good soul. I love following her life on Instagram. She’s always doing what she can to help others. She and JDM have big hearts. She went through a lot on the set of OTH and I give her a lot of credit for sharing some of it. And I love how tight most of that cast still is.

  20. EveV says:

    Wow, I was already impressed with Hilarie Burton when the story of her standing up to Hallmark came out. After reading this (and yes, I am emotional during this time and also about to start my period), I almost started crying. She is so inspirational and just a damn good person, in a time when the USA seems short on both those kinds of people. She’s an amazing woman and I hope her book continues to sell like crazy and her profile continues to grow because she deserves it 💯