Hilarie Burton lets her gray hair grow out in solidarity with front-line workers
Hilarie Burton is ditching the hair dye during quarantine for a symbolic reason. In an emotional Instagram post on Tuesday, the former “One Tree Hill” star, 37, shared a close-up look at her natural gray hair. “The ‘silver lining’ is literally growing out of my skull,” she began her caption.
“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,” Burton continued. “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.”
The actress added that she’d rather use her days stuck at home for something more productive. Since the pandemic began, Burton has been making masks at home and urging her fans to do the same, in addition to providing meals to healthcare workers and more.
“I’m reminded that any spare time I have shouldn’t be spent on vanity, but rather on helping our heroes,” she wrote. “I can make 5 masks in the time it would take me to dye my hair.”
Continued Burton: “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”
Stars showed their support in the comments. “Beautiful words and love the grays,” Rumer Willis wrote, while Kate Walsh described her friend’s sprouting grays as a “halo.”
Burton is far from the only star who’s embracing their natural roots during lockdown. Sarah Silverman and Kevin Hart have both taken to Instagram to show off their silver strands recently.