Why Tia Mowry considers her gray hair a blessing.”

Why Tia Mowry considers her gray hair a blessing.”

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

Growing up in a world dominated by European beauty standards without seeing oneself represented in the media took its toll, she explained. "There were simply no pictures or depictions of anyone who looked like me - black girl with curly hair. All I saw was blonde, straight hair, blue eyes, white skin," Mowry wrote.

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She developed a negative relationship with her hair, straightening it to fit in with what society considered beautiful at the time, and was told that her curly hair was "a distraction" at auditions. "For me, the messages didn't just come from societal standards and magazines, they were voiced in my profession when I was just trying to get a job," she wrote. (Read more: 11 Black Women Get Honest About Natural Hair During Interviews)

However, Instagram helped Mowry change her perspective on beauty as a whole. "I started seeing more girls like me. Meaning, there was this amazing community of curly-haired girls and just black women celebrating all the different textures and colors of their hair at all ages," the Sister Sister alum explained.

Now she's embracing her ever-changing looks. “I celebrate my uniqueness, I celebrate 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 believed that growing old is a blessing. There are so many people every day who don't make it to the age where their hair turns gray," Mowry explained. “And when I see my gray hair, it’s actually a blessing because it means I’m getting older and I’m still here.”

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Despite her confidence about her gray hair - especially as someone in the public eye - Mowry still has to deal with external pressures to conform to traditional beauty standards. In her essay, she revealed that someone at work recently told her to cover her gray hair, but she had the perfect answer. "No. I will keep my gray hair. It's normal, it happens," she wrote.

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

Your advice for anyone struggling with gray hair and aging in general? "Start accepting or allowing your energy and supporting the people in your space," she suggested. “It’s so important to focus on the people around you who will support you in growing old gracefully versus those who won’t.”

Mowry's advice is spot on. If you're struggling to embrace your grays, take a page from your book and surround yourself with the people who love you, no matter what color or texture your hair is. Finding that love for yourself is sure to follow.