Birmingham-based Lidl worker Zara Younas’s videos have clocked up eight million views on TikTokLidl worker Zara Younas with a full head of grey hair at 24.(Image: Jam Press/@mxszy_)

At Birmingham supermarket worker Zara Younas is often mistaken for someone much older – but she would never change her silver hair.

Because the 24-year-old has turned her prematurely-grey locks into a social media phenomenon which has seen her videos rack up eight million views on TikTok.

Zara said customers at her Lidl branch questioned her age and she ignored “hate” online from people urging her to use hair dye.

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“Since I work in retail, a lot of customers always question my age since I look young despite having a whole head of greys,” Zara said. “I get a lot of hate online with people telling to dye it since it ages me, but I never take them seriously. I love my grey hair and would never change it – it makes me look unique and elegant.

“I had my first grey hair at 13. It was during school when my classmate noticed it while playing with my hair. “She plucked it out but I noticed a couple more.” Zara said she felt “so insecure” about it that she tried to cover her hair, before she started box dyeing it twice a month. It was only when she turned 20 that she embraced the natural look – and, initially, it wasn’t by choice.

Zara’s videos have generated eight million views.(Image: Jam Press/@mxszy_)

She said: “I went to Pakistan with my family during Covid and got stuck there during lockdown. “Because of the harsh heat, my hair started getting really brittle and drying up. I decided to give my hair a break from hair dye and any harsh chemicals. “I was stuck there for around eight months, and by the time I came back all my roots were out and it was very visibly white. At this point I realised I was never going to have natural pigment in my hair again. “I then started to embrace it and started getting compliments by customers and members of staff telling me to grow it out. It motivated me more to let it grow it out. “I never got any criticism for my greys during the growing out process – just praises and compliments.” Now her hair is fully grown out, Zara has attracted masses of attention on social media, with her posts garnering hundreds of thousands of likes. She said: “I encourage other people to embrace their insecurities by showing how beautiful it can look.”