Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow naturally?

[asscherisme]

I started getting a few greys a few years ago and started coloring my natural dark color to cover them up using semi-permanent. I hate hate the process of coloring my hair. Everything from he chemical smell to being a slave to it once you start.

I still have mostly dark hair and at this point if I just stop coloring, I won't get that dreaded skunk line of white that you see on older women who color dark but have white roots and don't keep up with it.

I feel that having grey (and for now grey with my dark) would look much better than that dreaded skunk line.

I look on the young side for my age (early 40s) and my kids are all for me letting my natural color show. I have just past shoulder lenth curly hair and like it on the longish side. I do keep it neatly trimmed and in style.

Am I nuts? I have been noticing that its more of a rebelious thing to NOT cover your grey than color it. Not trying to be a rebel, just trying to be myself!

Anyone else go natural into gray hair?

And why on a man is it distiguished but on a women its considered taboo to not color? I hate that!

 

[Enerchi]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I wish I had not started to colour my hair. It has made it very dry and fly away and soooo difficult to get it under control - but I look blondish and like that, so I keep it up. BUT every time I get to the stage where my muddy dull roots start to show, I wish I had the guts to let it grow out. If I had a second chance, I'd let my hair just do it's own natural thing - far healthier and much less expensive! Unfortunately, I do cave each time and therefore, seem to be perpetually in the colouring cycle. Rats

 

[Maisie]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I have greys growing in and I wish I hadn't gone darker. I had lots of blonde hi-lights and the greys didn't look that noticible when my roots were showing. Now i've gone brown and i'm irritated already that my roots need doing. I don't want to let my grey grow in yet. I feel too young (same age as the op) to have grey hair.

 

[Kismet]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I don't color my hair and I have greys coming in (in my mid 40s). They're mostly right along my hairline so they're not overly noticeable unless I pull my hair back. I can barely force myself to get my hair cut; I'd never keep up a coloring schedule.

 

[zoebartlett]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I have dark brown hair and I notice silver and grey streaks all over, but I haven't bothered to color it yet. I keep meaning to but I just put it off. Maybe I'll get around to it this summer.

 

[Meezermom]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I'm in my mid-fifties, and I'm just now getting grey at the temples. I'm thinking that I will go the natural route - I don't want the hassle of coloring.

 

[MyDiamondSparkles]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I color mine. I'm in my mid 40's and I'm just not ready for gray at all.

If you can grow it out, now is the time to do, while you still have mostly dark hair and not so many grays--and before the only option is the dreaded skunk line. If you decide you don't like it you can always go back to coloring.

If you only dislike color because of the smell and the time it takes then switch color brands. Paul Mitchel has a new line for men that covers gray in 10 minutes. P.S. All hair is the same, so women can use it too. For my coloring, I schedule my appointments every 6 weeks on a Friday and have a mani/ pedi at the same time. It's a much needed break in my hectic schedule, plus Friday just so happens to be dh and my date night so it works out great.

 

[Jennifer W]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I'm not going to colour my hair under any circumstances, and yeah, I see a little bit of grey creeping in here and there. I'd let it grow out if I were you, or visit a salon to see about an interim solution. My mother did that - didn't stop colouring entirely, but had the salon tone the colour they used closer to her 'new' natural (ie grey) over time. It looks sooooo much better now that it isn't dyed.

 

[lulu]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

Yes, but not til I was 58 and entirely grey. And I love it, but I don't think I would have done it before 55.

 

[Aoife]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I started going grey in my forties, and for a long time I low-lighted it, which kept the overall look my natural med/dark brown, but with a few streaks of grey. As I went more and more grey, and the amount of low-lighting increased I finally decided it was time to embrace the grey. I'm in my late 50's now, and actually like my grey hair. Like Lulu, though, I'm not sure I would have done that before my early 50's.

 

[Maria D]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

awwww, go for it asscherisme! If you don't like being grey you can always go back to coloring it.

Having dark hair that is going grey is problematic if you want to hide the grays. With lighter color hair you can get highlights that kind of blend in with the grey roots so that you can go longer between applications; not an option with dark hair which, as you said, gives you the 'ol skunk line.

My situation is somewhat like yours except dial back the clock 10-15 years. I had plenty of greys in my mid to late 20s and by my mid-thirties was coloring regularly with semi-permanent. By the time I was your age semi-permanent wouldn't do the job and I had to switch to permanent color. I have never let my hair go naturally grey. Now I am almost 51 and touch up my roots every 3 weeks. In fact, I'm sitting here with dye in my hair and a cup of coffee as I type! I am no longer "dark-haired" but "light brown" (L'Oreal Excellence Creme Resistant Grays 6X to be exact). EVERY 3 FREAKIN' WEEKS. This is your future if you go down my path....RUN, RUN AWAY!

 

[kenny]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

Me all natural.

 

[makemepretty]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I'm hoping to make to my 70's before I stop dying. I don't want to look natural, I want to look like *me* but better. Yes, it's work but so is shaving, plucking, watching your weight, applying sunscreen, etc. I just add it to the list. I've had people think I don't even wear make up, that effortless look sure takes a lot of work!

 

[rubybeth]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I'm only 31 and have a few grey hairs showing already, but I don't plan on dyeing them, because I like how my mom's hair looks. She's in her 60s and about 60% grey with 40% still dark brown. Her hair is silvery and wavy, and it looks really nice. She gets compliments on it all the time. She started greying in her 40s and did dye it for a while, but ultimately got fed up with home dyeing and is too cheap to have it done professionally on a regular basis.

About 10 years ago, she got a large gift certificate to a very upscale local salon, and went in for a color consultation after letting the dyed hair grow out a bit and getting sick of how bad she thought it looked. They suggested low-lighting, adding in some darker areas but letting most of the grey show through. When she got this done, it was AMAZING. People actually thought she'd had a face lift or botox or something, but no, she'd just had an excellent dye job that enhanced her grey hair instead of trying to cover it up. I think my mom did the low-lighting a couple more times while letting it all grow out grey from root to tip, and I think it looks really nice. I don't think she'd mind if I attached a photo of how her hair looks now.

 

[Haven]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I don't cover my greys. I have little clumps of grey here and there--one in my crown, several on my center part. My hair used to be brown-black, but as I get older it's starting to turn reddish. (Actually, I think a follicle goes from growing a brown-black hair to a fire engine red hair, and then to grey. All of my grey clumps started out fire engine red. It's weird.)

Anyway, I won't color my hair until I am more grey than not. My mom didn't color hers until she was in her early 50s, and at that point it really did make a huge difference. But before then she just had really awesome streaks of grey.

I'm 31. I started getting greys in my mid-20s.

 

[kenny]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

Sorry, double post.

 

[TravelingGal]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

premature gray runs in my family. My brother, at 38, is probably already 40-50 gray. I don't think I have the gene, but I am noticing a few gray streaks here and there. Doesn't bother me.

I plan on living a long life, and I hope to have a full head of healthy gray hair instead of processed thinning treated hair. I don't know if it's true that the chemicals will thin your hair before its time, but both my mom and aunt definitely have thinned out hair, and they colored their hair for decades with drugstore boxes.

That being said, I reserve the right to change my mind!

 

[kenny]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

BTW, 3 months ago we had a very long thread on this.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-you-or-will-you-dye-your-gray-hair.173753/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-you-or-will-you-dye-your-gray-hair.173753/[/URL]

It was a poll in which 76% responded that they either do or will dye away their gray hair . . .

 

[ZahraLeyla]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I am 27 and have been going (noticeably) grey since my early 20s. Suspect I got the dud hair genes from my mother, who also went grey early, though she always had darker hair than me so I suppose it was more noticeable for her. She is now 60 and completely 'blonde' without the aid of bleaching, which is no mean feat for a Persian lady with formerly jet black hair!

My father, on the other hand, is still mostly sandy blonde/light brown. My younger sister is 25 and has no grey hair. I have to dye mine because it is very noticeable, especially through the front where most of it seems to be concentrated. The thing I dislike about it most is that the texture of the hair seems to change and become more coarse as it goes grey. Much as I wish I was brave enough to try it, I think I'm still far too young to rock the salt and pepper look so I suspect I will be dying it for many years to come.

I have my hair coloured professionally ever four weeks on the dot to keep up with my elaborate ruse of having youthful hair to go with my youthful face!

 

[swingirl]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I let my hair go natural about 4 years ago and now get low lights and hi-lights painted on so there is no mark of the roots growing in. It looks mostly gray with some warmth. My hair stayed dark in the back and about 50/50 in the front. The cool steal gray wasn't a becoming color with my complexion and I needed to warm it up. Now I am sort of calico! I wish the whole thing would go white! I love that look.

 

[makemepretty]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I forgot to add that I started getting grays in my 20's and I'm now in my 40's. Dying it hasn't thinned it in any way. I think you're either predisposed to thinning hair or you aren't. My hair is so heavy and long that I only dye my roots and get it layered to take some of the weight off of it.

 

[Kim N]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I'm prematurely grey too. I colored it once and haven't made the time to color it again. Just seems like so much work to maintain, but I hate how the greys are so prominent against dark hair.

 

[yssie]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I don't cover my greys. I have little clumps of grey here and there--one in my crown, several on my center part. My hair used to be brown-black, but as I get older it's starting to turn reddish. (Actually, I think a follicle goes from growing a brown-black hair to a fire engine red hair, and then to grey. All of my grey clumps started out fire engine red. It's weird.)

Anyway, I won't color my hair until I am more grey than not. My mom didn't color hers until she was in her early 50s, and at that point it really did make a huge difference. But before then she just had really awesome streaks of grey.

I'm 31. I started getting greys in my mid-20s.

I have little migratory clumps of grey here and there too.
And my hair is changing colour too. I never had *black* hair like most Indians - it's always been a really dark brown, but in the past year or so it's turned a hair (hah) lighter and redder, I think!

I plan to hit the bottle as soon as it's no longer practical to yank all the greys

 

[rainwood]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I had my hair colored for years, but not to cover gray. I was a blonde for the first 20 years and then my hair started getting darker which I felt didn't go very well with my skin tone. I'm now 58 but probably only about 10% of my hair is gray. My husband started some very serious medical treatment and for about 6 months I couldn't get to the salon. So I involuntarily had the chance to see it grow out some and I kind of like the natural silver highlights. As usual, my hair does the opposite of what I want so I have more gray in the back than the front, but I think I'm going to keep it natural. When I finally got to the salon, my stylist thought it would look better to just let it transition than to get rid of the blonde. I thought she was nuts at the time, but she turned out to be right.

I'm enjoying the time and money saved. I think my hair will be healthier too because I wear it shoulder length and coloring gives it body, but also dries it out. If I don't like rocking the silver when it's fully grown out, I can always go back to the salon but for now I'm enjoying the freedom.

 

[lknvrb4]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I started getting grey strands occasionally in my 20's and I am 35 now. I used to color and high light my hair and just used henna/cassia a week ago. I am very happy with the results and did not have to use chemicals or spend a fortune. Look at hennaforhair.com , they have lots of ideas and options for covering grey. A product called Cassia might be a good option for some of you.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I'll probably color mine until I am too old to care! My hair and eyebrows are dark brown, and all gray hair would not look like me. When my gray started probably in my late 30's, it did not come in evenly...it was more at my temples and I really had to cover it. Since we adopted a child at 40, I did not want to be asked if she was my grandchild, so I continued with the haircolor. I go to the salon every 5 weeks and just do a little touch up of the roots at home after three weeks. My hair is still soft and silky since I don't use permanent color.

 

[Scorpioanne]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I quit colouring my hair abut 4 years ago and dealt with the comments at first "it is time you went to the hairdresser" - (that from someone who is older than me) and now I hear " I wish my hair would look like yours, it is beautiful"! I get way more compliments about my hair now than I ever did when I coloured it. Actually my 80 year old neighbour asked if I had it streaked!

I think it is goregous and I guess mine is truly the only opinion that counts! I am glad I quit, no more itchy scalp for 3 weeks after colouring, no more expensive shampoo, no more hours in the chair. I thought I'd have to cut it as I have always had long hair but it is at my bra strap and looks great.

 

[Asu]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

For now I pluck them out.I just keep finding two or three white hair at my temples,once or twice a year,and I pluck them out.I'm 26,I just don't feel ready for white hair

 

[mich_t]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I'm like ZahraLeyla, started going salt and pepper grey in my mid-twenties thanks to dodgy genetics! I think it depends on your age whether you feel comfortable letting it go grey. I didn't want to be 50% grey in my late-twenties because I think it would have aged my face a lot. Maybe into my forties I'll let it grow out.

Right now my husband is the lucky guy who gets to dye my hair every 3 weeks

 

[Jennifer W]

Re: Anybody NOT cover their grey hair and let it grow natura

I quit colouring my hair abut 4 years ago and dealt with the comments at first "it is time you went to the hairdresser" - (that from someone who is older than me) and now I hear " I wish my hair would look like yours, it is beautiful"! I get way more compliments about my hair now than I ever did when I coloured it. Actually my 80 year old neighbour asked if I had it streaked!

I think it is goregous and I guess mine is truly the only opinion that counts! I am glad I quit, no more itchy scalp for 3 weeks after colouring, no more expensive shampoo, no more hours in the chair. I thought I'd have to cut it as I have always had long hair but it is at my bra strap and looks great.

Do you feel like posting a photo at all? I'd love to see some of the PSers who don't use hair dye - it's difficult to get style ideas when all the magazines etc make no mention of what to do with grey or greying hair. Mine has only a little grey at the moment, around the temples, but I guess I'll be seeing more and more over the next few years. I'd love some style inspiration, if anyone would like to post photos.