Gray is the new blonde?

[MamaBee]

I love not having to color my hair anymore. About ten years ago I went in for highlights and my hairdresser advised I go natural.
I love grey hair, it’s so pretty.
But mine was blonde to start, so the transition was not drastic.

You have gorgeous hair @Jimmianne...

 

[MamaBee]

Speaking of hair- my niece just went purple.

LOL that expression.



Times have changed. When I was her age no way would my mom and dad let me color it!

@missy I love her expression...It reminds me of Scott when he was four and I told him he couldn’t have any more ice cream at a birthday party. I thought he looked so cute that I snapped his pic! I still have that photo in a frame in my living room. She looks adorable!

 

[missy]

@missy I love her expression...It reminds me of Scott when he was four and I told him he couldn’t have any more ice cream at a birthday party. I thought he looked so cute that I snapped his pic! I still have that photo in a frame in my living room. She looks adorable!

Thanks Joanne. My other niece did a similar purple but more subtle. They both donate their hair to Locks s of Love as fast as it grows. They’ve been donating as long as their hair has been long enough. So they both got shorter cuts and colored their hair. I think they’ve been coloring their hair for a few years now. So young.

 

[MamaBee]

@missy I posted but it disappeared...ugh...I think your hair is so lovely and feminine. People pay big bucks to add highlights to their hair...That’s what yours looks like to me...Very pretty..

 

[MamaBee]

Thanks Joanne. My other niece did a similar purple but more subtle. They both donate their hair to Locks s of Love as fast as it grows. They’ve been donating as long as their hair has been long enough. So they both got shorter cuts and colored their hair. I think they’ve been coloring their hair for a few years now. So young.

Your nieces are so sweet @missy! How wonderful that they donate their hair...Beautiful inside and out!

 

[MarionC]

You have gorgeous hair @Jimmianne...

Mamabean, thank you. You made my day.

Missy, your niece is turning into a beautiful young woman.

 

[Bonfire]

@Maria D may I suggest a good colorist? I also have naturally dark hair that I starting coloring (never myself however) around 40. A good colorist will help you tone down the straight dark color and transition you to a few shades lighter with some added highlights/lowlights. In my case we’ve lightened with depth variation that looks very natural. Going lighter helps make the grow out much less noticeable. It looks more natural and age appropriate. It also makes the transition to gray, if I choose, less drastic.

 

[Maria D]

@canuk-gal, I used to blow-dry and flat-iron my hair exclusively but about two years ago started embracing my natural texture which I now love. It's wavy in most places with some nice loopy curls. I am not sure if bleaching will change the curl pattern. I have had many different lengths over the years. My preference is to have it just hitting my shoulders with layers starting at chin level (which is what it is now). It would take 18 months to grow out to just short of this length...if I don't touch up my roots today I'll have 17 months to go. Hmmm....

@marymm, that was very brave of you! I have only one time lightened my hair. It was at age 14 with a product called Quiet Touch with which you painted highlights into your hair. The brassy orange streaks were far from quiet. After seeing this video I BLEACHED HALF OF MY HAIR OFF!!! Gray Hair Transition I am too afraid to try going this route myself but I am considering getting it professionally done.

@snowdrop, I have had very short hair and do not prefer it but hey, it grows fast! So a choppy haircut is definitely a possibility!

@dk168, your hair is gorgeous, love it!!! I did use semi-permanent color up until my late 30s. But then I had so much resistant gray that semi-permanent didn't cover so I switched. My natural hair color was a very dark brown (4N) so that is what I had to use to not have a demarcation line. In my 40s I got it cut very short and switched to light brown (6N). A short haircut and new switch could be in order.

@AlexT, I don't go anywhere without root touch up powder! A week and a half after dying roots I am touching up the "bald" spots. I need to do it not just at the part but in back where my curls form. I was elated to discover root powders because it meant that I no longer had to worry about dye-day timing, but now I feel like it's getting to be too much to control.

@missy, your inspo hair picture is lovely, but so is your natural hair! Funny how we tend to want what we don't have - if I had your hair I would be perfectly content. Your nieces are gorgeous too.

@Austina, ah yes, to be able to snap fingers and go gray overnight! I am lucky in that no one would care at my job, certainly not my students. I'm semi-seriously considering getting a collection of hats.

Thanks everyone for sharing all your experiences and suggestions!

 

[lyra]

The only other caveat I have to mention is, depending on what your natural grey ends up looking like, I had to change my wardrobe somewhat. I need softer colours now and even though it's been almost 10 years, I still think of myself as a brunette! Some colours wash me out now. YMMV.

 

[m51galaxy]

I was lucky that at age 40 I only had 3 gray hairs. My mother's hair was white at 40. Now that I am over 60 I am mostly gray. I had been going along with the recommendation that the most flattering color for ones hair is the color it was when you were 10. So I was using a light brown for years. However, I too got tired of having that skunk stripe soon after coloring. I decided to go blonde so the white and gray roots would not be obvious. I used a level 10 and although the color was nice and the roots not noticeable, the color did not suit me, and my husband hated it. I now use level 9 color and it looks much better. I am guessing that level 8 would be too dark and I would still have a skunk stripe of new growth.

 

[Tekate]

I let me hair go natural 2 years ago.. took about 18mos of cutting etc, as opposed to DK I am only white in front, the back is all natural, I think it looks weird, my sons think I look cool, and my husband says it's sexy.. I say phooey! ETA:jeez I am sorry about how dang huge this pix is ugh. sorry.

 

[asscherisme]

Early 50's here and stopped coloring my hair a few years back. I am so glad I did. I hated the process, the smell, the hours wasted, and the cost. I felt like I had to hide something that I didnt' wnat to hide..

I feel so much more confident now and I get compliments on it. It is still mostly dark, but definitely salt and pepper. My long term boyfriend loves it natural and my teenage/young adult kids like it too. I wear it a few inches past my shoulders.

Even my hairdresser commented to me last week when I got it trimmed that my hair looks good natural. I trust that because she would make more money trying to talk me into coloring. I have been with her forever and she use to be the one who colored my hair.

There is always the occasional person who will tell me I should color it. Or that "You are so brave" comments for letting it be natural. Which I hate, but ignore!

If you are thinking of growing out the color, go for it. I didn't have a hard transition since my natural was still mostly dark when I did it, but I think your hairdresser could help you to make the transition less painful.

 

[asscherisme]

I let me hair go natural 2 years ago.. took about 18mos of cutting etc, as opposed to DK I am only white in front, the back is all natural, I think it looks weird, my sons think I look cool, and my husband says it's sexy.. I say phooey! ETA:jeez I am sorry about how dang huge this pix is ugh. sorry.

Tekate, I love your hair, it looks great on you! Like you, mine is mostly dark in the back with most of my white by my face and temples.

 

[Matata]

@Maria D .... sorry for being late to the discussion. Even after all this time, I'm still growing out some color in the back. It's sort of brown/blond mostly hidden by the top layer. I had some purple put in a month ago just for fun. No matter which method you choose, it's a process that takes a fair bit of patience. Good luck and update us when you decide what to do.

 

[missy]

I let me hair go natural 2 years ago.. took about 18mos of cutting etc, as opposed to DK I am only white in front, the back is all natural, I think it looks weird, my sons think I look cool, and my husband says it's sexy.. I say phooey! ETA:jeez I am sorry about how dang huge this pix is ugh. sorry.

Gorgeous. LOVE your hair. I agree with your sons!

 

[stracci2000]

@Maria D .... sorry for being late to the discussion. Even after all this time, I'm still growing out some color in the back. It's sort of brown/blond mostly hidden by the top layer. I had some purple put in a month ago just for fun. No matter which method you choose, it's a process that takes a fair bit of patience. Good luck and update us when you decide what to do.

You look great, Matata!

 

[Austina]

Your nieces are such sweet thoughtful girls @missy, you must all be so proud of them.

My colour is custom blended so that it keeps covering up the greys, I’m not giving in without a fight

 

[Sunstorm]

I am not fighting much yet ... but I am only turning 44 in another 4 months. I think my dark color has been fading a bit just losing its jazz so I just use organic mask and shampoos for dark hair. I really, really despise grey. On me now. It is considered as unkept around here and I never ever colored my hair and the only thing I love about my hair is its color. But I am so against anything unnatural. I would hate to do unnatural cosmetics procedures too. I want to embrace natural. I applaud those with beautiful grey hair and I do think even a mix is nice so perhaps I will feel fine about it too.

My dad got mixed grey-black around 60 and is now mostly grey around 70. My mom’s mom died with dark hair and my mom is not really greying. I think I will embrace the natural process and hope I get to keep my dark color for another decade or so.) I am one who is really a super girly girl but I hate everything fake. Cannot say that I love everything about aging but mostly I love being me today more than when I was young and I think that it is beautiful to age with grace. Natural is not unkept. It can be much more beautiful than fake.

 

[Calliecake]

I’m with you @Austina!

 

[missy]

Your nieces are such sweet thoughtful girls @missy, you must all be so proud of them.

My colour is custom blended so that it keeps covering up the greys, I’m not giving in without a fight

No contest @Austina ...you’re winning “the fight” with grace and elegance
And thank you for your lovely comments about my nieces.

 

[doberman]

I didnt have any gray hair until my mid 50s, I'm 58 now. My mother at nearly 80, still has a lot of brown hair. I have one little patch at the top of my head, so I color and balayage. I dont think I'd look very good gray.

 

[Maria D]

@Tekate , your are lovely! I like the chin length cut, that's what I will probably do at some point. You and @dk168 are opposites, with most of her grays in the back. I think I am more like that from what I can tell so far.

@Matata, gorgeous hair, thanks for chiming in! I love the purple under-color. It would be so fun to use color just to embellish instead of to hide the way I am now.

I am taking things slow. I did not dye my roots this weekend so it's now been 4 1/2 weeks. It's the longest I've gone between colorings in about 15 years. I have been touching up with root powder. That has the effect of my part looking to be about 50% gray, so there's still a transition line - just not as jarring. I'm going to continue with the powder for a couple of weeks and see how it goes! I'm getting excited to see what my natural color actually is.

 

[Gailey]

Hello Ladies, long time ...
In 2012, I had shoulder length coloured brunette hair and a very sick cat. Couldn’t justify the cost of covering the stripe every two weeks and frankly was sick of the treadmill I was on. What I’d spent in salon colouring over the years would have put some very blingy rocks on my fingers.
Couldn’t face the grow out plan so went from shoulder length to half an inch in one appointment - that I cried all the way through. Almost immediately though, I loved the short length and the emerging grey. I have almost a “Mallen Streak” of white right at the very front, which was a very nice surprise. I kept the very short cut until about 2016 I think and then started growing it longer again. Back to shoulder length now and wouldn’t swap my grey for anything.

 

[Arcadian]

My hair is still very dark few bits of greying at the temples, and the kitchen is grey (the nape for those who don't know that term...lol) but not much else. I stopped coloring my hair when I was 30 (good thing too) I'm over 50 and seems to me I really had no business bothering with hair color outside fo the fun stuff (went pink and green MOONS ago!)...lol I'm following my dads footsteps it seems, and not going grey quickly. My other siblings went grey quite early, like 30's. My mom had this beautiful grey streak for many years before turning completely white.

 

[FinleysMom]

Glad to see this thread. I started the process to go gray last November. After 30 plus years of coloring ....I am done! At 62 it was time. My stylist has been transitioning my dark color to grey...my next appt is in late March. Haircut only!! No more spending $$ and hours at the salon! The response from friends and co-workers has been positive!

 

[FinleysMom]

Speaking of hair- my niece just went purple.

LOL that expression.



Times have changed. When I was her age no way would my mom and dad let me color it!

She is cute....but she will tire of the color maintenance much sooner than I did! Ah, youth!

 

[redwood66]

My hair from the back.



It is still quite dark in the front, and I wish it would go completely grey faster!

DK

I love it! It's sassy.

 

[redwood66]

I let me hair go natural 2 years ago.. took about 18mos of cutting etc, as opposed to DK I am only white in front, the back is all natural, I think it looks weird, my sons think I look cool, and my husband says it's sexy.. I say phooey! ETA:jeez I am sorry about how dang huge this pix is ugh. sorry.

You look beautiful.

 

[VRBeauty]

I went gray a few years ago, at about 60. I wish I could have screwed up the courage to do it sooner! I’d been advised by an older colleague not to allow my hair to go gray while I was still working because it was her experience that people some didn’t take her as seriously after she had let her hair go gray. This was someone I respected tremendously - a pioneering elected official and a former member of my own governing board. The truth is, though, that I was terrified of thanking that step and she gave me a handy excuse to put it off!

Actually, there were two aspects of “going gray” that I dreaded - the process of growing out the gray, and the possibility that my hair would be all white when I did!

A year or so after retiring I finally did it. My hair had grown out an inch or more when I just couldn’t take it anymore and used an internet DIY process to try to remove the remaining color “naturally.” The first go did lighten the brown dye a step or two. My second try lightened the brown hair a bit, and left the remaining hair pink - uhm, not exactly the color I was going for. I immediately booked an appointment with a pro to finish the job.

I’m not sure what the stylist used to remove the remaining color, but it did the job. She then colored my hair a lovely shade of pale ash blond - so I got to be a blond for a few months! (I might have continued hat for longer, but it would have required bleaching the new roots as they came in.) Allowing my hair to grow out gray from the blond base was not totally unnoticeable, but it was painless. And it didn’t grow out all white either, by the way. It’s a nice mostly salt salt-and-pepper, and I routinely get compliments on it.

Sorry about the rambling story, but brown to blond to gray is one option if you’re concerned about the process of letting the gray grow out.

 

[Tekate]

Aw thank you Red, much appreciated - I akin my look to a modified for the 2020s Bride of Frankenstein look! thank you again, very nice of you.

You look beautiful.