Who's going grey??

[idocdlw]

I had finally grown my hair to mid-back length, but have been living in an area where the water quality is very poor. My last color job was so bad that in January I told my hairdresser to "cut it off...cut it ALL off". I haven't colored since.

 

I know it definitely makes me look my age (early forties), but I'm starting to really appreciate those greys. I've got light brown hair and I've started looking at those pale strands as "God's highlights". I'm amazed at how much I really like going grey.

 

I've also been a bit of a naturalist, so abandoning the routine of pouring chemicals on my head has been a new experience in "freeing the wild woman" within me.

 

Anyone else???

[Lois R]

Hi,:) I don't know that I would classify myself as a naturalist

but I have never colored my hair. Everytime I get it cut I see

more silver coming in;)...and I have been going to the same

gal for over 15 years so she has seen it as well.

Oh, she calls them "Mother Nature's Highlights" too.

 

If you have seen any of my photos you will see I keep my

hair very short so for me, its clear the pepper is turning to

salt but I am AOK with it too:)

[neverthought]

Ladies,

I started going grey, very young. Many years ago I use to color my hair to cover it, then I had my children...didn't have the time or money to get it done,soooo I just let it go natural. I get numerous compliments on my hair from both young and older women. My "God Highlights" work well for me and my husband, he calls my head his personal beacon...LOL. IMO we should relax and enjoy the grey, we have earned it!!!

Neverthought

[idocdlw]

Thanks for your replies ladies.

 

I've known a few women who went grey very young and their hair was beautiful (you know...those girls in their early thirties who are all grey as opposed to "salt and pepper"). I think the transition stage is hard...especially for those of us (me) who have not seen our real hair color for ten years or more.

 

Again, I must say, I find my "light strands" much more attractive than I would have ever imagined. I can now wear light-colored lipsticks/glosses that complement my hair that I would never have dreamed of wearing before.

 

Keep the input coming....

[Lois R]

Question:) ....I have heard that the chemicals in the coloring process

are really not good when a gal is pregnant...just curious

if anyone knows if its true?

It is just a "curious question"....I saw where the acrylic process

on nails is not good as well (when pregant)...are those chemicals

in those types of items bad for the system?

[nyer]

Chemicals are not good when you are pregnant. You can absorb the chemicals through your scalp and it can be harmful to the unborn baby. While my daughter was pregnant her ob advised her to not get her highlights done.

 

Not sure about the acrylics.

[Lois R]

nyer, thanks for the reply:)

[Happy ks]

I will occasionally put a semi-permanent color in my hair, the kind that washes out after a couple of weeks. I find that anything with peroxide fades within a couple of weeks on my hair, no matter what the color is: lighter or darker than my natural color.

 

I spent the better part of 2 years growing it all out and leaving the color alone since I'm not that good at upkeep. I've found that my gray hairs aren't all that multiple, just a strand here and there and it's not bad at all. I've had people comment on how natural my highlights look ;)

[Buster27]

I started getting grey around age 25...it runs in my family....almost all my Aunts were gray by age 30. I have colored my hair for the last 28 years and probably will for some time to come. I started letting it go, but I don't have the nice salt/pepper type, I'm SOLID white and it looks terrible.

I do get tired of doing it and tired of paying to have it done, I get it highlighted too for a more natural look.

 

I do think it ages you, but not everyone is that concerned with that. I've seen lots of women with the lovely silver/white type this is very flattering.

[Cruzfan34]

I started getting gray hair in high school!! I was 18 when my friends noticed and I had never noticed. My Dad's side of the family grays early.

 

But no...I color my hair every 5 weeks. I have thick,long curly hair and, as it is, I hate the curls. I surely don't want gray curls. :rolleyes: I'll probably color my hair as long as I can make it to the salon. :)

[Andee]

I started coloring my hair to cover the grey at age 40. I'm 58 now, and although I don't think I'll always color it, I have no plans to stop in the immediate future. I think grey hair makes people look older, and I don't want that for myself. My hairdesser has done an excellent job of very gradually adjusting the color over the years, and it's really my natural color, but without the grey.

[Sailorgirlseattle]

I love the look of gray/silver hair! And wear it LONG, baby! :p I do have to say that I don't THINK I've started going gray yet ... I do color my hair, but only because I get really bored with it and go blondish, reddish, back to brown, repeat. :cool:

[cruiser2101]

If my hair was totally gray or white I would leave it natural, but since I only have a few strands of gray around my face, I color it. Even at 95 years old, my Grandmother's hair was only gray around her face. I think gray (silver) or white hair is beautiful, but I don't think it's in my future.

[greatdanemom]

A gray gal here! :D I grew mine out about a year ago after coloring it for about 15 years. I LOVE my gray/silver hair and I won't ever color again. This is so easy and I feel so free to waste my time on more fun things!

 

I'm in my early 50's and having my first grandchild arrive convinced me to try it. I hated the growing-our process but now I know it was the right thing to do.

 

I've changed my makeup, glasses and clothing colors to really make gray look it's best. But I honestly couldn't be more pleased. I wasn't fooling anyone with all of that hair color anyway. The darn roots gave me away within 2 weeks of coloring.

[TessM]

Are you ready for a story?

 

I started getting grey hairs at the age of 11. I started coloring it at the age of 23 with a semi-permanent rinse (my hairdresser convinced me of it and it looked great!) Basically, it was my natural color plus highlights.

 

Over the years, I got my hair actually dyed. I went through numerous "colorists" while trying to get something I liked and I thought looked like something might be a "natural" color. Over time I found the right formula and always had my "recipe" on file. I moved to different parts of the country and always had my hairdresser give me my recipe before I moved.

 

Looking back, I think "what a pain" - but, it was just something that had to be done.

 

But, about two years ago, after getting a perm and changing hairdressers - my new hairdresser colored my roots but instead of running the color through the rest of my hair, he let the color set on my hair. --- The result was that I had JET BLACK HAIR!!!!!! - Oh my! 47 was way too old to try to pull off the Goth look.

 

So, to remedy the problem, I had no choice but to grow my hair out. So, I figured that I would buy a wig and wear it while my color was growing out. I didn't want anyone to see my grey hair as it was growing out. --Oh, my friends knew of my plan and I told co-workers and others what my plan was - because I didn't want them to think I was ill and therefore had to wear a wig.

 

My plan was to wear the wig, grow my hair out and when it was completely grown out, I would color it again. No one was to see my grey hair but me. I was REALLY curious because I hadn't seen my natural hair color since I was 23.

 

The plan changed when I started to see what my natural hair color looked like. I LOVE my hair color. My turning point was a weekend knitting retreat where I met a gal with the most beautiful silver hair. She was about my age and the color looked just fabulous on her. I actually told her that she inspired me to "go natural."

 

Once it grew out, I introduced the new me to the world. I got LOTS of compliments.

 

 

I've changed my makeup, glasses and clothing colors to really make gray look it's best. But I honestly couldn't be more pleased. I wasn't fooling anyone with all of that hair color anyway. The darn roots gave me away within 2 weeks of coloring.

 

Same here. I had to shop for a whole new make-up wardrobe. -- That was fun. Colors I could never had worn before I can wear now. Plus, my clothing colors needed a drastic change. I still find myself reaching for the wrong color on the racks and then have to pull myself back in and get the brighter, more fun colors.

[Puddincat]

I'm very grey naturally, but I get 'lowlights' put in every 6 weeks, so it just has some grey sprinkled throughout. I'm still too chicken to go completely grey, figure that I will in a couple of years when I hit 55.

[notme1955]

I had finally grown my hair to mid-back length, but have been living in an area where the water quality is very poor. My last color job was so bad that in January I told my hairdresser to "cut it off...cut it ALL off". I haven't colored since.

 

I JUST did the same this this past week! I had very long hair, but the grey was coming in faster than I could keep up with it.

 

I finally decided that I really wanted to see what my real color looked like--I hadn't seen it since I was 18 (I'm now 52)! So, I had it all chopped off. It's short, but I really like it. There's plenty of grey, but not nearly as much as I thought, and the grey I have actually looks nice. I forgot how wavy my hair is when it's short! It's taking some time learning how to control it but I'm getting there!

[Frosty 77]

I was in high school when I got my first gray. Now I am 30 and some of my friends freak out about the first gray:confused:. It's probably easier to start young so you don't really feel like it is because you are getting old.

 

I have kept mine natural for a few years. My hair is light brown anyway, so it blends in pretty well and I usually have to point it out to people. I will start coloring if it gets too pervasive.

 

My Mom was gray early and even though she has few wrinkles at 64, people sometimes think she is my grandmother. I hated it as a kid. And I definitely do not want to be mistaken for my future children's Grandma!

[Tatianablue]

I think women with silver hair are beautiful. I have silver mostly around my face and the front half of my head,but it is wirey and misbehaves, very hard to style. The only way I can control it is to keep it colored. I love my color, but am getting very tired of the salon prices rising every time go in.

 

If my silver hair were not so unruly, I would let it go in a heartbeat.

[CateW]

This answer is going to sound bizarre but I don't know. I've had highlights for years so it's hard to tell but neither my Mom or Dad really had any amount of grey until they were 60. If I ever let the chemical highlights go there will probably be some natural highlights in there.

[momofmeg]

I have seen many women who looked very "chic" with their silvery gray locks.

 

I do think these women do use some sort of rinse on their hair, so that their hair appears silver and not yellowish gray, but never the less, they look attractive, and have self confidence enough to realize the expensive highlights is not what they need.

 

I can't help but think of Sue's blog pictures from her dinner her chef friend cooked for her and friends. She had her hair cut short and it was silvery gray and beautiful and although she was very ill she looked beautiful.

[momofmeg]

I will occasionally put a semi-permanent color in my hair, the kind that washes out after a couple of weeks. I find that anything with peroxide fades within a couple of weeks on my hair, no matter what the color is: lighter or darker than my natural color.

 

I spent the better part of 2 years growing it all out and leaving the color alone since I'm not that good at upkeep. I've found that my gray hairs aren't all that multiple, just a strand here and there and it's not bad at all. I've had people comment on how natural my highlights look ;)

 

KS, that is me, my hair does not hold color either, no matter what "color protecting" shampoo I use, it goes brssy red in no time.

 

I do have a few blond highlights put in my hair to "camaflauge" my gray but no color to the locks not highlighted. It works for me as then my gray is seen as "another" color fo highlights. Still my natural brown is what most of my hair color is, not the gray, or the blond highlights.

[jkloni]

I'm naturally blonde and highlight my hair 3-4 times a year. Grey hair on my head freaks me out (I hate to sound so shallow :) ) - I do not like it at all and I do have some. Because of my haircolor it is not that noticable, and I will continue to cover it with the blond highlights. I'm 49 now and would cover it for a while - maybe forever.

 

Going to the hairdresser every 3 months is not that much of an inconvenience. Maybe I'd feel differently if I had to do it every few weeks.

 

Congrats to all of you that embrace your gray hair color. I just don't see it in my future...

 

Kathy

[greatdanemom]

I have seen many women who looked very "chic" with their silvery gray locks.

 

I do think these women do use some sort of rinse on their hair, so that their hair appears silver and not yellowish...

 

No special rinse here but I do use a "gray" shampoo to prevent the yellowing (Pantene Pro-V Silver Expressions.) The gals I work with recommended it when I first made this jump and I've been very pleased with it.

[luvscruising2007]

I am almost 62 and have been coloring my hair for about 20 years. My roots are white. I know I would look like an old lady if I let my hair grow out. My hair stylist has found my original color through many years of trial and error. I stopped getting perms about 2 years ago and my hair is probably healthier than it has ever been. Maybe when I am in my seventies I will go natural. I am afraid I will feel like an old lady if I look like an old lady. Right now I still feel young. Oh I am young at heart.;);););););)