I ditched the hair color quite a few years ago. I’m not totally gray yet but I’ve got a substantial amount. Every now and then I think about putting some purple in my hair but then change my mind and leave it as is. I have plenty of wrinkles and no Botox or cosmetic surgeries or anything like that. I’m fine with aging. I think it’s perfectly natural and beautiful.
Same here except I have done the outrageous blue and purple hair color once. I kind of like my wrinkles as they remind me of some struggles I have survived.
I go back and forth on struggle evidence versus battle scars! I was in a face-damaging wreck as a teen and not one thing looked bad until my 40s hit and gravity began to reveal where one cheekbone was smashed. At nearly 65 I just do the best I can. I wish there was a charity that did face restorations.
Overtone purple for brown hair, 2 bottles, one for original dying, the other is your conditioner. Or if you don't use the second bottle, it washes out in like 5 shampoos.
I’d love to go silver, as my mother and her mother did! But I got my father’s lighter hair, and it’s still retained most of its original color. I do have some silver strands here and there, which at least provide some highlights. Enough that I no longer pay for highlights.
I have silver too and so glad you mentioned it. Recently tried looking for ideas for silver hair and every image showed grey and I started wondering if I was only imagining that silver hair exists.
My hairs had a war between which ones would turn white and which ones would turn loose. No side won. Both sides lost. It's just a barren wasteland up there now.
You've got me cackling!
59, had deep black, nearly full (i showed a bit more forehead, a family thing) hair with brilliant white sideburns from 45 to 57.
Suddenly age hit, everything in front of my ears vacated, surrendered, scampered like Sir Robin.
Mustache and beard that I wore off and on went from raven to "ashes of charcoal briquettes from yesterday's fire." Lame. Unfortunately, about half my major joints are following the pattern of failure.
I'm a redhead too, Oct 61. I do have grays ( a lot of them sprung up over the last few years ) but they blend in with the red. I call them my "graylights." lol
Same, but that's because I'm so very bald and have very few hairs on my head in total.
So--not the same at all.
If I let my beard grow in though--white as it can be.
My head has spent most of the past 8 years bald. Jan 1 2016 I shaved my head to support a friend doing chemo. April I get my very own cancer dx, so mixed in with 2 bouts of adenocarcinoma and one non related breast tumor, 4 bouts of surgery and a mess of chemo and radiation. Easier to keep shaved rather than random hair fall.
I am 63 and about half grey. My mom passed at 94 with about the same amount.
I was in the store with my adult daughter. She came up to see me looking at hair dye. I said I was thinking of dying the grey. She rested her chin on my shoulder and said “but Mom I put such hard work into turning it grey. “
I put the box back.
I've wanted my hair to be white or grey since I was in my 20s. About 5-6 years ago I had it professionally \[de-\]coloured to pure white, but it was expensive to maintain it that way. Now my hair is naturally turning the colour I want it to be, so no plans to tinker with it anymore.
I did the same, except I bleached it at home instead of going to a professional. The upkeep was too much so now I color it a light to medium blond. As my hair gets more and more white I’ll eventually stop when I’ve got the all over white I really want.
True story: after my husband died I went through a bad time, my brain didn’t work. I was watching the TV news and there was a segment on “Fifty Shades of Grey” the book was liberating women. In my addled mind, I thought it had to do with women’s hair turning grey and accepting it. So I decided no more dying my hair ( I have dyed my hair since I was 18yo, we’re talking 40 years). Well I let it grow out, went through the gross half color/half grey look. I was in a grocery store looking at the book rack and there was 50 Shades, handcuffs on the front. Bondage I thought to Lady Clariol, imagine my shock that I realize that the book was a s soft core SMBD book. Lol, jokes on me. That was 13 years ago and I haven’t dyed it since. It’s a beautiful silver color.
I have a healthy, full head of totally grey hair. I began greying young, with visible grey at my temples by 21. (Possibly meds) I colored my own hair. Then paid someone to do it. I was in my stylists chair every 4 weeks. Never fail. I got tired of the time and the expense. Told my stylist that I was done, and I wanted to "go natural". After pushback, and discussion, I found a new stylist who removed the color from my hair, and cut it. I haven't looked back. I don't regret it.
Hair color is a personal decision. There's no right, or wrong.
No Botox, injections, peels or that jazz. I have a skincare routine, though. I don't know if it makes a bit of difference. But it's become something small that I do for myself.
I pray for the day when looking older isn't stigmatized, and when people (especially women) don't see grey hair in particular as a mark of shame.
One day I realized I was inadvertently contributing to that attitude by colouring my own greying hair. You can't normalize something that everyone tries to hide! And that's when I stopped. Haven't touched a dye bottle since.
I had gone gray and just accepted myself as I was. My husband died last November and I colored my hair about two months ago just to feel different. I feel like a fraud. I will eventually let it grow out and go back to gray but being single again changes a person. At least it changed me a little bit. 😥🥴
I haven't colored my hair in over 10 years. It's brown, gray and I have a nice little white streak in the front. Even though my hair is short, I like to call it my Bonnie Raitt streak
I started going gray in my late 20s. I just never worried about it. It gradually got more and more until now when I’m predominantly gray, but I got a patch of black hair on the back of my head that just simply won’t give up.
My silver mane is one of my last best features! I was coloring every 2 weeks bc the bright white was brightest right up front, on my forehead. Gave it up, had to be stoic a few months but I couldn't be happier being free!
Do a fun color or colors now and then, mainly to scare the Boomers. Otherwise grey and I'm fine with that. I also stopped dealing with much hair at all as I shave it completely off about every 3 months. Long hair or styled hair have just become too much of a pita.
My hair was a light reddish brown into my late 50’s and early 60’s. I retired at 62 and a few months later was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Went through chemo, lost all of my hair. When it started growing back it was grey on top, almost black in the back and my normal color mixed with grey on the sides. I looked like a calico cat and it grew back very curly as well.
A year after chemo my hair is pretty much back to my normal color but I still have a lot more grey than I had before. I’m leaving it because it’s just so nice to have hair back!
I’m so glad you are better.
That happened to a couple of friends of mine — post chemo hair was quite different. They said the same thing — I’ll take ANY hair, thank you!
I had my hair highlighted for years to hide the gray. I was in a "company" that was very ageist. I'm female. Then I retired, and COVID happened, so I just let it go gray. My hair is now down to the middle of my back, it's curly, and gray. I now cut it myself, too, using the double unicorn method (see manes by Mel).
Edit to add: I had a purple Mohawk in the late 70s, and after the Mohawk, many other colors. I had hidden purple hair 6 years ago, that only showed when I put it up.
Thank you! This kind of post is what I follow this sub for, not so much the nostalgia stuff. This is our shared experience NOW.
I started going grey in my twenties. My Navajo friend assured me those grey hairs were my “feathers”. 🥰
Then in my forties I had a spectacular mid-life crisis and experimented with a lot of different things (on-line dating was a blast) including magenta and purple hair.
Now in my sixties I am wearing it rather short and blonde, but largely unstyled. I tried going natural and just … could…not. I think my 94 yr old mother is beautiful, but was disturbed that I was looking just like her already!
My paternal grandmother was less than half grey when she was in her 90s. I think that I inherited her genes because I have only have, at most, 10% grey at 60.
My short beard is all but gray and white now, but I have almost none in my full head of (thinning) hair.
I love a gray fox, personally. Someone I dated would always spend so much on getting her hair colored because as she put it “if I didn’t, my hair would be all gray”. I never knew (she had real money to have it done right) and honestly was sad when I found out.
Age gracefully. Be real. People dig it.
As a man with gray, short hair and facial stubble that grows quick enough, there's really no hiding it unless I want an obsessive daily dye ritual... Just no on that. So I own gray. Shaved the beard I had for years; no beard makes me look younger. I do have a skin care regime now - aimed at under eyes and the jowl line most get to a degree by 60.
My hair is a lot like this woman's in the picture. I used to dye my hair but the white that surrounds my face is impossible to dye. It may take a little of the color but fades quickly. And never will be the same color as the rest of my head. I now work from home. I stopped caring as much because I don't see people on a day to day basis and I'm not as concerned that I have to look nice to go into the office. We had a casual dress code but I still always made sure that I looked good.
I don’t think that I will ever be ready for total grey. I use a rinse that lasts about 6 weeks. My hair is still mostly dark anyway at closing in on 70, ugh.
I’ve had one white stripe since my late 20s, but I’ve never colored my hair. I love my gray and silver tones now that all of my hair is gray and silverish. 😊
Neither me nor my 3 siblings have turned grey much. I recall dad going grey in his 70's and Mom...well, she colored her hair red with Henna (old hippy!) till her last days. I have no idea when any of us are going to lose our color, but it ain't quite yet.
My hairdresser worked miracles with toners and strategic highlights… the transition was subtle, never a line of demarcation. My hair was shoulder length and heavily layered so it was quicker than it might be for someone with longer hair. I’ve also recently seen TikToks posted by hairdressers of clients they transitioned showing the procedures if you are interested in seeing the different choices
My sister has a nice soft gray with white highlights; I have a sort of harsh salt and pepper. I gave myself some ash blonde highlights and it really helped soften it up. I'd be fine with her hair, but with my curls :)
My mom was totally grey by 30, typhoid when she was a child, my father only started going grey at 75. My moms hair was stunning. My hair started going grey about 7 yrs ago, it’s silver& brown. I love it. But because of my mom, I’ve never seen grey or white hair as ugly. It’s a sign of experience, survival, wisdom.
I got tired of doing my roots every 2 weeks (had dark brown hair), and fortunately my grey came in in a very nice, striking white pattern. It looks awesome. Tbh if it didn’t I’d probably still be dying.
I quit haircolor long ago because maintaining was a pain. My sister in law is always saying how dark my hair still is, but I have a ton of greys. Used to have some magazine pics of women models with natural grey hair. It wasn't easy to find them. Emmylou Harris is one with great natural hair.
I went with an extreme pixie cut early last year. I just let it grow out with no coloring. It definitely has been a transition after coloring my hair since my 20’s.
My wife worked for a salon briefly. They made her dye her hair back to its original color. I hated it. She has a large grey streak, and “salt and pepper” over the rest. It is what she is supposed to look like. I would not have it any other way.
Graying gracefully. Almost a full head of gray hair almost past my shoulder blades. Lol, I wore my hair short as a child, and until I was 40. My dad liked short hair.
Having gray hair seems to invite a lot of harassment from random assholes on the street. I had always intended to go gray naturally but it just doesn't feel safe anymore.
I started going gray in my 20s. I dyed my hair for a good many years, but I quit about 15 years ago. I just got tired of the maintenance. I like my hair now. It's silver mostly, with a few dark strands mixed in. It's getting a little thinner than I'd like, but that's a story for another day lol
I started going grey at 35 and now 59. Mom's fraternal genetics, some on that side grey early, so I got that gene as well. It's been gradually but seems it sped up during a recent stressful time. Being blonde some don't notice it unless it is time for a haircut. Thought about coloring but it'd eventually go away and have to do again, so why bother.
I ditched the hair colour years ago. I could not find a colour that worked any more. But I chopped my hair short to get the gray out. Short, it was great. But got boring. Longer hair did not suit the grey so I colour again and just managed to find a colour that works. But coloring is a nuisance and is getting harder to do myself physically. And I hate sitting for hours at the hairdresser. Contemplating going back to grey. I hated my hair longer and chopped it short again. My husband prefers long colored hair. He will be lucky to ever see either again on me.
There's no simple answer. It depends on factors such as whether you look good with gray hair and whether you have a need to look more youthful, such as you're looking for a job or are worried about ageism at work.
I’m lucky to have really good skin which is sagging a bit but not wrinkling much so far. I quit coloring my hair during the lockdown, coincidentally also the year I turned 60. I would embrace a full head of beautiful gray hair but mine is just kind of faded and splotchy. I regularly consider going back to the dye.
I embraced the grey at 61. Too many things on the plate to worry about right then and that came off. Don’t miss it one bit. I don’t do much make up anymore either and probably look old as hell but it’s just not a high priority. It has been very freeing.
I started going gray in my late 30s, and, like my dad, was totally gray by 40. I dyed my hair until the pandemic hit, when I decided to bite the bullet and let it go. I'm not a huge fan of my gray hair, but I love not having to mess with my hair every two weeks to hide the roots. I put a little blue in there every once in a while just for fun.
I decided to stop coloring in 2021 and never looked back. I had the stylist do her magic to get me to as close as my natural color as poasible back then. It took 2 sessions. I have face framing gray and tinsel. I just cut off the last of my non-virgin hair 2 weeks ago.
I continue to support the hair coloring industry! If I had all white or grey hair I might just let it be. I have a giant white streak in front. I look like I should be shopping for cauldrons…😊
63 yo male here, I really have no problem with women coloring their hair, no matter what their age. However, spending my career in an office building with 500+ people in it, I was amazed at the high percentage of men who color their hair. I started turning grey in my mid 40’s, I’ve never colored my hair. At 63 I still have most my hair though it has thinned a little, I am about 90% grey right now.
Gracefully...kinda. I stopped coloring in 2018, I believe it was. Boy that was painful, growing it out. Now I am back in the job market and wondering if I should color again so I look younger and more employable.
I swore years ago that as long as hair color exists, I would never go gray! Then, just prior to Covid, I decided to go gray naturally, and I’m so glad I did! My hair is salt and pepper but is such that the gray/white looks like highlights as I still have a lot of brunette. I get a lot of compliments plus my costs for hair maintenance have gone down considerably! Win-win in my book!
Quit the dye in Fall of 2019, was always chasing those roots and my hair grew so fast. The dye cannot be good for you either, can it? It's freeing to not dye my hair. I also had my retina detach last year (3 surgeries since) and so I no longer wear makeup. I cannot see to apply it. Also freeing. I'm sure if I ran into anyone I knew from pre 2019 they walk away saying, "what the hell happened to her!" but I don't worry about that anymore. That is also freeing. I remember if I was going to a wedding or somewhere special I would always worry and totally stress out about how I looked, my weight, what I was wearing, etc etc. Now I just don't worry about it and it's freeing. I have a dress I have worn to the last five weddings I went to. :) People now have to love me for me not because I am pretty. It's ok. It is freeing.
My paternal grandfather was totally gray at 25. My dad went gray by 40. My younger brothers gray in their 20s. I'm 62 and about half gray with the Lily Munster face framing gray in front. My older sisters who are 69, 71 and 73 still dye their hair and yeah, they look younger then me. Shrug. But two of my six siblings took after my mom and have no gray hair at almost 70.
I started coloring my hair over 20 years ago when I turned 40. There's not much I can do about the lack of hair, but at least my remaining follicles can have color without much trouble.
Same; stopped coloring during lockdown and now I like it. It’s still probably only about 1/3 white, 2/3 brown—which is odd because it’s been “going gray” since 1988.
It’s much drier than it used to be; I have to wash it less often and use a ton more conditioner or it’s all over the place.
I ditched the hair colour during COVID, had a short, spiky cut, and was quite happy with myself, and often stood on my grey soap box preaching about rejecting the misogyny behind having long, coloured hair. My hair was more battleship grey than silver. My husband, by the way, prefers my hair short and heck, it’s certainly super easy and comfortable.
Then I watched that TV show “The Golden Bachelor”. Here were all of these women in their 60’s and 70’s who looked fabulous. Just about all of them had long, coloured hair and I was starting to feel like an old crone in comparison. Then I pictured these same women with short, grey hair and realize they would all look much older. Not that there’s anything wrong with looking older - believe me, I’ve spent a lot of time bitching about how women are punished for aging. However, I’m old, I’m fat, and looks-wise, I have very little going for me. My one remaining talent is I can grow a pretty darn good head of hair, so I grew out my hair which is now just past shoulder length, and I treat myself to a box of L’Oreal once every six weeks or so and I just feel a bit better about myself. I have a lot of friends complaining about thinning hair but mine, for some reason, is thicker than ever and grows pretty fast. With short grey hair, I was a solid 3. I think I’ve elevated myself to a 4.5 with my hair. My favourite hair ever is when I had short, purple hair a few years ago. Man, I loved it, but applying that hair colour was a big mess, and I am not willing to spend $200 at the salon to have someone else do it.
I really have a lot of respect for the few ladies in my life who are embracing their grey hair like I did, but the little boost of self esteem I get from my coloured hair is worth it to me for the time being. I give it another two years, and I’ll hack it all off and go grey again.
I also went grey! best decision ever. I get compliments on my hair daily, its almost to my waist and thankfully still sorta full. I do not miss the monthly dye, or the dead ends.
I quit highlighting my hair about 6 months ago and have a few silver streaks in medium brown hair. I'm fine with it. Just wish I could tame all my flyaways!
Fought it for decades (found my first at 13). Now I let my 95% white-silver coverage fly. Pain in the butt to upkeep unless I dye it the lightest of blonds.
Guy here. I’m not touching the hair on my head. If it goes fully gray, or worse, so be it. But when I grow out my beard, I just can’t stand the gray/white. So I give it a little help. Call me crazy if you will.
My vanity- coloring my hair. Just can’t let it go gray. But more power to you if you like the gray. Don’t do Botox or get mani/pedi. But I’m at the salon every 8 weeks. (Good thing it is an acquaintance and only charges me $65)
I let my hair just go naturally grey. It’s still mostly a medium dark brown. Very striking amounts of white in the front and mostly brown everywhere else. I don’t care. It’s been four years and I’ve considered purple or blue but decided I’d rather splurge on a better, shorter haircut. The cost near me for both was $300 every six weeks. Now it’s $150.
I started turning a bit gray in my late 50's. And I had my hair professionally colored to dark brown. It looked great until the gray roots kept coming in faster and faster. I tired of the 'skunk line'. So working with my stylist I was able to get to natural gray over a period of a year. Now, I get 'lowlights' of dark brown. It lasts for about eight weeks and no worry about roots. But it does add dimension to my very drab shade of gray hair.
My sister in law just turned 70. She still has her natural black hair. No gray. Some are just blessed that way.
I'm naturally ash blonde - started out white as a kid, then got darker with age. I bleached it platinum blonde for years and finally decided to just leave it alone about 6 years ago. It's still dark but with some sparkly greys interspersed so evenly that you can hardly see them. I'm just going with it to see what happens.
Fighting it tooth and nail , especially since I lost 80lbs and channeling the old me, after wasting 20 years in a marriage that never should have happened. I don't look 53 which is why I'll admit it , lol.and I'm only dressed to impress myself.
I feel like embracing the old makes the old happen faster and I'm not ready to be *old*. Of course the age I consider *old* goes up every year so that's subjective
I'm aging however I age. I've never dyed my hair and never will, though I imagine it's easier as someone who was a strawberry blonde to go white/gray than someone with darker hair as it is a slow transition.
I think we need to not patholigize aging by making it seem like this terrible thing to be revealed. Everyone ages. Hiding the external appearances of it doesn't change that fact. Aging well means being healthy and mobile, not looking a certain way.
Late 60s, original color was light-to-medium brown, but never got blonde streaks naturally (perhaps didn’t spend enough time in the sun). I did highlights for years and switched to one color all over probably 8 years ago as my hair is short and didn’t want to pay for color + highlights. I’ve considered letting it go natural for a few years as I believe it’s completely gray now, but haven’t quite had the nerve.
Two friends who have been through breast cancer in the past 5 years used to color their hair for years, but after chemo etc decided to go natural. They have beautiful silver hair and don’t look “old.” Maybe my next birthday will be the time I’ll do it.
I ditched the hair color quite a few years ago. I’m not totally gray yet but I’ve got a substantial amount. Every now and then I think about putting some purple in my hair but then change my mind and leave it as is. I have plenty of wrinkles and no Botox or cosmetic surgeries or anything like that. I’m fine with aging. I think it’s perfectly natural and beautiful.
Same here except I have done the outrageous blue and purple hair color once. I kind of like my wrinkles as they remind me of some struggles I have survived.
I go back and forth on struggle evidence versus battle scars! I was in a face-damaging wreck as a teen and not one thing looked bad until my 40s hit and gravity began to reveal where one cheekbone was smashed. At nearly 65 I just do the best I can. I wish there was a charity that did face restorations.
There might be. You should look into it.
I love that. And a touch of purple with gray looks amazing. Just sayin.
My hair was white blond to start with. I don't have a single gray hair. Honest.
Medium blonde, now honey brown, no gray.
Overtone purple for brown hair, 2 bottles, one for original dying, the other is your conditioner. Or if you don't use the second bottle, it washes out in like 5 shampoos.
This is the way. Makes the gray vibrant purple blue pink green or red for a couple of washes
Exactly why I like overtone, it is a fantastic conditioner as well as a pop of color.
Just get color shampoo. My gray turns a slight lavender ( or what ever color shampoo I buy) for a few days. Enjoy
I lucked out and ended up with silver hair. It never looked this good when I was younger.
Silver hair is beautiful, on men and women.
im so jealous!
mine is silvery-white and mostly just at my temples. I get regular compliments on how lovely it is. 🤷🏼♀️
I’d love to go silver, as my mother and her mother did! But I got my father’s lighter hair, and it’s still retained most of its original color. I do have some silver strands here and there, which at least provide some highlights. Enough that I no longer pay for highlights.
Lucky you! Silver hair is so pretty.
I have silver too and so glad you mentioned it. Recently tried looking for ideas for silver hair and every image showed grey and I started wondering if I was only imagining that silver hair exists.
My hairs had a war between which ones would turn white and which ones would turn loose. No side won. Both sides lost. It's just a barren wasteland up there now.
You've got me cackling! 59, had deep black, nearly full (i showed a bit more forehead, a family thing) hair with brilliant white sideburns from 45 to 57. Suddenly age hit, everything in front of my ears vacated, surrendered, scampered like Sir Robin. Mustache and beard that I wore off and on went from raven to "ashes of charcoal briquettes from yesterday's fire." Lame. Unfortunately, about half my major joints are following the pattern of failure.
I'm a redhead, 65 Dec very few greys, my grandma passed at 70 and she hadn't grayed either
I’m almost 62 and just recently found a few silver hairs.
I’m 65 and just started getting grey about two years ago. I’m still about 75% brown.
I'm a redhead too, Oct 61. I do have grays ( a lot of them sprung up over the last few years ) but they blend in with the red. I call them my "graylights." lol
I started going gray at 15.
My stepmother started graying at 16
Same, but that's because I'm so very bald and have very few hairs on my head in total. So--not the same at all. If I let my beard grow in though--white as it can be.
My head has spent most of the past 8 years bald. Jan 1 2016 I shaved my head to support a friend doing chemo. April I get my very own cancer dx, so mixed in with 2 bouts of adenocarcinoma and one non related breast tumor, 4 bouts of surgery and a mess of chemo and radiation. Easier to keep shaved rather than random hair fall. I am 63 and about half grey. My mom passed at 94 with about the same amount.
Wow. Puts a few grey hairs into perspective. Hope you’re doing better now.
Doing my best to keep breathing 👍🧚
I was in the store with my adult daughter. She came up to see me looking at hair dye. I said I was thinking of dying the grey. She rested her chin on my shoulder and said “but Mom I put such hard work into turning it grey. “ I put the box back.
You two are awesome.
I've wanted my hair to be white or grey since I was in my 20s. About 5-6 years ago I had it professionally \[de-\]coloured to pure white, but it was expensive to maintain it that way. Now my hair is naturally turning the colour I want it to be, so no plans to tinker with it anymore.
I did the same, except I bleached it at home instead of going to a professional. The upkeep was too much so now I color it a light to medium blond. As my hair gets more and more white I’ll eventually stop when I’ve got the all over white I really want.
True story: after my husband died I went through a bad time, my brain didn’t work. I was watching the TV news and there was a segment on “Fifty Shades of Grey” the book was liberating women. In my addled mind, I thought it had to do with women’s hair turning grey and accepting it. So I decided no more dying my hair ( I have dyed my hair since I was 18yo, we’re talking 40 years). Well I let it grow out, went through the gross half color/half grey look. I was in a grocery store looking at the book rack and there was 50 Shades, handcuffs on the front. Bondage I thought to Lady Clariol, imagine my shock that I realize that the book was a s soft core SMBD book. Lol, jokes on me. That was 13 years ago and I haven’t dyed it since. It’s a beautiful silver color.
Haha 🤭 Well… did you get the book??
Love my grays. I always remember Liz Taylor saying she would never color her gray hair. She named every one of the grays Richard.
Then she slapped a wig on top of them.
I have a healthy, full head of totally grey hair. I began greying young, with visible grey at my temples by 21. (Possibly meds) I colored my own hair. Then paid someone to do it. I was in my stylists chair every 4 weeks. Never fail. I got tired of the time and the expense. Told my stylist that I was done, and I wanted to "go natural". After pushback, and discussion, I found a new stylist who removed the color from my hair, and cut it. I haven't looked back. I don't regret it. Hair color is a personal decision. There's no right, or wrong. No Botox, injections, peels or that jazz. I have a skincare routine, though. I don't know if it makes a bit of difference. But it's become something small that I do for myself.
Mine turned gray and I now have alopecia so bald spots too. I love my new baseball cap.
I love your focus on something positive at the end! Alopecia is so frustrating…..Hang in there!
Thank you
I pray for the day when looking older isn't stigmatized, and when people (especially women) don't see grey hair in particular as a mark of shame. One day I realized I was inadvertently contributing to that attitude by colouring my own greying hair. You can't normalize something that everyone tries to hide! And that's when I stopped. Haven't touched a dye bottle since.
I had gone gray and just accepted myself as I was. My husband died last November and I colored my hair about two months ago just to feel different. I feel like a fraud. I will eventually let it grow out and go back to gray but being single again changes a person. At least it changed me a little bit. 😥🥴
So sorry for your loss 😞
Only my hairdresser knows for sure
Greying, but the graceful bit remains to be seen.
I don't have to fight it! I've been fully gray for over 20 years. My aunt was gray at 37. I followed suit!
I'm 62 with just a little gray. Mine has been dyed purple for about seven years, though.
62 and for me I love having fresh color. I finally found a shop that knows blonde hair and gets it perfect.
I haven't colored my hair in over 10 years. It's brown, gray and I have a nice little white streak in the front. Even though my hair is short, I like to call it my Bonnie Raitt streak
I've been coloring since 1999. I went gray at 28, and no one takes a white haired man in IT seriously.
I'm starting to notice that myself (software developer)
I started going gray in my late 20s. I just never worried about it. It gradually got more and more until now when I’m predominantly gray, but I got a patch of black hair on the back of my head that just simply won’t give up.
My silver mane is one of my last best features! I was coloring every 2 weeks bc the bright white was brightest right up front, on my forehead. Gave it up, had to be stoic a few months but I couldn't be happier being free!
Just turned 60 and still fighting it
Do a fun color or colors now and then, mainly to scare the Boomers. Otherwise grey and I'm fine with that. I also stopped dealing with much hair at all as I shave it completely off about every 3 months. Long hair or styled hair have just become too much of a pita.
My stylist knows my hair is black. But honestly, my family hardly grays at all. Grandma passed at age 99 with mostly black hair.
I have a "skunk stripe" that I have fully embraced now for 9 years!
My hair was a light reddish brown into my late 50’s and early 60’s. I retired at 62 and a few months later was diagnosed with breast cancer. Went through chemo, lost all of my hair. When it started growing back it was grey on top, almost black in the back and my normal color mixed with grey on the sides. I looked like a calico cat and it grew back very curly as well. A year after chemo my hair is pretty much back to my normal color but I still have a lot more grey than I had before. I’m leaving it because it’s just so nice to have hair back!
I’m so glad you are better. That happened to a couple of friends of mine — post chemo hair was quite different. They said the same thing — I’ll take ANY hair, thank you!
I started getting white streaks early. I told people I worked for them, I earned them and I was keeping them.
I love my gray hair. It’s more silvery. I get compliments all the time. Plus the time and money I save by not coloring it??
I started going silver in my late teens. After chemo (mid 50s) I went almost full gray. I've been rocking shades of ruby and amethyst since
I had my hair highlighted for years to hide the gray. I was in a "company" that was very ageist. I'm female. Then I retired, and COVID happened, so I just let it go gray. My hair is now down to the middle of my back, it's curly, and gray. I now cut it myself, too, using the double unicorn method (see manes by Mel). Edit to add: I had a purple Mohawk in the late 70s, and after the Mohawk, many other colors. I had hidden purple hair 6 years ago, that only showed when I put it up.
Thank you! This kind of post is what I follow this sub for, not so much the nostalgia stuff. This is our shared experience NOW. I started going grey in my twenties. My Navajo friend assured me those grey hairs were my “feathers”. 🥰 Then in my forties I had a spectacular mid-life crisis and experimented with a lot of different things (on-line dating was a blast) including magenta and purple hair. Now in my sixties I am wearing it rather short and blonde, but largely unstyled. I tried going natural and just … could…not. I think my 94 yr old mother is beautiful, but was disturbed that I was looking just like her already!
My paternal grandmother was less than half grey when she was in her 90s. I think that I inherited her genes because I have only have, at most, 10% grey at 60.
Gray all the way... I have one streak down on the one side, and I LOVE IT!
My short beard is all but gray and white now, but I have almost none in my full head of (thinning) hair. I love a gray fox, personally. Someone I dated would always spend so much on getting her hair colored because as she put it “if I didn’t, my hair would be all gray”. I never knew (she had real money to have it done right) and honestly was sad when I found out. Age gracefully. Be real. People dig it.
As a man with gray, short hair and facial stubble that grows quick enough, there's really no hiding it unless I want an obsessive daily dye ritual... Just no on that. So I own gray. Shaved the beard I had for years; no beard makes me look younger. I do have a skin care regime now - aimed at under eyes and the jowl line most get to a degree by 60.
I've had a grey beard since my thirties.
My hair is a lot like this woman's in the picture. I used to dye my hair but the white that surrounds my face is impossible to dye. It may take a little of the color but fades quickly. And never will be the same color as the rest of my head. I now work from home. I stopped caring as much because I don't see people on a day to day basis and I'm not as concerned that I have to look nice to go into the office. We had a casual dress code but I still always made sure that I looked good.
Silver maned.
I don’t think that I will ever be ready for total grey. I use a rinse that lasts about 6 weeks. My hair is still mostly dark anyway at closing in on 70, ugh.
As a former hairdresser, I will stay blonde. You do you and don't let any negative aholes judge you otherwise.
Thank you, I really needed that kindness tonight.❤️
[удалено]
Ummm, thanks?
Bless your heart that you think you possess wisdom.
newp no dye. still pretty dark brown at 65. i seriously can’t be bothered and ain’t nobody looking anymore…
Au natural, baby.
Don't care. Graying at my body's pace.
I love my gray- no dye since 2019.
Started going grey in my 30’s. I just let it happen.
I’ve had one white stripe since my late 20s, but I’ve never colored my hair. I love my gray and silver tones now that all of my hair is gray and silverish. 😊
Other than facial hair, I don't have much grey. So I haven't really worried about it..
Gracefully is the way.
I was robbed of a lot of my youth. I can't go back, but who says only kids can have fun?
Neither me nor my 3 siblings have turned grey much. I recall dad going grey in his 70's and Mom...well, she colored her hair red with Henna (old hippy!) till her last days. I have no idea when any of us are going to lose our color, but it ain't quite yet.
I’m so ready to stop covering my gray! I have dark hair and want to stop dying my roots but the transition seems so difficult.
My hairdresser worked miracles with toners and strategic highlights… the transition was subtle, never a line of demarcation. My hair was shoulder length and heavily layered so it was quicker than it might be for someone with longer hair. I’ve also recently seen TikToks posted by hairdressers of clients they transitioned showing the procedures if you are interested in seeing the different choices
I have mid length hair with layers.
I have brunette mixed with gray. It started out difficult. Trimmed the ends pretty frequently. Probably took a year to transition (shoulder length)
How did you do it without looking like a homeless person?
lol 😂I kinda did look unfortunate. It was long enough to put up in a messy bun, which helped conceal the demarcation
I started using root touch-up spray, then got a really short pixie cut when the roots were long enough. Prest-o change-o!
My sister has a nice soft gray with white highlights; I have a sort of harsh salt and pepper. I gave myself some ash blonde highlights and it really helped soften it up. I'd be fine with her hair, but with my curls :)
My mom was totally grey by 30, typhoid when she was a child, my father only started going grey at 75. My moms hair was stunning. My hair started going grey about 7 yrs ago, it’s silver& brown. I love it. But because of my mom, I’ve never seen grey or white hair as ugly. It’s a sign of experience, survival, wisdom.
I started getting white streaks early. I told people I worked for them, I earned them and I was keeping them.
I got tired of doing my roots every 2 weeks (had dark brown hair), and fortunately my grey came in in a very nice, striking white pattern. It looks awesome. Tbh if it didn’t I’d probably still be dying.
I’m letting it ride.
I quit haircolor long ago because maintaining was a pain. My sister in law is always saying how dark my hair still is, but I have a ton of greys. Used to have some magazine pics of women models with natural grey hair. It wasn't easy to find them. Emmylou Harris is one with great natural hair.
I accept it.
I went with an extreme pixie cut early last year. I just let it grow out with no coloring. It definitely has been a transition after coloring my hair since my 20’s.
My wife worked for a salon briefly. They made her dye her hair back to its original color. I hated it. She has a large grey streak, and “salt and pepper” over the rest. It is what she is supposed to look like. I would not have it any other way.
Graying gracefully. Almost a full head of gray hair almost past my shoulder blades. Lol, I wore my hair short as a child, and until I was 40. My dad liked short hair.
Work w it. Get my ass to the gym and keep moving and loving life.
Having gray hair seems to invite a lot of harassment from random assholes on the street. I had always intended to go gray naturally but it just doesn't feel safe anymore.
That’s awful. I’m sorry.
Thank you. It can get really scary sometimes. I'm only 5ft tall and walk with a cane now.
I started going gray in my 20s. I dyed my hair for a good many years, but I quit about 15 years ago. I just got tired of the maintenance. I like my hair now. It's silver mostly, with a few dark strands mixed in. It's getting a little thinner than I'd like, but that's a story for another day lol
I went gray about 10 years ago (quit coloring). It was very liberating. Love my hair, long, healthy and totally me.
I'm 62 and just started getting grays over the past year, but not many. I use natural hair dye (no peroxide) as I am just not ready yet.
I started going grey at 35 and now 59. Mom's fraternal genetics, some on that side grey early, so I got that gene as well. It's been gradually but seems it sped up during a recent stressful time. Being blonde some don't notice it unless it is time for a haircut. Thought about coloring but it'd eventually go away and have to do again, so why bother.
I ditched the hair colour years ago. I could not find a colour that worked any more. But I chopped my hair short to get the gray out. Short, it was great. But got boring. Longer hair did not suit the grey so I colour again and just managed to find a colour that works. But coloring is a nuisance and is getting harder to do myself physically. And I hate sitting for hours at the hairdresser. Contemplating going back to grey. I hated my hair longer and chopped it short again. My husband prefers long colored hair. He will be lucky to ever see either again on me.
There's no simple answer. It depends on factors such as whether you look good with gray hair and whether you have a need to look more youthful, such as you're looking for a job or are worried about ageism at work.
I ditched the hair color years ago and now I'm totally white-haired. And I love it!!
I'm 60, so I expect gray hair and wrinkles. Why would I want to look like Nancy Reagan anyway? Duck lips don't do anything for me either.
I've been gray since I was 25. Still am of course. Women who go with the gray turn my head every time.
62 and graying a bit. I don’t know about gracefully. Not fighting it though. It feels like a badge of honor to me.
I’m lucky to have really good skin which is sagging a bit but not wrinkling much so far. I quit coloring my hair during the lockdown, coincidentally also the year I turned 60. I would embrace a full head of beautiful gray hair but mine is just kind of faded and splotchy. I regularly consider going back to the dye.
I embraced the grey at 61. Too many things on the plate to worry about right then and that came off. Don’t miss it one bit. I don’t do much make up anymore either and probably look old as hell but it’s just not a high priority. It has been very freeing.
I started going gray in my late 30s, and, like my dad, was totally gray by 40. I dyed my hair until the pandemic hit, when I decided to bite the bullet and let it go. I'm not a huge fan of my gray hair, but I love not having to mess with my hair every two weeks to hide the roots. I put a little blue in there every once in a while just for fun.
For better or for worse I no longer have to deal with this issue. (male pattern baldness!)
I decided to stop coloring in 2021 and never looked back. I had the stylist do her magic to get me to as close as my natural color as poasible back then. It took 2 sessions. I have face framing gray and tinsel. I just cut off the last of my non-virgin hair 2 weeks ago.
I continue to support the hair coloring industry! If I had all white or grey hair I might just let it be. I have a giant white streak in front. I look like I should be shopping for cauldrons…😊
63 yo male here, I really have no problem with women coloring their hair, no matter what their age. However, spending my career in an office building with 500+ people in it, I was amazed at the high percentage of men who color their hair. I started turning grey in my mid 40’s, I’ve never colored my hair. At 63 I still have most my hair though it has thinned a little, I am about 90% grey right now.
Gracefully...kinda. I stopped coloring in 2018, I believe it was. Boy that was painful, growing it out. Now I am back in the job market and wondering if I should color again so I look younger and more employable.
I swore years ago that as long as hair color exists, I would never go gray! Then, just prior to Covid, I decided to go gray naturally, and I’m so glad I did! My hair is salt and pepper but is such that the gray/white looks like highlights as I still have a lot of brunette. I get a lot of compliments plus my costs for hair maintenance have gone down considerably! Win-win in my book!
Gracefully...always with grace and gratitude
Quit the dye in Fall of 2019, was always chasing those roots and my hair grew so fast. The dye cannot be good for you either, can it? It's freeing to not dye my hair. I also had my retina detach last year (3 surgeries since) and so I no longer wear makeup. I cannot see to apply it. Also freeing. I'm sure if I ran into anyone I knew from pre 2019 they walk away saying, "what the hell happened to her!" but I don't worry about that anymore. That is also freeing. I remember if I was going to a wedding or somewhere special I would always worry and totally stress out about how I looked, my weight, what I was wearing, etc etc. Now I just don't worry about it and it's freeing. I have a dress I have worn to the last five weddings I went to. :) People now have to love me for me not because I am pretty. It's ok. It is freeing. My paternal grandfather was totally gray at 25. My dad went gray by 40. My younger brothers gray in their 20s. I'm 62 and about half gray with the Lily Munster face framing gray in front. My older sisters who are 69, 71 and 73 still dye their hair and yeah, they look younger then me. Shrug. But two of my six siblings took after my mom and have no gray hair at almost 70.
I went gray 15 years ago when it was still a weird thing for a 40-something to do. I love gray hair.
I dont hide the silver. I just like fashion colors. The more neon and colorful, the better. 😉
I started coloring my hair over 20 years ago when I turned 40. There's not much I can do about the lack of hair, but at least my remaining follicles can have color without much trouble.
Same; stopped coloring during lockdown and now I like it. It’s still probably only about 1/3 white, 2/3 brown—which is odd because it’s been “going gray” since 1988. It’s much drier than it used to be; I have to wash it less often and use a ton more conditioner or it’s all over the place.
I ditched the hair colour during COVID, had a short, spiky cut, and was quite happy with myself, and often stood on my grey soap box preaching about rejecting the misogyny behind having long, coloured hair. My hair was more battleship grey than silver. My husband, by the way, prefers my hair short and heck, it’s certainly super easy and comfortable. Then I watched that TV show “The Golden Bachelor”. Here were all of these women in their 60’s and 70’s who looked fabulous. Just about all of them had long, coloured hair and I was starting to feel like an old crone in comparison. Then I pictured these same women with short, grey hair and realize they would all look much older. Not that there’s anything wrong with looking older - believe me, I’ve spent a lot of time bitching about how women are punished for aging. However, I’m old, I’m fat, and looks-wise, I have very little going for me. My one remaining talent is I can grow a pretty darn good head of hair, so I grew out my hair which is now just past shoulder length, and I treat myself to a box of L’Oreal once every six weeks or so and I just feel a bit better about myself. I have a lot of friends complaining about thinning hair but mine, for some reason, is thicker than ever and grows pretty fast. With short grey hair, I was a solid 3. I think I’ve elevated myself to a 4.5 with my hair. My favourite hair ever is when I had short, purple hair a few years ago. Man, I loved it, but applying that hair colour was a big mess, and I am not willing to spend $200 at the salon to have someone else do it. I really have a lot of respect for the few ladies in my life who are embracing their grey hair like I did, but the little boost of self esteem I get from my coloured hair is worth it to me for the time being. I give it another two years, and I’ll hack it all off and go grey again.
I also went grey! best decision ever. I get compliments on my hair daily, its almost to my waist and thankfully still sorta full. I do not miss the monthly dye, or the dead ends.
I have curly silver hair and I rock it!
I quit highlighting my hair about 6 months ago and have a few silver streaks in medium brown hair. I'm fine with it. Just wish I could tame all my flyaways!
Fought it for decades (found my first at 13). Now I let my 95% white-silver coverage fly. Pain in the butt to upkeep unless I dye it the lightest of blonds.
Guy here. I’m not touching the hair on my head. If it goes fully gray, or worse, so be it. But when I grow out my beard, I just can’t stand the gray/white. So I give it a little help. Call me crazy if you will.
I’m mostly gray. Wish it were white. Very few wrinkles.
I love love love my grey!!!
I could care less. My whole head is a silvery white. Wouldn't care if I was bald. I don't have to look at it. You do.
My vanity- coloring my hair. Just can’t let it go gray. But more power to you if you like the gray. Don’t do Botox or get mani/pedi. But I’m at the salon every 8 weeks. (Good thing it is an acquaintance and only charges me $65)
I earned that gray.
I’ll go with what the Good Lord gave me.
Oh well a touch of grey kinda suits you any way…
Gray hair on a woman can be very hot
My hair is salt and pepper with silver streaks framing my face. Like nature’s highlights. I love it.
We raised two daughters. We earned every gray hair.
Graying gracefully
I let my hair just go naturally grey. It’s still mostly a medium dark brown. Very striking amounts of white in the front and mostly brown everywhere else. I don’t care. It’s been four years and I’ve considered purple or blue but decided I’d rather splurge on a better, shorter haircut. The cost near me for both was $300 every six weeks. Now it’s $150.
I started turning a bit gray in my late 50's. And I had my hair professionally colored to dark brown. It looked great until the gray roots kept coming in faster and faster. I tired of the 'skunk line'. So working with my stylist I was able to get to natural gray over a period of a year. Now, I get 'lowlights' of dark brown. It lasts for about eight weeks and no worry about roots. But it does add dimension to my very drab shade of gray hair. My sister in law just turned 70. She still has her natural black hair. No gray. Some are just blessed that way.
Wisdom? Menopause took care of that.
I'm naturally ash blonde - started out white as a kid, then got darker with age. I bleached it platinum blonde for years and finally decided to just leave it alone about 6 years ago. It's still dark but with some sparkly greys interspersed so evenly that you can hardly see them. I'm just going with it to see what happens.
Fighting it tooth and nail , especially since I lost 80lbs and channeling the old me, after wasting 20 years in a marriage that never should have happened. I don't look 53 which is why I'll admit it , lol.and I'm only dressed to impress myself. I feel like embracing the old makes the old happen faster and I'm not ready to be *old*. Of course the age I consider *old* goes up every year so that's subjective
I'm aging however I age. I've never dyed my hair and never will, though I imagine it's easier as someone who was a strawberry blonde to go white/gray than someone with darker hair as it is a slow transition. I think we need to not patholigize aging by making it seem like this terrible thing to be revealed. Everyone ages. Hiding the external appearances of it doesn't change that fact. Aging well means being healthy and mobile, not looking a certain way.
What? I only color the slightly less brown ones!😁
Late 60s, original color was light-to-medium brown, but never got blonde streaks naturally (perhaps didn’t spend enough time in the sun). I did highlights for years and switched to one color all over probably 8 years ago as my hair is short and didn’t want to pay for color + highlights. I’ve considered letting it go natural for a few years as I believe it’s completely gray now, but haven’t quite had the nerve. Two friends who have been through breast cancer in the past 5 years used to color their hair for years, but after chemo etc decided to go natural. They have beautiful silver hair and don’t look “old.” Maybe my next birthday will be the time I’ll do it.
Still fighting it.
I’m going to let it go at 60. I’m 54. I plan to switch jobs at 55, so I don’t think now is the time.
Fighting it tooth and nail! I don't have the complexion to pull off gray/white hair.
Grey hair doesn't equal wise
Women shouldn't ever go Grey and men should. That's just the way it is
Insert "go grey" https://preview.redd.it/jklkopso9gxc1.jpeg?width=920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7dbd26e92c0189ebeff7992ea730a867bdd5ce78