going gray?

[crwritt]

I may be a little older than some on this board, so maybe you haven't concerned yourselves too much with hair that's progressively turning gray, or in my case, white. I'm 51 now and have been coloring my white hairs for about 10 years. The white parts are pretty much from the ears forward, and I color it my natural chestnut brown, but that has to be repeated just about every three weeks as the white grows in.
This week I'm trying an herbal rinse to see if it has ant effect on my white, a strong tea of sage, rosemary, and chamomile, that I've been misting on my white roots. (Supposed to turn it brown) And it does make my hair nice and shiny.
I just wondered if anyone had some experience with transitioning to gray with some grace and style?

 

[Caroline]

Starting to go grey

My hair has just started to turn, and I actually like the grey. When it started I thought I was gaining highlights , until the occasional white shocks came in too. I'm not the kind of woman who can keep up with hair coloring, so I admire your attempts to fight it. The only graceful way for me to go is to just accept it - otherwise I'll probably really mess my hair up. I'm also using it as a justification to keep my hair long - I just couldn't pull off grey and short hair.

 

[carter]

A Man's Vanity.

My hair began to turn grey when I was in my late twenties. My beard stayed reddish brown.

By my mid-forties, my beard was going grey and my hair almost completely white save a darker patch in the back. Think wolverine.

By my fifties, I looked like either Col. Sanders or Santa Claus. Take your pick. So I elected to shave my beard and use For Men Only on my hair.

Now I'm going back to the beard and white hair. Why fight it ?[huh]

 

[Inky]

I am 48 now and have had gray temples for about 15 years, but recently it's spread to my part and more areas all over my head.

I am still a slave to the hair dye and don't see quitting any time soon. Aging and gracefully are two words that don't yet go together in my vocabulary lol

I know eventually I'll give in though, when it's more gray and less brown

 

[LaMedicine]

Here's a similar thread from a while back.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=29779

 

[Grnidwitch]

I'm a natural blonde so the white ones coming in are looking like highlights. To be honest, I say let the gray go. Really. Some of the prettiest women and handsomest men I know are salt and pepper. If the gray/silver doesn't wash out your face, give it a go and let it go.
And to any of the gents that may be in here, if your facial hair is going gray/white, let it go. The handsomest man I know has a totally white beard. Very striking on him.

 

[mannySpaghetti]

I'm almost 41 now but have slowly been going gray for some time now. Can't say it really bugs me though, I ain't gettin any younger. One thing of note that I do like about it is that on my right side I have what's becoming a distinctive gray streak where I part my hair. I swore I'd never color my hair and just age with style. I'm stickin' to it!

 

[crwritt]

Thanks to all who answered. I ran into a male acquaintance the other day who I hadn't seen in a couple years. He is in his early 50's and now has a snowy white hair and beard, very striking too.
Both my mom and Dad had dark almost black hair in their youth, and as they aged, it came in white white. Neither of them fought it, though I recall my Dad using grecian formula on his eyebrows.He looked great with black eyebrows and white hair and beard. My Mom, at 75, has lovely white hair on top, she always rolls it in a big beehive, and its dark at the back of her head.
In my case, its going to take some hairdressing tricks (highlights, lowlights?)and strong will power to get through the growing out stage. The contrast of white roots and dark brown hair is just too stark. I agree, salt and pepper can be good looking, and my life would have been easier all these years if I'd never dyed my hair.
The herbal tonic is working somewhat,the white parts are now a little bit golden.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My mother features the salt-and-pepper look, and gets hostile if anyone suggests a dye job -- "It took me 70 years to get where it is now, and I ain't about to turn back!"

As for me, I started to get grey when I was 16 -- but just in patches. If I didn't dye, I'd have a very pronounced skunk streak in the front. I wouldn't mind so much if it was grey all over, but there's no way I'm going to go thru life being mistaken for Susan Sontag.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

I have a fair amount of grey....

I am always -quite- tempted to let it grow out and not cover it...but i then get a lecture by my mother...about how I am not old enough to do that just yet....yadda yadda.....

 

[The Shirt]

I am not recommending this necessarily because it struck a fear in my heart when I did it, but you could have your hair stripped. I did this once years ago to remove the dark black/brown color from my hair to go to a different color. I was facing away from the mirror as she did this. However at one point she spun me around and I nearly jumped out of my chair. I had no idea I had so much grey. I told her to hurry up and color. Looking back now - perhaps it was an opportunity to build in the grey. Perhaps if I had stripped it and then come back with highlights or lowlights as the grey grew in it might have looked more natural than the telltale roots I get now. Definitely not something I would try on my own.

I have also had blond highlights put into my brown hair and this seemed to nicely camoflauge the grey for a while. However there does come a time when the brown underneath looked rather dingy for my tastes and I dyed over the whole thing. Willpower is essential I think.

 

[Coralee]

My mother features the salt-and-pepper look, and gets hostile if anyone suggests a dye job -- "It took me 70 years to get where it is now, and I ain't about to turn back!"

As for me, I started to get grey when I was 16 -- but just in patches. If I didn't dye, I'd have a very pronounced skunk streak in the front. I wouldn't mind so much if it was grey all over, but there's no way I'm going to go thru life being mistaken for Susan Sontag.

Thank God !!!! I'm not the only one....except I call it my bride of frankenstein streak.

 

[Adelaide]

I have a more pronounced gray/white crown showing up now too. I aim to just leave it alone. I have earned every one of those gray hairs.

A.

 

[crwritt]

Last week I went in to the hairdresser's and asked what to do. My last home color job had left very dark areas. She suggested doing a full foil taking tiny strands and lightening them, then doing a light chestnut glaze. I held my breath and let her proceed, and I love how it turned out. She told me what color to touch up the roots with, much lighter than I had thought.With the very natural looking highlights, the white regrowth is so much less noticeable.
I have had to do deep conditioning every few days, since bleaching my hair makes it dry, but after a few treatments it is back to normal.
I think I'm on the right track.

 

[Caity Lynn]

lol, I intend to be an eccentric old cat lady who lives in a little cottage covered by roses, with long grey (preferably white, but I'll just have to take what the lord gives me) hair always wearing skirts, and always having a kettle of tea and fresh cookies ready for company. So I'm looking forward to the Grey hair [huh] I think it looks distinguished.

but Hairdye is everyones friend if they want to get rid of it lol

edit: OMG I just noticed every time I put l-o-l it's a smiley...o.0

 

[randooch]

Gray or white hairs are little badges of honor, in my opinion, and are usuallly attractive. They represent a maturity that may or may not be matched in the wearer's behavior, but they still are more interesting to me than whatever monochrome dye has been applied to hide them. Youth isn't everything, after all. I think demographics dictate a resurgence of respect for signs of "experience." Wear it proudly, I say!

 

[Tallulah]

My mother features the salt-and-pepper look, and gets hostile if anyone suggests a dye job -- "It took me 70 years to get where it is now, and I ain't about to turn back!"

As for me, I started to get grey when I was 16 -- but just in patches. If I didn't dye, I'd have a very pronounced skunk streak in the front. I wouldn't mind so much if it was grey all over, but there's no way I'm going to go thru life being mistaken for Susan Sontag.

lol lol lol Thank you for the out-loud laugh!

 

[nattily_attired]

Emmylou Harris has some of prettiest hair since it was aloud to go gray. IMHO

 

[scarlett]

I have quite a bit of grey at my temples and have since I was about 25. I love my hairdresser and her red dye.

 

[swinggal]

It's funny how life goes. Myself and the women on my mother's side have been blessed with pretty amazing skin. None of us look our age. I do look after my skin though and most people think I am a lot younger than I am...and yet I have had grey hair growing since I was 20!

I wonder why it works that way? I know that I have a streak of grey down the middle, but I have coloured my hair regularly since I was 18 so I have no idea what's under there really!

I do know that after all of these years dying and using many brands, the best brand for colour staying power and covering greys is Garnier (the green box). I use red shades, which are the worst as far as fading goes - but the Garnier reds last WAAAY longer than any other brand I have ever used (and believe me, I've used them all! Also gives a lovely, healthy shine to my hair as it contains concentrated fruit oils. Never feels harsh at all.