Any grayheads here going natural yet? I am.

I started getting gray hair in my late teens, and by the time I was in my 20's I was having it colored. I've been blonde, red, auburn, cool browns, warm browns. This year I turn 50 in September, and I've decided to let my gray hair grow in. It looks to be a nice silvery color now, not salt & pepper gray. Growing it out is a huge ordeal though. You have to live with the gray roots for a while, then cut your hair very short (not an option for me, won't do it), or just live with how it looks. One colorist I consulted advised me to wear a lot of hats. I hate hats! Anyway...last week I asked my usual colorist put a whole headful of very light ash blonde highlights throughout my dyed med. brown hair. I can't believe how great it looks. The gray roots blend right in, so there's no huge contrast between the old hair and new growth, and the overall lighter color suits my skin tone so much better now. Deciding to go with the gray is an increasing trend, I've been reading, among the aging baby boomer population. There are quite a few issues at play, career image, personal image, not to mention one's issues with aging in general and feminist principles. I'm letting mine go gray because I'm sick of being a slave to white roots, I want to see what my true hair color is for the first time in 25 years, and because I think the silver color is really nice. How this will affect job prospects, whether I will be perceived as "old", I don't know. But...I think I may be able to snag senior discounts for movies now.

Silverbullet, you are a silver fox at any age! And no, my post is not intended for women only. But, generally, women with gray hair are seen as "old," while men are viewed as "distinguished". Not true in every case, of course, and these attitudes are on the wane, which is a blessing. I enjoy watching commercials now with more gray models who look really great, not just playing sweet little old grannies or grandpas.

Men's hair coloring options have always been limited. Women's hair color has a much wider range of colors and shades to choose from. When men color their hair it often looks like they've had their hair tarred, it either doesn't go with their skin tones or there is no gradation of colors. I belive the percentage of men going to salons for professional color is also on the increase. Having your hair colored by someone who knows what they are doing makes a huge difference. But it's a major commitment. You have to keep going back to have your roots touched up. And the chemicals do damage your hair.

When I was young my gray hair just looked weird. My face always looked younger than my chronological age, so the gray was odd and did nothing for my skin either. Even now, my face is relatively young looking (few lines - genetic inheritance there), but I like the look of the silvery tones now. For years I had been having my hair dyed pretty much close to its natural color before it went gray (golden brown). But people change and their coloring does as well. Nature knows best.

All of you silverhairs who go natural, I salute you!

Those of you who prefer to color over the gray, that's fine too. It's nice to have options.

Thanks, ubuandibeme and Therese, for the encouragement! I had light ash blonde streaks worked through my entire head of hair last week, in hopes that my white stripe (my Pepe Le Pew stripe) would be less glaring than it was against my dark hair. I asked for as light and silvery a color as possible, and my colorist got pretty close to what I wanted, with no golden tones, and she left the gray roots alone. Now, the gray just blends into the old (now bleached) hair. It's early days yet. The gray roots are still pretty short. I know it will take a looooong time for the old hair to grow out. But I like the silver so much that I think it's going to be well worth the wait.

I'm still going through the growing out process, and I really like the gray, what I can see of it so far. The roots are getting long now. I was afraid that I would hate this growing out process, but actually I'm enjoying the transition. I find it liberating on several fronts. I plan to be one of those powerful older witchy-poos with a loooong, gray mane.

Yes, when I was younger the gray really washed me out - I'm very fair skinned & blue eyed, so I looked like a pale ghost with the gray - that's why I colored it for so many years. Now, I'm having to rethink my usual colors and find ones that suit my pale hair better. I can wear pink lip colors now (never liked pink before). Perhaps I have to think more like a blonde (!! ack!). (kidding).

Good for you! If people want to color their hair, I don't have a problem with that. I colored for many years because I didn't like the washed out look when it was half & half. It's an individual choice. But I'm so happy that more people are opting not to. It makes me feel less alone.



I've always loved earth tones too, but I'm also not sure about them anymore with the gray hair. Beige and ivory are definitely drabbing. I think that browns, rust, camel, can all be exciting colors when they are rich and vibrant (have a lot of red in them) - but you just have to try them to see. You could probably wear skirts and pants in your old favorite colors, but might want to rethink them near your face, though that would depend on your natural skin tones (i.e., warm or cool or balanced neutral). You just have to experiment to see what works best for you. I wish we were near each other - we could shop our closets together and offer our respecive opinions.

The dark brown is probably close enough to black to be workable. I haven't bought anything new yet for fall/winter. The weather here is mild in winter so I think I'm going to enjoy wearing more colorful things now year round. You know, now that I think about it, I'm really liking turquoise shades lately, everything from the palest aqua to a deep teal. It seems to work well with the gray. Also, I'm liking red with crisp white and black.

Well, here it is almost a year later and my gray/silver is mostly grown out now. Around Easter I had a lot of hair cut off. I had my hair cut shorter than I was really comfortable with, but I just couldn't take the long two-toned look any more. I actually really liked the result, my hair texture felt softer and curled up into a curly bob. I just have a bit left of the dyed hair on the ends. By the time I get another hair cut, which will have to be soon because I'm getting shaggy - the dyed hair will all be gone and then I can grow my hair long or decide how I want it. I love the silver with my skin tone, I think it's much more becoming than the dyed hair, whatever anybody else's assumptions about gray hair. I am 50, and I honestly don't know whether I look 50 or 60 or 70. Movie ticket sellers in their 20's probably wouldn't look twice if I asked for a senior's discount, and young people always call me "ma'am" now (but I am in the south and people do that). But grayheads in my church and other grayhead teachers still seem able to peg my age pretty accurately. So there must be something that only other grayheads can see about one's approximate age and gray hair. In other words, you have to look more closely. I don't think that non-gray people look very closely at grayhaired people, they mostly make quick assumptions. Unless you'r Karl Lagerfeld or Anderson Cooper, or some other famous gray, people seem to assume that you are a member of AARP or a senior citizen.

I do find that I have to keep my eyebrows well groomed to look my best. They have become very light, not gray really, but just very fair, so I dye them. I use Clairol's Just for Men beard & mustache dye. Then I have them waxed and shaped at my local mani/pedi salon. The difference it makes is tremendous. I want to embrace the gray, but I don't want to look washed out and decrepit. I use a tiny smidge of bronzer now, too, which always looked horrible on me before the gray, but actually works well now. Plus bronzers have improved in recent years. Here's the thing that makes you appear old and decrepit: It isn't gray hair alone, it's being gray and FAT! I need to lose weight. Well, I have lost a little but I need to lose more. And I do love food and drink. And I hate working out. I even hate that expression, "working out". (sigh!)