Are You Embracing or Running Away From Your Gray Hair? - Page 4

slivola · 05-25-2011, 06:16 PM

strssmnky- welcome back, red head! While I have minimal gray at 40, I will continue to embrace my vivid color even when I get more grays.

PRINCETON · 05-25-2011, 06:20 PM

@SpaghettiHEAD iKR lol but I can't get across to them that I like my gray

Princeton Brooke
Chief Software Engineer
http://apps.facebook.com/princetonbrooke

bluesheep · 05-25-2011, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRINCETON

@BlueSheep yes they pull MY gray hairs and I don't know why cause I have tons.

They think it's just one but I turn around and show there's lots. But I guess I deserve it cause I'll sneak up on them with tweezers and pull out their nose hairs.

Princeton Brooke
Chief Software Engineer
http://apps.facebook.com/princetonbrooke

I love it. I'm going to make you a superhero: "Princeton, aka TweezerMan"! I'm with spaghettihead - you're performing a public service. Maybe they pull out your gray hair because they think it's so attractive and want a memento of you?? Start telling them they can't take souvenirs.

PRINCETON · 05-25-2011, 08:07 PM

lol they say they pull my hair because it's a "true silver" color that they rarely see and I say well now I'm minus a hair strand lol and guys can't grow it after while anyhow so I need all I can get.

Princeton Brooke
Chief Software Engineer
http://apps.facebook.com/princetonbrooke

bluesheep · 05-26-2011, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRINCETON

lol they say they pull my hair because it's a "true silver" color that they rarely see and I say well now I'm minus a hair strand lol and guys can't grow it after while anyhow so I need all I can get.

Princeton Brooke
Chief Software Engineer
http://apps.facebook.com/princetonbrooke

Sounds beautiful. My dad went salt & pepper, then gradually it was a lot more salt & a lot less pepper! He had full head of gorgeous silver hair by the time he was 60. Mine's looking pretty white/silver when the roots come in, so I'm hoping for the same thing. If I can ever stop being such a wuss and grow it out.

SpaghettiHead · 05-27-2011, 07:24 AM

Yes, tell them to step away from your head. There is something about a man with silver hair that is very sexy.
A woman too, come to think about it...silver hair is just very pretty to me.

Barbarosa · 06-03-2011, 04:58 PM

Have finished the transition and noticed my curls are not the same. Hair is very dry but I just dont want to go back to the dye jobs. I will be 64 next month and will try very hard to embrace this new look. At first I loved it but not sure now. Would be much happier if the texture was better. Also the hairdressers love to cut it shorter than I like.

Rustina · 06-04-2011, 07:07 AM

There was an article here on nc.com that said gray hair loses moisture faster than hair with color, and my hairdresser confirmed that. She told me to be sure to do weekly deep treatments, and it has definitely helped. I wasn't able to do one last weekend, so it's been two weeks since I did one - and I am seeing the not-so-good result right now. Maybe start incorporating those into your routine?

As for hairdressers cutting it shorter than you want, that is just so annoying. Do you go to a "regular" hairdresser? Maybe one who is trained for cutting curly hair (like a Deva stylist or similar) will understand how your hair will shrink up and will do what you want.

Rustina · 06-04-2011, 07:07 AM

P.S., your hair is beautiful! I wish mine were silver all over, but I have it mostly in the front. Can't wait til all my old color is grown out!

curl goddess · 06-04-2011, 12:56 PM

i guess im alone in my opinion . . .

but i will never stop coloring my hair and let the gray thru. While I think it looks good on some women . . . . I think it doesnt on a lot of women too.

For me - i think it would make me look old and unkept. But thats just me. Ive always looked 10-15 years younger than my true age. I still do look younger. Im 53 and most people think im 36-40.

Maybe when Im 80 . . .

PRINCETON · 06-04-2011, 01:49 PM

I used to say I would do the guy dye thing lol but lately I'm just loving the all natural even with the silver. But there are some strands that are about both black and silver. One inch of black then one inch of silver etc etc. I don't understand but wondering it that's a sign of something in my diet that causes the roots to create black or silver hair at different times.

PRINCETON BROOKE
Chief Software Engineer & Web Developer
http://apps.facebook.com/PrincetonBrooke

Suburbanbushbabe · 06-04-2011, 03:07 PM

Embraced it. Totally. Occasionally think about a light color, but then remember how long the growout took.

curly kiki · 06-28-2011, 06:34 AM

I have been covering my pesky Greyson since I was in my early 20's. I am 43 and I admit that I do not know my grey percentage at this point (though some of my roots look 50 percent plus) I do not know if / when I will transition to natural - right now I am having too much fun with the color 

curl goddess · 06-28-2011, 07:53 AM

i have no idea what my gray percentage is either! Probably 50 percent at least. Ive been coloring since age 41. I JUST started getting my hair colored professionally. found someone who gives a great curly cut and knows her stuff with color and uses quality products AND is reasonable! She just lifted all the old color - my dark brown hair went to black from box semi perm color.....and now its back to brown with red undertones. It looks so great right now! Next year Ill go a bit lighter, but i love it now.

Call me Liza, but i will never be gray as long as I can still get to the salon. I love having someone do my color.......As long as I dont look my age and am married to my guy who is 7yrs younger......I will always color it.

Penny · 06-30-2011, 10:30 AM

I posted some of this in another thread here already, but what the hell, I'll post it here too.

I'm 38 and am about 65-70% gray (though I admittedly suck at math so it might be more or less than that). I started finding grays regularly in my early teens and by my mid 20's I began coloring, though that was more for fun than for any other reason (hey, it was the 90's

). By my early 30's though it was definitely gray enough that I felt like I had to cover it. However, that was a huge and expensive pain in the arse - my hair grows really fast, number one, so keeping up with my roots was a challenge, and number two, my hair is mostly low porosity, so getting the color to absorb evenly was next to impossible. Some sections wouldn't process at all. I also have very fair skin, so my color selection was pretty limited, which got real old after awhile (no pun intended!).

So a couple of years ago my hairstylist at the time convinced me to just cut my hair short and let the gray come in. "If my gray looked like yours, I'd never color it!" is what she told me. I was dubious, but because I was so frickin' over having to constantly cover it up I decided to go for it. Plus I was curious to see what it looked like. I won't lie, it took some getting used to, and I definitely felt like I looked old at first. The hair in front is a fine, cottony blond-white with some sparkly whites mixed in and the back has more silver. I have some pure, bright white on the sides as well (who knew there were so many shades of white? Lol!) It's definitely a look! But I've come to really love it and would never color it again. I get oodles of compliments on it, way more than I ever had in my pre-gray days. A lot of people think it's a dye job, which is hilarious to me. When I tell them it's my gray their faces just go blank, like I've just told them I'm from the moon or something. My husband was saying the other day that he thought it complimented my skin tone nicely and that I actually look *better* this way! So yeah, my coloring days are over for good. What other people do with their hair is up to them, but imho, I prefer my hair the way it is.

pigreyhound · 06-30-2011, 04:47 PM

I am over 90% white and only 44 years old. I colored my hair for almost 20 years and then decided to see what my hair looked like without color. My stylist pulled out all the color, cut my hair into a pixie, and I just let it grow out.
I learned to take care of my mature hair (deep conditioning, heavier daily conditioning, and protein treatments) so it looks healthy. I am also lucky that my hair is more white than silver or grey. I do have lowlights of pale, sandy blonde put in a couple times a year.
I had to make major changes in my makeup colors. I needed stronger pink tones rather than the pale rose and earthy tones I wore in the past.

I really embraced my white hair and I am happy that I did. It was too much trouble to keep up with the color and my hair is healthier without it.

currrlygurrrly · 06-30-2011, 05:42 PM

I've been grey since my late teens. I am now 54, and almost 75% grey. Coloring my hair is a choice. I think that when I'm ready to accept my natural color, I will stop the madness. The texture of my white/grey/silver hair is really not appealing and I am definitely not ready to be grey. Think it is a personal choice. When you look into the mirror, you have to feel that the image you are seeing, matches the person you are inside. Many women look incredible with the greys and others just look, well, otherwise.

Spiralli · 07-04-2011, 09:27 AM

Embracing. My hair is healthier overall but definitely more dry. Nightly jojoba oiling left on until morning has helped tremendously, as has weekly DT.

No one in my circle of friends is growing out their gray. If the subject of gray hair comes up in conversation, I notice that people seem to be more quiet/careful in what they say. Makes me feel sometimes like I am doing something wrong. I don't regret that I stopped coloring at all. But I may have started letting it grow out "too early" because I don't have vibrant white or sparkly silvers. Mostly a dull light steel/tin foil color except for the underneath layers, which are brownish red.

Verity · 08-23-2011, 07:55 AM

curl goddess, I'm with you. My sister let hers go gray when she was in her mid-50s, and it easily put 10 years on her. (She couldn't deal with the older look and started coloring again.) I'm just not ready for that, either.

hawwhite · 08-31-2011, 09:10 PM

Hi,
I am 53, and have been pretty much silver since I was 30 and never choose to color it. So I never had to transition which I have heard is hard. There is a great website that might help: goinggraylookinggreat.com.
Go for it;]
Cut and style are EVERYTHING, the difference between old and hip.
If I had a nickle for everyone who has said...."If my hair was the color of yours, I would let it go too," How do you know until you try? All the best;]