How to go naturally grey ?

[RealHouswifeofBury]

Been dying my hair for over 20 years and I'm sick of root touch ups every 10 days.
I want to strip the colour out and just go grey.
Has anyone done this?
Any advice?

[chocolatespiders]

What's your natural colour?

[HopeClearwater]

Watching with interest

[picklemepopcorn]

Can you put highlights in? Something to break up the root line?

[RealHouswifeofBury]

My original natural colour was dark brown. I would be surprised if anything other than grey is under the brown hair dye

[StillMedusa]

Stripping it won't help... you can't strip all the colour off to be instantly your natural grey..you'd be left with an orangy mess! You could of course attempt artificial grey but tbh, I have seen a few youngsters do this and after a few weeks it doesn't look great.

Highlights might be a better option. Or bite the bullet and just grow it out .
I'm 18 months in..decided one day that I just couldn't be bothered with the constant round of dye-roots-dye and stopped. The first few months were the worst. Recently had it cut short, so it's all my own colour (mix of brown and grey). It feels SO much better and tbh I don't think I look any older than I did with coloured hair! I just feel free

[WanderingTrolley1]

Just leave it to grow out. Why replace one faff with another?

[Expellibramus]

I think just biting the bullet and letting it grow out is the way to go. The Facebook 'going grey gracefully' page is great.

m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=620789137997967

[MissSmiley]

I did this 18m ago I let it grow out about two inches and then had a pixie cut. It's on my shoulders again now and I love it. Best thing I ever did.
I joined a Facebook group called going grey gracefully or something like that. The other way to go is to just let it grow out but I just felt that would be harder but lots of women choose that route. I'm 44 btw.

[catweather]

What about using a semi permanent dye for a few months until the permanent is reasonably grown out?

[RicketyCricket]

Get it cut as short as you can bear (for me this was Sinead O'Connor short) and let your natural colour grow in.

I was darkest brown before and, like you, had to do a root touch up every 10 days-2 weeks. It was an utter nightmare and finally being off the hair dye carousel is just one of the reasons I love my grey hair.

[RealHouswifeofBury]

I really don't think I could do the roots .
If you did,did you use a root touch up?
Wear scarves or hats or just brace it?

I am also 44

[hazeyjane]

My hair is very short, and I stopped dying it a few months go, I love it. I just left it, but this was pretty easy as it is so short.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I'm 50 and had my hair cut short the past couple of years.
Gone through dye from chestnut to light blonde then cropped out and hennaed for a while.

In October, I had it cut before we went on holiday and CBA henna-ing.
So I'm going into the "Going Grey" thing now.
For me, keeping it short, I now have no dye/henna but my natural colour is brown with the grey mixed in.
It is liberating to be free of dye .

I did consider the metallic grey dyes but decided Nah

[DevelopingDetritus]

I feel your pain OP. My hair dresser suggested, grow out as much as you can stand then have some foil blonde highlights just to break it up a bit. You're brave going every 10 days, I stretch it to once every 6 weeks, that's more than enough for me. I think this is definitely something I'm psyching myself up to do. I think the texture, strength and look of the hair will improve vastly and no more trips to the salon, yay, plus all the money saved. It's the way to go for sure.

[girlandboy]

It's over 6 months since I dyed my hair, and I've just bitten the bullet and let it grow out. I reckon I have about 4 inches of grey now.
I can't say it looks brilliant at the moment, but I don't really care...it'll grow!

[DevelopingDetritus]

Ps I think it will be harder for people with long hair like me . I have no intention of cutting it off though. I would like long grey hair when I'm 100

[user1486076969]

Just let it grow. I've never dyed my hair except for a fe semi-permanent numbers about 20 years ago.

[pleasestopsnoring]

I stopped colouring about 4 years ago I'm now 48. Before that I had to dye/touch up every 3 weeks, a total ball ache.

Over about 3 months I let the roots grow, then colour stripped my hair twice so it went blonde (i was previously dark brown) then got it all chopped off. On the first cut there was about 2 cm of colour which my hair dresser spent ages on with thinning scissors. so there were a few longer bits but most of it was about 3cm.

Grew it back into a bob and now it's down to my bra strap, white at the front and darker at the back. I look after it with oil, but blow dry it most days. Got it cut once last year, the saving in money and time is great.

I love it

[RealHouswifeofBury]

I think I'm going to do it! I have long hair and I'm not ready to have it cut yet so will just have to find away of concealing the roots till it's bob length.
My face is to fat to go any shorter

[bonzo77]

Exactly like you, originally dark brown, dyed for years, until I was very grey (white at the sides). About 3 years ago I went cold turkey. Just let it grow out. Cut my hair from shoulder length to jaw length graduated bob. Trimmed regularly so the cut always looked nice. And used a lot of purple shampoo to keep the dye getting really brassy as it faded. I think it took a year, maybe 15 months till I had the last bit of colour cut out. I think that they're some pictures in my MN profile.

[llangennith]

I had zillions of highlights put in at hairdressers then used the lightest blond hair colour on the roots from then on. Nearly all white at the front but still too much dark hair at the back to let it go natural.

[ginghamstarfish]

I'm also embracing the grey, about 4 inches in so far, was dark blonde with highlights but it kept going brassy no matter what. I'm past caring what anyone thinks, and it will look great in another 6 months or so.

[RealHouswifeofBury]

Ladies you are definitely convincing me

[pleasestopsnoring]

do it !!
the regular compliments will give you a boost when you're over the root faze.
Something else I've noticed is how much better condition my hair is. I rarely use conditioner now partly from laziness but it just doesn't need it.

[RealHouswifeofBury]

Did you not disguise it at all.
Just bad roots?