Should I just seize the opportunity to go grey?

[gemandjule]

I’ve been tempted to stop colouring my hair for ages but too chicken to go through with it. Obviously I haven’t been to the hairdresser for 2.5 months now and this is where I’m at. I still have to go to work every day. Before all this I thought I would never appear In public while growing out the colour so had no idea how to do it but now I’m thinking just go for it. Get a good cut when hairdressers are back and brave it out.
What do you think? Will I be brave enough to go for it when I have a choice? Will it age me terribly to grow it out? I’m 54 by the way.

[gemandjule]

I’m hoping I might eventually achieve something like this.

[Cillmantain]

You appear to have very little grey.
Go for it.
If you really hate it in a few months you can always change your mind.
That's what I am doing and I am a lot more grey.

[boringbertha]

Toying with the idea too, although Im WFH and seeing practically no-one. Might chicken out when I have to go back into society.

You look quite light anyway so might not be so obvious as it comes through.

[wonderrotunda]

It looks a lovely colour! Lots of different shades

[HeimdallSaysNo]

I'm 42 and have naturally bown hair with a lot of grey at the front. I have been going grey for much of my adult life but gave up dyeing it about 4 years ago. My hairdresser and my friends say it looks highlighted rather than natural. I think old prejudices about grey hair are fading. As long as you keep it well conditioned and get it cut regularly (not easy atm: lockdown) it will look really nice.

[gemandjule]

It’s definitely quite grey, this might show it better. Thanks for the words of encouragement though. I really think I might go for it. I’ll never get a better opportunity until I retire and I’m hoping not to do that until I’m 70 or so. I am very lucky to have a well paid professional job that I enjoy so I want to look well groomed and I think that’s what’s put me off for the past few years. It’s very tempting now though.

[gemandjule]

Thought I’d update 😀. I’ve persevered and this is where I’m up to now. I am planning to avoid any attempt to hide the process as introducing highlights or trying to strip the colour just seems to complicate matters. It’s going to take a while though. 😢

[healththrowawayx]

Looks like your hair grows quite quickly!

I think if you can achieve something like the above bob, it wouldn’t age you. Looks quite trendy

[BurtsBeesKnees]

I'm 18 months into the process and it's great. No more dying is a real bonus

[gemandjule]

@BurtsBeesKnees is it fully grown out after 18 months?? How does it look? Do you think it has aged you a lot? So many questions 😳

[gemandjule]

@healththrowawayx the bob does look cool but not sure my natural colour will be as elegant as that. Maybe it does grow quickly. Can’t remember exactly when I did my colour last. Probably early March; so 4 months has got me to here. How long to the bob do you reckon? 😂

[BurtsBeesKnees]

I’ve got quite long hair to start with, but if I was to cut out the dyed ends, and just have grey, I could have a decent length, below jaw bob.

I don’t think it ages me, my dh loves it, the only time I don’t like it that much, is when I tie my hair back, then all you can see is grey hair that needs washing

I have a centre parting and get wiry, fly away hairs that need taming

[suziedoozy]

I am in exactly the same position as you - been dyeing my hair back to its ‘natural’ colour for more than a decade but now have about the same amount of grey as OP but have much shorter hair. I am wondering if when I have it cut in a couple of weeks I just go a little shorter & have most of the dyed hair cut out.

But my roots seem to be almost black & grey when I am quite fair (most of family is blonde) so I don’t know if it will make me look washed out?

Also I have a toddler (am mid 40s) and don’t want to look any older than I am (preferably younger!!)

I might just have it cut & then if I hate it book an appointment for colouring 🤔

[gemandjule]

@BurtsBeesKnees sounds like 18 months to the bob in the above photo so. Only 14 months to go 😉

[gemandjule]

@suziedoozy you sound a bit like my sister who has short hair coloured. No colour or cut since lockdown and got it cut yesterday a bit shorter than usual and pretty much all the coloured hair is gone. I think it looks great and am quite jealous of her

[OxanaVorontsova]

Mine is at a similar stage to yours OP and I am going to go for it (until my hairdresser talks me out of it on Monday morning!) I have a long pixie/cropped bob sort of style and would love to imagine it looking as sleek as the pic you posted.

[nopoo]

Good for you! I embraced my grey hair last year, and I love it. It's not much at the moment, but there is no longer such bad attitudes to grey.

I think it looks very cool...

[Puffinhead]

Hello OP, I’m following with interest! I’m also considering embracing the grey but can’t actually make up my mind. I would save myself a small fortune if I stopped dyeing it so it’s tempting...

My roots aren’t too grey but the dyed colour is much redder than my natural brown and I hate that more than the grey IYSWIM so I’m considering getting the colour stripped so at least it will look more natural. Otherwise it would take ages to grow out and I really can’t face having it cut short.

[OldLace]

I'm thinking of this too.
I am (was?) naturally midbrown and colour it myself with a supermarket box dye. I'd like to stop putting chemicals on my head but I've only got about 2" of roots and the rest is brassy blonde.
I'm thinking my hair might be healthier and shinier too?

Is there any way of toning it down / shading it in as it grows out?

[OldLace]

OR I thought I could go really light ashy blonde as the stuff coming in around my hairline seems so pale grey / white but to go from light brown to that with box colour would be bad for my hair and I cant afford / am miles from a decent hairdresser.

I think the smart grey bob upthread is FAB

[gemandjule]

@OldLace I’m a very long way from being an expert on this but have read a few blogs from people who have grown out coloured hair. There seemed to be a general consensus that trying to strip colour or lighten colour to match roots tends to be very time consuming and expensive and not good for your hair. I think unless you want to spend a fortune biting the bullet and going cold turkey is the best option, even though it’s the scariest. My colour has faded dramatically over the months anyway so the contrast has become less. Having said all that I’m not deluded and my hair is shocking atm. However; I can’t see it so tend to forget about it most of the time 😂

[Puffinhead]

It will be interesting to have a follow up in 6 months and see where we're all at then!

[SoftBlocks]

Even if you change your mind and go back to dying it your hair will appreciate the break in terms of condition.

[Sirthanksalot]

not sure if this helps or not but mine is grey, I'm 42. I bleached it at around bob length and dyed it grey. Well the hairdresser did. Then went a variety of mad colours, settling once more on grey. Got it cut short (with an undercut) which got rid of most of the bleached ends and now it's growing out true grey. I occasionally put a purple hair mask on which is essentially a semi permanent and this makes the real grey match the remaining bleached ends and also makes it look a bit more uniform rather than salt and pepper. My point is that lots of people think I'm still just dying it this colour on purpose. Fools!!

[TornadoOfSouls]

I like it, OP. It’s a pretty nice colour I think. Would you consider going really short?