Anyone NOT died their hair when it started going grey?

[MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay]

I'm 44. I have coloured my hair for years.. you name it I've been it! Permanent, semis, Henna..... however my last colour was over 6 months ago and surprisingly hasn't left noticeable roots.. just a bit lighter on the ends like sunshine lightening. I am currently growing my hair again and it's just touching my shoulders with a side fringe that is also growing out. All good, and it's in a LOT better condition for leaving the dye out, as is my scalp.

I have a sprinkle of grey hairs on the top, but not lots, however my parting has now got a very definite 'Mallen steak' of white hair! I actually quite like it, and am contemplating not having it coloured and seeing how it looks in another 6 months!

BUT I don't want to look old and frumpy!

Has anyone else gone..or stayed natural, and if so do you feel you are perceived differently? Am I nuts?

In an odd way I see the white streak as the next stage of being me, but I don't know anyone who has gone grey naturally except my own mother!

I wouldn't dream of dyeing my hair. And I have no idea if I am treated differently, people seem to be nice enough to me.

If you like it, keep it.

Ack! DYED! FFS I should proof read my own posts!

Well, for a while I had a semi-perm colour put in which looked nice. But you know what? I just can't be arsed any more. Too much faff if you ask me whether I'm sitting around at the hairdresser having it done or puzzling over one of the many unused bottles of dye at home. I don't know if I get treated differently by random bods, but frankly my dear...

I think the important thing is to have a really good cut that you're comfortable with - more important imo than colour.

I use a semi permanent dye, but have to eek it out so as to spread the cost (as cheap as it is) out and keep it as cheap as possible, but I hate to see the grey reappearing. My hair is naturally curly, but I've noticed that it has started to grow much more coarsely than it used to...after using the hair colour and conditioner though, it is so much softer ~ like it was 10 ~ 15 years ago when I was young and it is so much nicer. So, no I don't not dye it.

My Mum doesn't colour hers and at 70, her hair is a lovely even colour of salt and light pepper and is soft and manageable. Mind you, she's also never plucked her brows or shaved her legs because she's never needed to the cow! .

I only have a few grey hairs at 37 (so far I'm getting away very lightly) but I have decided to never dye it.

I don't think it makes people look any younger TBH.

Grey hair is very elegant.

I stopped dyeing about 6 years ago now, when I was 44. My hair's dark, graphite grey with silver streaks. I really like it. I think it's distinctive and individual. I hope it says that I'm happy with who I am (that's what I feel anyway). I don't know if anyone looks at me differently. I don't really mind if they do.

I'm 32, have plentiful white hairs and hair dye has never touched my head.

I don't give a monkey's chuff what other people think about me having grey hair- it's normal.

I would like some of those silver streaks but it isn't happening. I have very dark hair with just a few silver sparkles throughout but not enough to form streaks or to make my hair look anything other than black. Grey haired friends are envious of my dark hair. I'm late sixties. Perhaps by the time i'm in my eighties....

I pull em out
If enough come to look properly grey I'll give it a go, just out of curiosity, I've been about every other colour in my time

How dark is your hair? Highlights are a great way of blending in a few white hairs in a more natural fassion than dying it, but only if you're reasonable fair to start with.

I'm another one who has decided to stop dyeing my hair. It used to be dark brown, I have no idea what colour it's going to be now, the regrowth is looking very silver!
I haven't dyed it for a couple of months and I'm curious to see what it will look like in another 6 as I have quite short hair anyhow. mDD1 (10) is horrified by my plan, as are most of my friends.
I'm quite fascinated by how shocked people are; I'm not a person who really cares what I look like anyhow, don't dress up or wear make up so I don't understand why people are so against this!

Don't know - I may get a few light highlights eventually. At the moment I pull out grey hairs and have changed my parting. The thing that scares me is my dm is still dying her hair and she's 80 - it looks a bit odd and very obviously dyed dark brown but she feels trapped and can't make the leap to grey.

I'm a mid brown I guess... the sun lightened bits are golden, so in theory I could probably highlight lighter but I really don't want to. I look around the room in whole school staff meetings, and all dyed heads look..dyed! None of the over 40s look really natural and quite often I see the 'badger stripe' of those who need their roots done! (I'm tall so tend to notice!)

I'm kind of hoping that if I grow my hair long I can do some messy up dos and make the white streaks look good.
It's nice to know that there are other non dyers out there

I used to have short, layered hair which was highlighted. About 4 years ago I started growing it and stopped the highlights. Its now shoulder length with long layers. I have a side parting and I have a mallen streak which I used to hate but now really like. I get comments asking who colours my hair! Even my hairdresser loves it too. No more highlights here. Grey hair isn't all bad.

Growing out my full head colour was one of the worst years of my life. I am now proper grey (am 42) and provided you have a good haircut (I have a fancy shampoo and set once a week) I think it is cool. I have a bit of a mallan streak at the front which really helps I think. I like to think of it as distinct and have been going grey since late 20's so after years of dyeing it it was a bit of a shock. Most important (as a pale person) to wear good make up so I don't fade away. I have to say that people are very complimentary about my greyness.

I haven't gone grey yet but I'd never let it go grey until I want to be recognised as a little old lady. Personally I think it's very aging although it suits Meryl Streep.

I have had a grey streak since my teens. Never dyed my hair. Have long hair so it does disappear into the hair do.

My hair started going grey when I was 21 and pregnant with first DD.

I've never dyed it and now I'm 48 it's white, cut fairly short and apparently 'stunning'! I don't think I look old and frumpy but I'm of an age now where I dress and act to please myself anyway so don't really care how I look to other people!

As to being perceived differently - most probably yes, but not solely because of my hair colour. I'm a student, studying alongside mainly 20 year olds so I'm the resident alien anyway!

I wont go grey until my mother does, and as she is 86 this year I suspect that is never. Grey hairs make both of us look older and frumpy, whilst many , fortunate, women look chic ( but not sexy) with grey hair I just end up looking 5 years older than I really am. I don't like a solid colour so will carry on with the tiny and numerous highlights and lowlights that make me feel more attractive.

Forgot to say - I'm 47 and started going grey in my early 20s.

Medusa - interesting comments about the over 40s.

I am over 40 and I don't dye my hair - I think I have about 6 or 7 grey hairs in total and as I've said below - I yank them out. Shock was expressed among a group of friends last year who just assumed I dyed my hair because of the lack of grey and I had just assumed all my friends were natural because of their lack of grey - but none were. I'm not convinced that dying is that obvious if your hair is well looked after.

Of course I have seen bad dying jobs - grey roots, uneven semi's and that definitely looks worse than aging gracefully.

Mine looks natural when I do dye it because I choose the closest colour to my natural colour as is possible and I look quite young (apparently) for my almost 48 years.

I suppose we all ought to just be grateful we have hair. Grey hair is better than no hair.

I have a streak of grey above my right eye (now where my parting is). It started turning when I was in my late teens - I'm 44 now. I did dye it for 10 years or so but frazzled my hair and stopped. I love it now and its very much part of 'me'. My hairdresser is fantastic and cuts my hair to emphasise it (I have no other grey). Everyone asks who colours my hair (odd as while I love it, who on earth would dye their hair grey?) and young children are fascinated by it (OK I'm not so keen on the stroking). Sometimes when I am tired I wonder if the grey round my face ages me but then I go for some Instant Radiance in a tub and some blusher and the mood passes! I think the key is how it is cut so it looks at its best. Oh and keeping the rest of the hair in good condition not looking like you are old, grey and frazzled.

I just have a few high lights of caramel put in to break up the greys - I quite like them and will probably stop doing even that eventually.

Does anyone else remember when it was considered very bad taste to dye gray hair away? You were supposed to accept the ageing process gracefully. Women who dyed out the grey got sneered at (now I think women get sneered at for not dying the grey away :().

I see MNers slag off women over 30 who wear miniskirts, high heel boots, fishnet, hoodies, midriff-revealing tops, all sorts of youthful looks & fashion... but dyeing hair is somehow exempt. Why?

I feel like I'm making a statement, whether I want to or not, by never having dyed. Beyond that, I just could not face 10-20-30+ years of maintenance, costs, unknown risks (what they put into hair dyes??) & effort to maintain a fiction.