Who wants to go grey with me?

[Flangeofmingetown]

I have had enough with the faff of dyeing my hair. Bleach.dye.bleach.dye every two weeks.

Dye is not enough on it's own. It just washes straight off. I have tried every brand there is and I just am so bored with the whole malarky.

I have short hair so could be done by May. I have inherited the silver gene from both my parents who both went gray prematurely (in their twenties) and have had grey hairs since my teens. Now I have a pure white halo around 3/4's of my hairline and is is noticeable even days after double processing.

I really like salt and pepper hair -have no problem with it and think it looks better than a dye job any day but it's the growing out phase that is excruciating.

Anyone care to join/have a good old moan/support/offer some tips etc?

I wish I could - my hair is only just turning so it HAS to be dyed.
Good luck - grey hair can look amazing on some women

Fiona

It can look amazing and stlyish but theres no escaping the fact that it is aging.

I will be grey-ing naturally. :(

I have salt and pepper around the sides already.

Between being sensitive to a lot of hair dyes and not having enough money for professional dye jobs and fast growing hair and hair that will not hold a colour properly it is just too much of a faff to try and out run the grey.

Did it a few years ago, and I love it. Much less ageing imo than someone clinging onto the hair colour they are no longer

Me!
I've been thinking about this for aaaages. In my late 30s & I've been dyeing my hair for over 10 years. Not sure how grey I really am, but it's quite a bit.

I've been using an 'Eco' hair due from holland & Barrett - no ammonia no resorcinol nasties etc & it does stick to the grey pretty well. I've been using it so long that my hair looks like it's been highlighted- as the grey is a shimmery brown amongst the dark brown (just below shoulder length).

But how to transition? Leave roots & have a dramatic short style?
Leave roots & look daft for months with longer hair? Highlights and do it gradually? But how to find a hairdresser to help?

Lots of questions!

CMOT that's it exactly! Id rather do it now & attempt to look stylish than in my 50s look awful with hair that's clearly too dark.

I've been growing old disgracefully for the last 6+ years.

I don't describe myself as having as grey hair though - it's monochrome

I'm a year into the process - turned out I was less grey than I thought - have been having silvery blonde highlights about 2-3x/year to aid the transition (as I once had a boss who just grew the dye out and for a year had a weird two-tone bob). It's a brilliant thing to do - you suddenly realise that your skin has changed and actually suits your natural colour better.
Have bought v strong lipstick to compensate for the lack of colour in hair.
It's all very liberating! Enjoy!

Im in!!! I will be 37 this Sunday and have been dyeing my hair on and off for years. Recently I tried the highlighting until I was lighter all over attempt (via the hairdressers) and it started to look orange so I had a semi put over it back to my "original" colour, and now the grey is coming through in PATCHES!!

I cant afford to go back to highlighting, was costing me a small fortune monthly, but my hair has took ages to grow to a chin length that I want to carry on growing!
WHAT TO DO?!!!!

I've just started getting the greys come through, I don't want to start dyeing as when do you stop? So I'm embracing it / ignoring it.
So watching with interest

Rooble what was your original hair colour? I like the highlighting approach, but nervous it won't work from dark brown.

Oh god I wish I had the confidence to do this.

I'm 35, have been greying for at least 10 years, dyeing for the last 6 yrs or so. I too inherited the grey gene from my mother, who has pure white hair.

I have no idea how grey I really am now, but when the roots come through they're pretty uniformly grey. I am (was) a natural mid-dark brown colour.

I've started to really notice the damage now, my hair used to be shiny and fine, now it's flyaway and frazzled at the ends. Lots of broken bits sticking up too.

There are some really good blogs out there from women who have grown theirs out. I'll search some out later.

Just not sure I want the two tone look, and not sure how I'd look grey... aaargh.

I asked my hairdresser for advice... she said I should highlight it to an eventual blonde..

I have dark brown hair, with black eyebrows. I can't think of anyone who would suit highlighted blonde hair less than me.

I did it and I LOVE it! I have to say it's the most emancipating thing to be free of the tyranny of hair dye . I have kept it short so the growing out process wasn't difficult at all - took no more than 6 months. I get so many compliments on it and I don't think it's aging at all - in fact people have commented that it makes me look younger. Do it, do it, do it - that's all I can say!

How short is short papa?

Mine is chin length.. but I still dont' fancy having a two tone bob..!

I once saw a lady at a wedding with a grey bob. Saw her from behind first, and assumed she was in her 50s, and thought "Hmm that dress is a little young for her".. She turned around, and was in her early 30s (i.e. my age) and I was shocked. She was really pretty, and the colour suited her, but I was shocked at how quickly I judged her age from behind.

I don't want that to be me

fwiw I've seen quite a few v. stylish Italian women with greying hair.

How Borgeois (a blogger with grey hair) has some great tips for the growing out stage, and her natural hair is absolutely gorgeous .

Mine has been going grey since I was 13 and I'm now 23, with a 1cm mallen streak in my fringe and random silver strands poking through elsewhere. The way things are going, I think I'll probably have a totally white fringe and a mostly dark head of hair by the time I'm 30...

I refuse to dye it, though - the greys are really shiny and thick, so I don't want to spoil the condition. I think I'll add up the cost of monthly hair colours, and spend the same amount on clothes and skin peels to stave off any fear of frumpery .

I started a thread about this years ago : I wonder how many people kept up! I'm still faffing. Went from long to chin to short, now chin length grey, dye and highlights to bridge the gap.
I'm not brave enough to go an inch all over!

Nerfmother - I think it may have been your thread that convinced me not to resist the grey, as it's clearly not an easy decision to reverse!

Omg... Leave me out of this one thank you!!

Been going grey since my early 30's (coincidentally about the time I had children ) & I will go to any lengths to cover it up.

All my ash blonde dye has now grown out and I'm left with a reasonable mix of mouse, grey and blonde. Shoulder length hair. It took a couple of years, but the dye job was fairly close to my natural mix and I just joked that I was joining in with the dip dye hombre fad!

Saw my hair under the rather unforgiving lights in changing room recently and was pleasantly surprised how good it looked, better than my bottle blonde effort. Hard to be objective, but hopefully it suits my complexion better.

Although I have now been googling the Eco tint milktraylady mentioned and am a bit tempted

Not me. My mum's hair went grey young and she had a really young looking face with hair that made her look old. I've not got masses of grey I cover it anyway and will do so even when I'm dying.

Peeps who are sensitive to dyes might try Logona organic hair dyes and Daniel Field Watercolours. I've used both to cover up greys at the front if I don't have time to get to a hairdresser, they're good.

Also, if you can find a freelance haircolourist to come to your house, it can save a lot on salon fees.

Are there any good semi-permanent dyes that can cover up the white stripe while it's growing out?

My hairdresser says there aren't... but I'm not convinced.

Lady I'm still trying to get there. I love the white, it's just a slog without going severe.