Quitting hair dye and embracing the grey

[ittakestwo]

I've decided to quit the hair dye. I'm sick of the whole routine and damage it's doing to my hair.

At the moment I've got about 1inch of grey roots and have noticed that I'm salt and pepper through most of my hair but I will have a clear white stripe at the front.

I've mentioned my intentions to some colleagues and friends as they have felt the need to comment on my roots!! They have responded with shock and horror (I'm 45 btw).
I'm not really bothered by what other people think but would love to hear about other peoples experiences who have chosen to dump the dye.

There you go

I'm glad someone else has posted this. I've just had my hair chopped into a bob and I'm considering giving up dying my hair. I'm naturally very dark, and my roots are coming through salt and pepper. I'm tired of dying my hair and having to do it religiously every 3-4 weeks.

My mum has naturally silver/white hair and once mine gets to that stage it will be easier to manage because I can put a nice light temporary colour through it. I'm 38 and don't know if I'll feel too old if I go grey.

I started growing mine out three years ago at 48 after a disastrous colour and cut with a rubbish hairdresser.
I just decided I had had enough of trying to blend the greys in every three weeks, my hair grows fast.
I had it cut really short to get rid of as much bleach/ dye as possible.
I love it now, I grew it to a long bob but now have it short and asymmetrical with an undercut
I know three or four women that have grown out their grey, we are not frumpy or have given up
Go for it OP

I'm 50 and I've had mine dyed golden blonde for years, and the roots just looked atrocious. So the end of last year I decided enough was enough and decided to go platinum blonde with a silver toner. It' took several visits and was a major faff but I wanted to keep as much condition as I could. Well I'm five+ months into it and I have to say it was the best decision I've ever made. The roots blend in and I use a purple shampoo. I've honestly had loads of compliments over it. I'll be honest, it took a while to get used to, at first I felt older and less 'me'. But now I've fully embraced it, I absolutely love it and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

If I could wake up one morning with lovely thick , silvery long locks I’d be iver the moon
( and a bit shocked 😱)
As it is, at 66 , I’ve got loads of brown hair, so I still have it highlighted to cover the grey / silver poking through.
It only costs £25 every 2 months so not a big outlay.

One day 👍

My friend is 10 years younger than me and has been pure white for at least a decade.
It’s lovely and really suits her.

Watching with interest. I’m 47 and have long very dark hair & lots of lowlights.
Only about 5% grey, but roots starting to show if I don’t have the base colour done.
I really don’t want to cut my hair, but the longer I leave it, the more drastic the “ cold turkey” will have to be...
I am thinking about transitioning with a semi permanent colour, so that the roots have time to grow out to a decent length ( under the semi permanent colour) so that it looks deliberate and not like I’ve “ let myself go”.

Then stop with the semi permanent completely to reveal the salt & pepper.
I’ve also just started the curly girl method which is very effective at hiding roots. It’s also part of the philosophy of natural hair to embrace curls & natural grey / silver hair

I have always had very dark reddish-brown hair and I kind of like seeing the lighter streaks appearing. The front of my hair looks like it has dark blonde highlights at times, and I'd never be able to get that hair colour otherwise without a lot of bleach.
I do have the occasional temporary colour put on at the hairdressers, but it fades quickly, so I'm also thinking about embracing the grey permanently and focusing more on getting my hair into better condition.

Thanks for all the feedback I’m really excited going ahead with this process I’m sure I’ll have the odd wobble but determined not to grab a box of dye! Ive got a few half head highlights that I pop a silver toner over every four weeks this tones down the yellow brassiness.

My sister has let hers go white. She has a short pixie.

With her colouring and face shape, it does absolutely nothing for her, but I have seen women on whom it looks good. You need good bone structure, skin tone (and a fuck it attitude!)

Took the plunge to have all my colour cut out 2mths ago. Now grey & loving it

@letsdolunch your hair is lovely

Thank you ittakestwo. I had been dyeing it for 35yrs decided enough was enough. Very happy with the wash & go style now

@curlywurlytwirly I also have curly hair. I found the colouring process stressed my hair and damaged the curls.

My streaky grey hair, it looks darker because I have been using a purple shampoo and it darkens my hair and stops it looking brassy as I have a touch of the ginger.

I’m mid thirties and thinking of doing this too. I have mid-dark brown hair and about an inch of regrowth after leaving it, last dye was about two months ago, there’s definitely a lot more grey/silver in there than I realised but it’s not evenly spread. I’m thinking of getting a Michelle Williams cut to hurry it up a bit. If I don’t like it when it comes through at least i’ll have a lighter base to start with. Hopefully.

I was using one of those retouch sprays and it was ok but made my hair feel sticky like I’d not rinsed shampoo out properly and I was having to clean up random splats on my face and neck.

I stopped the dye about 10 months ago. Still not quite used to the colour - but it's in great condition! Only just had the last of my dye chopped out. It does feel great not to fret about roots showing.

I stopped the dye about 6 months ago, had it all chopped into a very short pixie style and went for it! It's completely silver at the front and darker at the back, but I get a lot of compliments.

It does take upkeep though. The cut has to be really good, imo, other wise it looks dull and frumpy. Silver shampoo is a must. I also have to think more carefully about makeup/colours near my face etc. Now and again I look in the mirror and think 'soooooo old!' but 95% of the time I love it. To be honest I like the fact that I don't look like everyone else my age.

I'm 45.

I wish I could but I really worry it would really age me.
The lady that plays serina in Holby city is one example. She looks WAY older now her greys have come in. That just totally puts me off.

I dumped the dye years ago and now get compliments on my hair that I never did before!

The thing is, unless you spend a load of money and time getting salon colouring every few weeks, the dye is fooling no-one. You will spend more time with grey showing through than with decent colour. I started home colouring to save money but it just looked so solid - like a bad wig.
Now my hair is generally silver, shading from pure white in places, to pewter around the nape. This variation gives it vibrancy.
I spend a fraction of the money saved on colouring by getting it cut more frequently. Grey hair needs to maintain a well cut style otherwise you look like you've given up completely!

This is what worries me, two days ago I was convinced I’m going for a short cut, today I’ve looked in the mirror and thought I’ll look like Arlene Foster.

I’m 35 and do look young for my age, I’m not in anyway cool though so not convinced I can really get away with it.

No one ever says grey hair or going bald ages men - it’s internalised sexism IMO

I think you find that they do. Philip Scoffield is one example.

Polly I stopped using traditional dyes and now use henna to stop the wiggy solid colour effect. I also use powder between dyes so no one really sees my greys. I don't really care about fooling people. Most people can see that my hair is dyed I'm sure because its a vibrant mixture of dark auburn. However I do long to have gorgeous long silver hair and if I could forgo the transition and also see what I would look like I may just do it :)

I am in no way anti-grey. I would love to have gorgeous long grey hair but how on earth do I get there and what if I hate it? I have long hair atm and really don't want to chop it off.