Does hair get lighter with age?

[LoveLifeLaugh]

My hair seems to be getting fairer! It’s a mid-brown/auburn colour and it’s staying the same shade but it’s getting lighter. Is this a thing?

I thought that with ageing the hair would turn grey, and I do have quite a few grey hairs but this is different. It’s like the colour is draining out of it. Anyone else had this??

Yes. I am a dark blonde and it is like an old photo where the colour has faded. It's the same colour but less so.

Hair loses pigment as you age, so it goes a more transparent colour, ie grey/white/silver.

When hair goes grey or white it isn't because it changes from "brown/blonde paint" to "white/grey paint" in the hair manufacturing process, the whiteness is an inability to make any pigment at all anymore. So before you get white hair, you get an increasingly diluted form of your hair colour, with the odd fully white hair which has totally shut down making colour earlier than the rest.

Oh gosh. I feel a little depressed now! 😕

I would consider dyeing my hair but I really like my colour and don’t want it to look solid all over. Yet I don’t want highlights either. Is there such a thing as a hair dye that is more like a tint that washes out after 4-6 washes? Can anyone recommend anything please?

My other fear with hair dye is staining my surrounding skin and tiny facial hairs.

Don't be depressed, I've let my hair go grey and look epic

I’m sure you look amazing but I don’t think grey is for me. I love my natural colour and want to keep it ideally.

Does hair get greyer at the front first? When I look it the mirror I have quite a few across my hairline at the top but I don’t think I have much grey anywhere else. Or maybe I just can’t see it.

I think maybe it does go at the front first, just going by my own and seeing other people's, mine is much darker towards the back still.

The red part of the hair fades, rather than greying. There is a word for it, but I can't remember it! My dad was a ginger who faded to strawberry blonde and then eventually more or less white

Here we go..."Redheads don't go grey
Ginger hair retains its natural pigment a lot longer than other shades, so there's no need to panic about going grey. Red hair simply fades with age through a glorious spectrum of faded copper to rosy-blonde colours, then to silvery-white."

From gingerparrot.

My lifetime blonde hair has gone a very dark brunette underneath, grey streaks on the front around my face, yellow blonde on the top layers still. Very mismatched! Not coloured in any way. I'm late 40s.

Red hair does fade with age. I’ve lost a lot of my natural red now and it looking more like a dark blonde/ mousey brown (well my roots when they grow in anyway). I use henna now to dye my hair and get the red back. It’s nice because it works with your actual hair colour and tones it in a natural way rather than a uniform colour all over.

I will say it’s a big commitment to take as you can’t really dye over it again. The process is really long. I mix henna power with red berry tea and it takes a good 8 hours for the dye to release. Then once it’s on I leave it for about 4 hours before rinsing out. It’s messy and has a grassy/hay type smell that takes a few days to fade. If you do decide to go down the henna route don’t get the box dye version, don’t get anything with ‘shades or colours’. Henna is only red and the colour entirely dependant on your natural hair shade. The dyes sold as hanna hair dyes with different colours are full of all sorts, most likely condition metallic salts (big no) and dark shades potentially have PPD in them which is a known allergen that can cause severe reactions.

Yes, it fades before losing pigment completely (to grey-white) Blonde highlights will blend it in well.

My red/auburn hair has faded and is now a strawberry blonde. Most people assume it's dyed. Have some bits which are v v blonde so I think I'll go white eventually (I'm 56). Pubes are a bright ginger with no signs of fading though!!

@ThanksForAllTheFish I used to do that. Recently I've been using hot water to mix the powder, some lemon juice, and only been waiting half and hour or so for it to be ready. I only apply it to my roots, leave it ten minutes or so (clean my teeth, wash my face etc) then rinse out. It's quite effective, and now I do it monthly rather than waiting ages till I can be bothered with the faff!