Anyone over 50 and still have dark hair ?

[NannyOgg66]

Hi ladies just wondering if anyone else has this problem, I'm in my 50s and have dark hair with a bit of grey, about 15 percent max. I've always dyed my mid brown very mousey hair a shade darker and chestnut or red/mahogany at various stages. I'm getting to the point now where I'm thinking I cant stay dark forever but not sure what to do. I had highlights a few years ago and i looked hideous, it actually aged me more than the brunette. I've got fair/medium caucasian skin. Most women my age are going lighter. I've spoken to my hairdresser about going blonde but she said I'm not grey enough yet and tbh when ive tried different shades of blonde or even light brown on an app it looks awful. My eyebrows are also still very dark. I dont mind the grey but hate my natural colour as it is so ashy.

I’m envious of those who have very little grey. I have been colouring my hair since my twenties . I started to get noticeable grey hairs in my mid twenties. I am now in my late fifties and have never had my hair uncoloured in all that time. I used henna on it in my twenties.
During lockdown the roots have looked so awful, I bought some hair scissors and cut it all off to the point where the roots had grown. It’s white/silver now. It really doesn’t look too bad and it’s in far better condition. I don’t have to blow dry it now or worry about roots any longer. It’s quite liberating! I went through a phase of having lots of blonde highlights so it looked blonde, but it didn’t suit me. My hair has also got a lot thinner so a short cut with natural hair looks better.
I’m going to the hairdresser next week to get it trimmed properly. I’m not sure if I will ever go back to colour, but might get some highlights/lowlights.

@Oliversmumsarmy oh my goodness that's awful. Really not worth the risk then.
@KatherineParr4 wow I'm so impressed you cut your hair that much. I've just cut 2 inches off of mine and thought I was being really brave I've not managed to get the back completely even(my hair is straight it really notices) so just waiting for DD to get herself out of bed to help me.

I'm not dark, my hair was medium coloured, chestnutty. I don't have much grey and I'm 70. I do like the silver threads, always have.

Just had it cut. It looks great! So glad I did it.

Late 40’s here, my hair is currently dyed a medium/dark brown. My natural colour is an auburn colour, but I suit med brown better, I’ve been told so many times!

I’ve been blonde, light brown, auburn again over the years. I look a complete tool with blonde hair. Like really bad.

I do box dye it myself so I am getting aware now as I’m getting older that it’ll start looking like box dyed dark hair. When my roots come through they’re like an auburn brown, with one or two greys. I’ll probably let it come through next year and see what I want to do as I am getting tired of dying it, I’m getting rubbish at it too. Maybe I just prefer it dark as I’ve had it dark for so long. I may just go a bit lighter.

I’m doing the opposite of you. I am late 50s, naturally mousey brown with hardly any grey and I have been highlighting my hair blonde since I was 15. I have still had dark roots and finally got fed up of it and went dark all over. I’ve now had a few blonde streaks put through the front so I am in between.

I think it depends how grey you are. My friends with dyed blonde hair but naturally grey were fine during lockdown and you couldn’t see their roots. If you’re still dark, stay dark!

Unfollowtherules, can I ask what did you use to colour your hair dark, and did you do it yourself, my hair is the same as yours, I got fed up with the dark roots so started to to have less and less highlights, now I'm growing them out, well trying to, I can put a few highlights in myself which I will do in the front, as I grow it all out.

I went to the hairdressers the first time as my hair was long and very blonde.

During lockdown I have used a semi-permanent light ash brown.

I'm 50 and only about 1% grey, I could literally just pluck the greys out and not bother colouring. I think my hair has faded though.

I had a brown colour put in about two years ago and I looked ill. I know it's a cliche for all women to go a more golden shade of their hair colour as they get older but it's less ''jarring'' than sticking your old catherine zeta jones shade of brown! ykwim.

AnnaNimmity
'dyeing hair silver' is actually a bit of a misnomer. First the hair needs to be bleached to oblivion. If you have naturally black or very dark hair, that means HOURS literally hours and often more than one session to get the red/orange/yellow out to get the dark hairs to a pale enough colour to tone silver/ashy grey. What frequently happens is the natural white hairs stay white and the black hairs go an unfortunate orange brassy colour. As the hair grows you get horrible black regrowth which need to be regularly bleached to try to match the silver. It is not easy at all. Only really a realistic option if you have very little natural black hair left and it is almost all naturally white.

You have my sympathy OP. I have naturally very dark brown hair but pale skin and about 20% grey. I can't afford to maintain colour at the hairdressers and topping up my own colour at home started to look a bit heavy and dense. Plus I developed early signs of sensitivity to dye. My DIY solution has been to switch to Josh Wood which is PDP-free and doesn't provoke a reaction at all, and apply a cool dark blonde. It lifts the base colour slightly and the former grey blends in and further lightens the overall effect. I have to stay on top of it with violet shampoo and conditioner to keep it on the cool side. It's fine, although I think my colouring suits contrast, so I will switch to a violetty-grey when I have enough! Lockdown has allowed me to experiment with semi-permanent plums and pinky-reds (true semi not demi) which look good and restore the contrast, but are a bit bold for the office.

I lighten my naturally jet black eyebrows and it brightens my face.

@MrsPerks I've been looking at Josh Wood colour as I prefer to use PPD and ammonia free. I've heard it comes out very dark though so not sure what shade to use, do you find it covers grey fully? I've found with PPD and ammonia free it's hard to get lasting grey cover.

His stuff is good, try a slightly lighter colour and see how it goes.
I still have very dark brown hair, just to the shoulders, very pale skin , and I’m over 50. Tried blonde but didn’t suit me at all, so back to dark brown for me.

Nanny - gives very good grey coverage. Yes, think the shades on the box are reasonably accurate but names may be misleading; I'd go lighter than you think first time around? 6.5 and 7 still look like lighter browns to me. You can cool down or warm up with shade shots (more ££s though) and the ashy cool shot does darken a bit I think, but I like having this choice. There are lots of pictures of real people's hair on the website if you select a shade and keep clicking through the images.

I've had a look at shades and I would usually use a level 5.5 warm brown. I looked at palest brown 6 with chestnut shade shot, as the 5.5 looks very dark to me someone had even said in reviews that palest brown came out black , which is a bit worrying.

my nan is 84 and still has brown dye!

@Scruffyoak good for your nan that she can still be bothered to get her hair done ! Im getting more and more lazy about it. My mum had her hair dyed jet black until she was 70 and then let it grow out. It looks much better now it's a beautiful silver colour.

Great question! I tried the colour Hair app too and the reddish/purple/orange shades are so much more flattering. Have always wanted to be blonde but it never suited me. You'd need to false tan and change all your makeup to suit the blonde xx

@WorkHardPlayHard1 I think you're probably right, not to mention probably changing clothing colours as well. I certainly couldn't be bothered with fake tan! I used to use one of the gradual tan lotions a few years ago and it was a flipping hassle. Having to scrub it off every few days when it went patchy at knees etc.

I have very long, thick (was) very dark brown hair, quite a bit of great at the front now. I have foils -some slightly caramel some “gingerbread”
Staying dark as you get older can be very ageing.
I have alabaster skin & hazel eyes, going lighter has been a godsend as my hair grew nearly 3” from Feb to July!

"quite a bit of GREY" - I posted a pic but I can't see it?

@NannyOgg66 yes I totally agree. I'm 33 and about 10% grey and already letting it grow in. Think I'm greyer than my nan