When did you go grey?

[ZednotZee]

Not being nosy for the sake of it, I promise!

I'm late thirties and during lockdown have grown my natural colour out by about three inches from my root.
I am surprised that I like my natural colour (dark blonde/light brown) I have been lightening it for twenty years so never had a chance to appreciate it before.

Last time I was at the salon I had half a head of foils, blonde highlights and my own natural colour run through to break up the root regrowth. I want to do this again when I return next month.
However all anybody has said is that its risky as I am certain to start greying soon and then I will need to go back to all over colour in any case.

Is this true in your experience or could I still have a good five years or so to embrace my natural hair colour?

I think I started noticing significant grey about mid thirties. I dyed til early 40s then decided I was sick of roots and my hairdresser and I gradually worked through decreasing lowlights until I was all natural. I did have it roughly chin/shoulder length but I let my hair grow over lockdown and discovered when it's long it's got these amazing wide bands of white and dark. I twist it into a bun for work and sometimes spend boring Zoom calls just marvelling at the way the stripes make a pattern on my head . (I'm 47)

I found my first grey hair when I was 16 and was completely grey at 43 when I stopped colouring it.

I'm 57 with no greys yet.

I'm 50 and only have a few strands of white hair.

It's different for each person. Don't assume you'll be grey early. Unless both your parents did.
My dad did early, but my mum still is about 50-50 at 80.

I spotted my first grey hair on my 26th birthday. I have dark hair with a central parting. I get my hair coloured every five to six weeks. I am lucky that the white hairs (no longer grey) don't appear at my parting but underneath but quite noticeable if I have my hair tied up.

Early 30s.
Stopped colouring it two years ago and it is about 60% grey.
My dm is 80 and is about 20% grey.

I have the same natural colour hair to you. I'm 40 with a few greys. I think this colour hair blends grey well.

I'm 58 and dyed my hair various colours my whole life until start of lockdown March 2020. When I was young I thought the brown was just too boring so generally dyed auburn, later was trying to hide greys which started to appear late-30s. Since March 2020 have let it stay natural. It is surprisingly dark brown, with a sort of silvery effect from grey shot through it, which is only visible from close up. I am quite happy with it and don't think I will ever dye again.

17. Started dying at 23. Stopped at 46. Didn't know what I would find, but it was completely white and it's the thing I get complimented on the most. My mother was white by the time she was thirty. Maybe look at your mother's hair for clues?

Didn't start getting grey or rather white hair until my 40's but only a few.

Am now 52 and they're coming thick and fast. My natural colour is dark which was 'enhanced' at the hairdressers but white regrowth showed through really quickly.

Lockdown did me a favour in that I decided to stop colouring and go gracefully grey. My lovely new hairdresser is amazing and is helping this process along with strategic highlights and it's looking a lot more natural. I've found some that my natural colour is now lighter than it was so the colours blend in iyswim

Late 20s
Started over lockdown actually!
Stress related perhaps…

In my late 20s. I lived with it for a long time but started dyeing it in ny late 30s when DD was little because I didn't want the other kids to think I was her grandma rather than her mother! I gave up with the colouring during lockdown and am now all grey (and rather like it).

(I'm 52 now.)

I started having some greys in my early/mid twenties. For the first few years is just a handful. You don't have dark hair so it would be very noticeable.

I have dark hair and are now (mid thirties) letting my greys grow. So there's that option as well and no, they're not ageing, that a lie. Saw 2 lovely ladies the other day, roughly the same age, one with dyed black hair another with grey hair. I realised people don't really tell age by the hair, is more by the face and maybe some fashion can be unflattering.... if you have nice grey hair (without bald patches, ok those come with very advanced old age) in a modern haircut/hairdo it's not ageing at all.

Forgot to say, I'm totally following what happened to my mum... when did your mum have greys?

I'm 43. When I was younger I used to have regular highlights. When I was pregnant at 37 I stopped and haven't died my hair since. It's now very long and naturally the same colour I imagine op is talking about. So I'm a natural kind of caramel. (Like Louise Redknap but without her figure) anyway I don't have any grey as yet but I can remember my mum going grey in her 40s and because I'm in peri-menopause I feel like it's going to happen soon.

I'm watching with interest as I hate hairdressers. (Not personally, just time and money spent in thier establishments) I have come to like my natural colour but can't imagine myself going grey so I've no idea how I'd maintain this colour naturally. I was told by my last hairdresser I'd have to go back to highlights or do an all over colour a shade darker and I don't want to do either!

If someone could reccomend a home colour that blends grey in dark golden blonde that would be great!

So it "wouldn't " be noticeable

Yes I imagine menopause to be the great leveller actually. My mum wasn't noticeably grey til her fifties when she had gone through menopause.

Maybe I won't mind the greys when they eventually appear. DH is a few years younger than I am and is about 30% grey but both his parents were grey by forty so I suppose thats his genetics at play.

I don’t think the menopause makes any difference. It’s purely genetic. I didn’t stand a chance - maternal grandma pure white at 30, paternal grandpa pure white by 40. Double grey genes.

I started going grey at 16. Pretty much completely white (going by roots) by mid twenties. Grew out the dye at 49 so that I was completely grey/white by 50.

I'm 43 and don't have any yet. My mum started going grey at 18 but dad only had a couple when he died at 49.

In my 40s and no grey yet

The nice thing imo about natural honey/dark blonde (vs darker hair possibly) is that the white hairs seem to grow in less noticeably all over. No idea what % I have at 41 because it blends in and is simply having an overall lightening effect for me, so far, like natural sparkly highlights. No way am I going to try the dyeing treadmill to hide them. They're lovely I think.

First started seeing them at 18. I'm 42 now. I'm probably 90% grey and white under the highlights/lowlights. I sometimes think I should just rock the look, but I daren't do it yet.

I'm 39 and now about 30 per cent grey. I'm not ready to embrace it until it's over 60 per cent so I'm dying regularly now. It's expensive