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?

@dizzylizzy08

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.

Give it a go. I was a year older than you when I decided to see what my natural colour was after 20 odd years of dye. My hairdresser pleaded with me not to. We were both astonished at what emerged to the point where he conceded that, not only was the silver much more interesting and unusual, but suited me better. It’s 25 years with no dye now.

I’m a natural Sandy blonde , never used any dyes or highlights , I started getting the odd grey hair in my 40s and I’m now mid 50s and my hair is now more light ash because it’s very grey . I am often complimented on the colour .

48 and no grey yet, bar the very occasional one in my eyebrows of all places. I have red hair and I think it tends to keep it's colour longer, although everybody's different.

I was 19 when I got my first dye. It stood out as my natural hair was dark brown.

From my 20s I was dyeing it regularly and, as of last year (47), was doing almost weekly root touch ups. My hair took on a reddish brown that was nothing like my natural shade. I sometimes went for highlights, but my hair was like straw.

I'm six months into growing out my grey and no regrets. This site helped inform my decision. The freedom is wonderful!

First grey, not dye!

28 and the greys are starting to form streaks at each side of my face! There is a really chic woman in her forties on my street who has gorgeous grey hair and she is my inspiration. I really can’t be bothered dyeing it so I’m happy to go grey. My hairdresser can’t understand how I can do such a thing (and deprive her of some ££ presumably) but I don’t care

I'm 57, and have a little streak of grey at the front, and a few grey hairs at the side. Still having highlights! The bits at the side are recent, the front happened over night when I was 28 and had just given birth to a very sick baby.

56 and no grey hairs yet.

I'm 50, with huge swathes of grey in my very short dark hair, and salt and pepper in the rest. But.. My hair looks better than it ever did and I love it.. Get more compliments too. I would not go back to dyeing it for anything.

I turn 50 next month and only have a few grey hairs. I'd gladly swap my very fine, thin hair for thicker greyer hair though!

I'm 57 and most of my hair is still its natural colour apart from a white streak at the front, I have noticed a few more recently.

I’m 50 and still have foils with no all over root colour. I have a fair fee greys at the front but they blend with the blonde-ish colours I have. I only have half head foils as the rest of my hair has hardly any greys.

Think there are a few in there (early 40s) but my natural hair colour is dirty blonde/mouse anyway so hard to tell and I very rarely see my natural hair colour as it's bleached to shit and currently dyed bright orange.

My mum has a similar approach to her natural hair colour as I do - she's about 50% grey when she stopped with the hair bleach now in her late 60s.

I think going grey is when the mousey dark blonde comes into its own, my (younger) sister repeatedly says I have lots of grey but my hair hides it better than her chestnut hair (which she dyes so I have no idea how grey she is). Blue black hair goes grey nicely as well though, SIL has gone grey naturally and it looked great, she had a Mallen streak for a while which is the ultimate sophistication IMHO.

Oh yes a Mallen streak always looks fab.

I got my first grey in my late 30s and am about 5% grey now 10 years later. I have a Mallen streak and a sprinkling of random white hairs all over. My mother was totally grey at 30 so I'm the exception to that rule. I haven't coloured it yet but might consider highlighting at some point.

18. I dyed it from 25-35 then thought "fuck it" and now have fabulous grey silky bob at 46. I know I'm lucky that the grey/white is a nice even shade and suits me.

In my teens my hair was bra length and blue one month, red the next, then black, then pink...etc. I had a lot of fun with it. I'm now in my late-rebellian stage and rocking my grey!

I’m 45. Started getting grey hairs around 40.

At first they blended fairly well with my mousy hair but now it’s 50% grey at the temples with some creeping into the rest of my hairline. As far as I can tell there is no grey in the rest of my hair.

I hate hairdressers but also hate my grey hairs so I just colour my temples with the closest match I can find for the rest of my hair. It’s working well for now.

34 and probably getting towards 50% grey. It's very noticeable as I'm now almost entirely grey at the front of my parting and around my temples. My natural colour is (was) golden-brown.

I coloured my hair a lot in my teens and early twenties but as more grey began to come through I took a break from colouring to spend what time I had left with my natural colour before it faded . If nothing else, waiting until you are more grey will save you money!

I am very pale and the grey doesn't suit me at all. Taken the plunge post-lockdown and started getting my hair regularly coloured at the salon which I'm sure is going to work out mega expensive over the years.

It's definitely genetics, my mum went grey very young and my siblings are the same.

I’m 61 , and still brunette , a very few white hairs starting to appear

I am 72, have dark brown hair and no grey.

I guess I am a freak!

I started graying in my 20s. One of my best friends is 50 and has no grey hairs yet. Varies.

@Mischance

I am 72, have dark brown hair and no grey.

I guess I am a freak!

That is amazing ! I have a friend who is late seventies with only a few more greys fairly recently, in her early seventies she had what most of my friends have or had in their early forties. Now she is about thirty per cent silver. She has very youthful skin too. Generally darker hair greys earlier, but not in your case or hers !

Now! 🤬 I’m going great right now. I noticed my first the very week of the first lockdown (I think the stress of not knowing what was going to happen triggered it) and I’m surprised at how quickly new ones appear. I hate them so much!

Fully white and grey with dark streaks (a reverse Mallon at the front!) by my late twenties. Dyed it until I could no longer bear the extreme roots so had all the dye bleached out at age 46 and am now fully au naturel . It’s so liberating not having to worry about having my roots done every 3-4 weeks.

I love being grey and definitely don’t feel aged from it - it’s only a colour!