To just grow out grey hair?

[VintageDiamonds]

Hi

Been dying my hair blonde since I was about 16, more recently have returned to box dye all over tint as I stopped being about to afford foil highlights at the salon. My roots are coming through now with quite a few grey streaks. My hair is naturally mousey blonde and currently quite long and layered. Planning on having it cut into a shoulder length layered bob. But the main thing is that I’m so tired of colouring it at home and think it’s time to embrace the grey. I’m 52. I don’t think I can afford or be bothered to have foil highlights put it to soften the demarcation line so I guess it’s going to look odd and obvious that I’m growing out the colour for a while. I’ve tried growing it out before but always ended up giving in dying it. Any tips? Anyone else done this and been glad they did?

I started going grey when I was about 19. I’m now 40. I started growing it out at 37 after I got sick of the cycle of dying it and it looking crap again after less than 2 weeks. Does it make me look older, maybe, I dunno. I get loads of comments on it, people always ask me how I get my hair this colour, I have people come up to me in the street unprompted to compliment me on it (when it’s done, not when it’s ragged up in a messy bun 🤣).

Yours looks amazing @GreyHairdontcare1982 , I'd go grey myself if I had lovely platinum/white shades like you but I'm mostly salt and pepper with chunks of steel grey around my face. I'm mixing it all up with various shades of blonde highlights for awhile yet.

OP, if you are mousy blonde you could look into using a very ashy toner which will leave your coloured hair on the grey side and probably blend it very nicely with the regrowth.

I grew mine out in 2019 - I was bleaching it and dyeing it a purpley grey and one month just didn't dye it and let it grow to see what colour I was underneath.

I started colouring my hair in my early 20s - I was naturally jet black and always got lots of compliments.

Once I hit 40 dyeing it black was v harsh, so I went through a variety of colours, but nothing suited me.

Now I have shoulder length silver curls, that I tint purple using drops in my conditioner.

My curls are the best they have been for years now I'm not killing them with bleach.

I get so many compliments about my hair from random strangers now - so glad I stopped bleaching it!

I just can't face a growing out period of two years or whatever and I most definitely could not get my hair cut. I need @GreyHairdontcare1982 's third photo hair but overnight! Beautiful! I'm not tackling this for a few years yet though.

Grew my grey back in over the last 2 years. Now I look old and feel shit about it. I think how well you can carry it off depends a lot on your skin tone, jawline and confidence. @GreyHairdontcare1982 I wish I looked half as good as you!

Phew, as I was reading through, I'm so glad to find I'm not on my own to not want to be grey.

There is no chance anyone will see me with grey hair. I can only just about tolerate the roots showing, though not noticeable to others, when it's due colouring.

I have it done now every 6 weeks. There are certain colours I can't wear anymore as I used to love my deep purple look and that is one of them. The purple looks too flat now with the grey under.

So I'm now copper with a block flash colour in the front. There is no chance of me going grey.

I'm growing older disgracefully, and that's the way I will stay 😉

I honestly think it depends- ds let hers go and it was literally like someone had zapped the colour out of her being, she looked much older and tired. She dyed it again and admitted she’d never let it go again. It really suits some people but other people it drags them down

There’s a brilliant Facebook page called Silver Sisters. Lots of encouragement, advice and absolutely no judgement if you decide to go back to the dye.

This is me

I am 41 and have been embracing the grey hair for years😃 can't justify paying for anything but cut and blow-dry as I have better things to spend money on.

I agree with you @Titsywoo I feel that it's the colour I meant to have at this stage of my life. It's making me look how I am meant to look at this point in my life.

so I am growing my hairdye out and wondering if semi permanent hair dye is the way to go? So the roots are covered for a bit, but then it fades away. So the original permanent dye is still growing out? Or am I just making the whole process take longer?

I've also tried those shampoo sachets that colour your hair for about 3 or 4 washes but they're very messy.

That crossed my mind too when I was growing my dye out. I didn't in the end. I opted to do scattered highlights for a bit which broke up the line at the roots, but then just went shorter. The dyes obviously fade over time anyway and merges better than recently dyed hair, I think. Mine looked a bit tired for a while but now I'm fully as nature intended my hair looks brighter and much more glossy.

@Titsywoo ''Each to their own of course but it annoys me when people say I am too young to let my hair go grey - stupid thing to say it is my natural colour at this point in my life.''

I would suggest you read my reply again.

My hair started having white strands when I was 14. That was my ''natural colour at this point in my life'' and I choose to start colouring it when I was 16 and I still do.

Most people don't show themselves in their ''natural state'', we put on make up, style our hair, exercise to keep fit and so on. Hair is just the same as far as I am concerned.

@Darklane

''I got my first grey hairs in my teens when I was still at school. By the time I married in my twenties I was pure white, not grey. Family trait, my grandmother was the same.
To be honest over the years I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked,even by strangers, where I get it done so “Platinum” 😂 & never any roots!
Personally I think nothing is more aging than dyed dark hair against a lightened older skin tone. Skin always fades with age no matter how you might not think so yourself & it looks very hard & draining.''

Do people actually read comments before replying?

No dyed dark hair here, it is light blond (ash blond with some lighter strands), only a couple of shades away from platinum and white but works much better than white hair and white skin on me. Everyone is different.

The semis are better than permanent to an extent but they don't necessarily fade out. They grow out faded itms

This is mine. I think the curliness helps. Sometimes I put a blue semi on it, but it washes out in a couple of weeks.

I grew mine out ten years ago aged 49 . I was naturally the colour of dark chocolate but had been colouring sine I was 30 . By the time I got to painting my parting with an artist's paintbrush every Saturday morning I was done . Have never ever regretted it . For the first time in my life I have more than one colour in my hair . I have beautiful streaks of white pewter and silver. I love the freedom and get so many compliments.

I’ve been dyeing my hair since my 20’s due to greys, it runs in my family . I took the decision to have a buzz cut as thought it would be easier than trying to grow it out . It’s been 5 years since I took the decision to do this and don’t regret it at all. I don’t feel it’s made me look older , I feel i look better than when I was trying to keep my natural colour ( dark brown) . I continue to keep my hair short and often get told by strangers how much they like my hair. Go for it is my advice .

There are some lovely and inspiring photos of grey hair here!

Although I wouldn't look at some of you and think "grey", I'd think "very blonde" - those PPs are very lucky to have that shade of white/grey!

Whereas my greys coming through are definitely of the steel grey colour and wiry texture, and from what I remember of my grandmothers' hair, theirs was the same all over, so I'm not at all confident that I'll ever have lovely silky smooth white hair

My hair naturally has lots of different shades in it, and so the grey is not showing too much at the moment. My plan is just to continue with my usual 6-monthly balayage/highlights, and eventually stop them when the grey is really taking over. I do not want to be like my mother, who is still box dying hers every 3 weeks or so - too much hassle for me!

If you dye your hair, how do you reduce maintenance? I'm not keen on 6-weekly trips to the hairdresser. Box dyes go orange on the white bits on my hair and even mid-browns seem too dark for my skin tone.

I started letting mine grow out at age 43 due to developing a dye allergy. I love how freeing it is too. And I don’t think it’s ageing. (Not that that should really matter anyway). But in case it’s a worry for you, I’m nearly 48 and don’t think I look much, if any, older..I just think I look my age. Which is fine by me.

Lovely picture!