Do some people never go grey?

[Littlenutroast]

I am nearly 60 years of age and hardly grey at all although all my family had white hair by this age.

I have always had my hair highlighted but grew it out during lockdown as lots of my friends did. They managed to grow their hair and it blended grey/white into the blonde and it still looks lovely now and must be really easy to maintain. Mine grew out really dark but mousey so I dyed it dark and it looked awful. Now I’m mid-blonde with dark roots and it never looks nice.

Anyway I am wondering how long I will have to wait to go grey or perhaps I won’t at all!

I am 50 and have only a few strands grey. Both parents grey by my age. One of my friends is 74 and has only a few as well which she says is natural. Dh was strawberry blonde and so grey mingled in seamlessly but his grey is small and he is 71. His dad had pitch dark hair and was about half grey when he passed at 96. Hair is weird!!

I know a lady who died in her late 80's and still had dark brunette hair with only the odd strand of grey. Amazing!

My parents!!
They are now 80ishyo and yes they are grey but still a really dark grey, not the white/light grey you associate with getting older.
As a result, few people think they are 80!

Also fil’s sister also had pitch black hair which only had a streak of silver in it until her 70s. Like a lightning flash. It was incredibly striking and attractive. She’s only now salt and pepper and 90

My granny died at 92 and was still about 50% brown-haired. Her friends all accused her of dyeing her hair, but she didn't and you could tell she didn't, because it was all threaded through with grey. Step-mother is 76 and is still predominantly brown-haired. She'd never dye her hair and again, you can see the grey is mixed in, so it's definitely natural. SIL was a strawberry blonde and is now looks blonde (aged 50), but it's basically a strawberry grey! It looks lovely.

Mum is 82. This is her hair - silvery highlights.

That’s amazing @Pieceofpurplesky
I thought it was natural to go grey but obviously lots of people don’t.

My Granny and Mum were both salt and pepper for the longest time. Granny died at 98 and was only just fully grey, Mum was still salt and pepper when she died at 80 although her hair was falling out from chemo sadly. Mum refused to dye her hair and said that she would grow old gracefully. They both had beautiful skin too. Hoping that I have inherited their skin but certainly will not be growing old gracefully and currently have purple hair.

Nearly 60 year old brunette hear. Odd grey hair but still a brunette.

I was recently on a Singapore air flight and in their onboard documentaries channel they had a documentary about ageing. It said that going grey is not inevitable. Indeed it was about how the old wives tale of 'going white with shock overnight' actually had some scientific validity and then it moved onto grey and ageing. It may have even been a Michael Mosely thingie. It was not quite a Blue Zones channel (which was on netflix) but along those lines.

I will see if I can find what it was.

This is an early google hit

https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/stress-really-does-turn-hair-grey-but-it-can-be-reversed

My mum is 70 and has a strip of white at the front with the rest dark brown - genuinely looks like cruella de ville and is totally natural.

My dh and his brother have not gone grey at all, nor did their father. I dye my grey hair regularly and it’s so unfair.

My mum is 70 and still fairly brown. I'm 42 and haven't got a single grey, my sister is younger and has a few.

I can't find what i was looking for. But somewhere out there in the Mumsnetterverse might have seen it also.

I am nearly 68 and haven't gone grey. I am surprised as my mother was totally grey by 30 as was her mother! I do have the odd grey hair but it just hasn't started spreading.

A 63 year old brunette , with a few silver threads
Sometimes I think my face is too old for my hair , but it’s my hair , my head , so it can’t be !

I remember reading a hypothesis that going grey could be linked to a zinc deficiency.

I’m 51 and have couple of grey hairs which only appeared this year.

I've been thinking about this too.

Photos of my nan, show an old lady with near jet black hair. Growing up I assumed a poor hair dye, the sort that is all one colour, put on at home.

At 57, I have that same ‘poor hair dye’ - clearly it wasn't dyed at all. 😳😂

I assumed it was colouring related? My family on the one side is very fair. Tall, blonde, blue eyed, fair skin…. Literally everyone goes white in their old age after blonde, barely noticeable really for some. I’m going to carry on with my highlights until I’m white and blend.

all of my friends with darker hairs have started getting greys. Is it just hair colour?

My mum says she got her first grey at 19, has dark brown hair according to photos. I only ever remember her being blonde, feck I dyed it enough times myself to know it was fake. Been pure white the last 20+ years. Dad was Brown until the last 5 years, very salt and pepper now.

I've fared worst out of us 3, fair amount of grey but the boys still blonde but receding hairline which they find much more embarrassing.

I get a random grey eyebrow hair, just why?

My mum is about 50 percent grey at 74 odd. My aunt has rich brown hair in thick tight curls at 78.

I'm 37 and have a few strands of grey but under the top layer of hair so you can't see them unless I part my hair. The rest is still brunette. My husband is 38 with very dark brown, almost black hair and he had flecks of grey from around 24, now at 38 he has a lot of grey at his temples and around his crown plus flecks over the rest of his head plus in his facial hair when he grows it. As a result he generally keeps his hair short so it's less obvious

I know what you mean, I am 44 and just have the odd white hair, I'm a fairly dark brunette and am naturally very pale and default to black clothes so look kind of washed out by my own hair. I've found the answer is a bit of makeup. A strong red lip seems to balance everything out. Also hair gloss adds depth and shine. I try and wear jumpers in rich jewel tones. Red suits me, teal too.

My grandfather lived to 80+ and never went grey.