When will I feel right to let my grey grow through?

[Tolkienista]

I'm 65.....66 in August.
I've got great hair, thick and so easy to manage........ literally wash and go, don't even need to blow dry it.
However, like many women in their 60s, I prefer to have it professionally coloured at a hair salon. I do eke it out, today's colour was after 12 weeks, I do my own root touch ups at home.

Here's the thing.I washed my hair last night to get rid of all the touch up colour, hair products etc and studied the grey around my face and hairline.....it honestly wasn't doing it for me hated looking at it and how it made me feel, could not see myself with that grey all over my head.

Fast forward to 2 o'clock today.and I sprang out of the hairdressers like a new woman, my hair freshly cut & coloured ready to face the world.
Am I deluding myself with hiding behind coloured hair in my 60s, or should I just accept my real hair colour and keep it real?

I'd love to hear others thoughts.

I think it depends on your colouring - if you have a warm or olive skin and dark eyes, white hair can look great.

Anyone over thirty will look older with white hair though - I think it is most ageing below 55.

my hair stopped taking colour when I was in my early 40s, and had been going grey 2 decades by then. I couldn’t keep up with the colour any more as it needed doing ever 2/3 weeks. Professional colouring took hours I don’t have. I am really glad I stopped colouring , and I love my almost white, thick, curls. I have been asked if I dye it this colour before now! It’s no one else’s business, and if you are happy colouring, keep doing it. If you are ever ready to grow out the colour, you’ll know.

My skin tone has changed with age. While my grey hair used to look pretty good and suited me (it does make you look older imo but I could live with that) now I look washed out.

I see now why so many older women who go grey have some warm blonde highlights or blonde rinse added to the grey hair I never much liked the ‘beige look’ but I can see now why it’s fairly common as It warms up the look of aging fair skin.

OP my neighbour is 93 and she still enjoys colouring her hair. She sees it as a treat that makes her feel better.

It is completely your choice and no one should make you feel bad about whatever you choose to do.

My hair started going pure white from my the age of 10, so I have coloured it most of my life.

I have really pale skin so with white hair I look like a ghost...

I colour it light blonde instead with herbal, vegan colour (to limit the damage to the hair) and keep it short-ish to avoid the full on albino look.

Do whatever makes you feel good about yourself.

See...I think this is nonsense. Grey hair doesn't make you look older, it's just associated with age. Get a funky cut and wear stylish clothes and it's fine. When I stopped colouring mine I definitely looked younger get because I paid more attention to other things. I have an asymmetric cut with a no3 shaved undercut and my hair is white in the front and proper and salt further back.

To add to that though - that doesn't mean coloured hair is ageing either. Do whatever you want. Nobody should be criticised for having coloured it naturally hair. They should do whatever they like with their own appearance. And let others do the same.

On app can't edit.
*Coloured or natural.

Before lockdown I would have been on these threads saying "Hell will freeze over etc" but it didn't. What you can't tell from the roots growing out a bit around your face is how it looks overall. Growing it out is the worst stage.

My roots were showing after a few weeks. Growing it out meant rethinking my hairstyle as well. I've always worn makeup so that reduces any washed out fears. I'm lucky in that it's mostly white not grey, good condition and quite a lot of it. Do I wish I still had my own natural dark auburn hair? Of course but I hadn't had that for years. My daughters tell me it looks better ("cool") and some people are surprised by my age, as they were before. But I think some of that's about the whole package - posture, clothes, attitudes etc.

If you enjoy dyeing your hair and how it makes you feel - and I've seen your updated photo - keep going. I love not ever having to think about fitting in when to dye my hair anymore. I agree with a PP, some women are killed for showing their hair so embrace our choices about our own hair.

I have just gradually gone lighter and lighter in colour. I find blonde highlights and then a dark blonde colour work well now for me. I'm naturally dark brown btw!
It's far less obvious when it grows out

Do what you feel like, there are no rules anymore.

I only have the tiniest amount of grey in my mid fifties, I don't want to spend the time and money on getting my hair coloured. Maybe when I am more grey I will change my priorities, but probably not.

I think confidence is the main thing when it comes to looking good.

I am mouse brown naturally.I have dyed my hair all my life. As my hair is going grey and I am lazy, it's sort of blending in. With added sun on the bits that aren't dyed... It's sort of working.
I don't look polished or anything.
But I am happy with the blending in.
50.

Why would you? I intend to keep dyeing my hair until I die. I know there is a trend at the moment to say grey hair looks great.. which it does on some... but it is still incredibly ageing.

@Startingagainandagain What is the herbal vegan dye that you use and is it semi permanent please?

I have been using colour deposit conditioner and not wanting to do a full permanent dye again to keep my options open.

Thanks

Well, any woman who does is regularly slagged off on these sorts of threads.
Susie Bick has dyed black hair and is in her late fifties. Cher has dyed black hair/wears jet black wigs in her late seventies.

It's a look. As much as dyed red, or caramel, or beige, or going grey.

I really don't think the colour of your hair makes anyone think you are younger or older than you are. There's nothing wrong with ageing, it's entirely natural. Do what you feel comfortable with. I agree with pps that what hairstyle you have makes a huge difference to how natural grey looks. I find not colouring my hair so liberating. Other than on the young, coloured hair where it's too dark or the wrong shade can look worse than grey.

Other than on the young, coloured hair where it's too dark or the wrong shade can look worse than grey.

Here we go.

I wouldn't really describe those as looking like Nick Cave though, tbh.
I means he's a man who wears suits...they are women who generally don't wear suits. As it is I wouldn't criticise anyone who dyes their hair or likes the look of very black hair - it's their choice.

I'm talking about hair colour, not fashion or clothing choices for men and women.

Dita Von Teese, Monica Bellucci, Katy Perry, Audrey Tatou, Megan Fox, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Connelly...

You are trying to make a point that men don't get criticised and women do, right?
True up to a point but I have definitely heard derogatory comments about men who dye their hair too, and men who wear make up.

No! I am trying to make a point that on every one of the S & B threads I've read about women going grey or not going grey, at least one - usually several - posters will make the point that there is nothing more ageing than dyed black hair.

On this thread, someone wrote they were "not fooling anyone". Nobody in their 50s, 60s, 70s, or 80s with jet black hair is trying to fool anyone that that was and still is their natural colour. It's a look. One of the most stylish women I ever knew was 82 with jet black dyed hair like Cleopatra.

Everyone is different, do what's right for you OP - if you feel better dyeing it then keep going.
I'm nearly 40 and unfortunately went grey quite young so have been dyeing my hair blonde for ages. My best friend who is the same age let her grey hair grow out during lockdown and looks fab - BUT she has sallow skin, tans easily and has salt and pepper type grey, so it looks like she has silver highlights. It's beautiful.
I on the other hand have pale celtic skin with pink undertones, and from the looks of my roots when they show, my hair is pure white at the front, which looks awful next to my skintone. So I will keep dyeing blonde to add some warmth.

I've been going grey since I was early 40's I look old and washed out when I let the grey/white come through! Now at 53 have just had it redone yesterday and feel so much better in myself. I know. It's superficial but it makes me feel better so I have no intention of stopping anytime soon.

Incidentally my old next door neighbour used to have silver highlights run through her hair because it was still naturally very dark brown in her 70's and no one believed her!

If you spring out of the hairdresser and love the result then keep doing it. Who honestly cares that eyebrows202 on here cares that you won’t join the grey club.

Good for you!