Have you had to let your hair grow grey? Support please

[tobee]

I'm looking at having to let my grey roots grow out and feeling fed up.

I've had irritation to patch tests having dyed my hair for years with no problems. I carried on dyeing my during lockdown and patched test every time because I didn't fancy having to go to a&e (and dh vulnerable)

The two bad things will be the interim period and the fact that my hair is thin and colouring my roots look better after.

I'm also annoyed with myself for feeling down about it 🙄 If I'd known I'd have to go cold turkey rather than when I chose, carefully changing my colour, I'd have stopped dyeing yonks ago.

Please tell me your tales of support, and maybe gently kick me up the arse!! 😁

Could you use one of those root spray while you're growing it out, even if you streak it through?

I feel your pain but I promise it can work. I persisted with blonde highlights when my hair started to turn white. My clever hair colorist reduced the yellow in the highlights thru to ash then we started to introduce a steely lilac. I was 90% white in my early 40s and I’ve been lilac ever since. It is so much more suited to my skin tone and - strangely - I look much younger. Embrace it! Cut it short if you can’t dye it anymore (I had a v short bob) then it grows out super speedily, as PPs have said. It will be in much better condition too, as you aren’t using harsh dyes and no bleach. Good luck!

I rarely dye my hair and I'm going grey. However it's going in a very specific way. I have normally coloured hair over most of my hair and a silver edge. If going grey is daunting trying thinking of it as silver.

@MacaroniSaysShetlandPony
What a beautiful colour your hair is!
I am a lot white/some natural brown and whilst it is a nice colour at the front... I don't like the badger look at the back. Overall, people would say I have grey hair. I have been wishing it would go more white so I could do something like you have.

I wouldn’t say your hair is thin! I think I shall just have highlights in mine , while it’s pepper and salt stage

I did it about 6 years ago and my hair has never been in better condition, in fact I don’t even use conditioner any more as it just goes floppy.
Ive had nothing but positive comments and compliments and I can afford more facials now do my sling is glowing. Win-win 😊
I agree with the poster who remarked that it’s a much better look than the “I’ll never stop dying/let myself go 🙄” mob. Nothing like Lego helmet hair contrasting with wrinkles to add on 10 years .
Good luck

Decided to go natural about 2 years ago, after the hair dye just seemed to stop working and turned my hair orangy instead of brown (I definitely don't suit it!).

My hairdresser started with highlights throughout and basically did more and more (approx 5 visits) until my hair was mostly blond bleach but with some tone, as she didn't do a block colour.

I cut my hair also, as had mid back length - this really helped. It turns out that my natural colour now is more white than grey and is a very bright/cold colour, which I suit so much more than anything with a yellow/orange tone. It's about half grown out on the top and completely from ears down to neck, but it looks pretty much done to anyone who isn't a hairdresser. Good luck.

I went back once after lockdown but £200 and tbh imo coloured hair doesn't look great for long especially with an aging face and neck. No matter how much botox and fillers someone uses it just looks different not better! Same with coloured hair.

I have embraced my grey and wrinkles. Just go for it.

We have all been brainwashed. Lockdown taught me this and after 35 years of colouring my hair I am free!

I stupidity dyed my hair a bleach blonde and hated it so I had a haircut with an undercut and longish on top.Then I shaved it all off to start again. From there I just let it grow and discovered it was a thousand different shades of grey. I grew it long and stopped going to the hairdressers. It's now a short French bob and I like it like that. My hair is very textured and unruly so it'll never be sleek. FYI I'm 45/46 in these photos and all the photos are my natural hair colour, including the long hair. All virgin hair.

@EraOfTheGrey looks fabulous and the condition now it is natural looks vibrant too.

All the photos are of my natural hair. I know the longish one looks yellowish but that was just the light I think. The condition is a lot better now without the dye and without the borange colour it used to go after just a week. My natural hair colour before the grey was a very dark ash brown. I loved that colour.

These replies are very encouraging! 😊

I cut mine into a bob and used highlights to try to blend the grey/white into the dyed brown whilst also using cooling toners to keep the brassiness in check. Once the greys were ear length I went the opposite and started using lowlights into the grey until I could cut off the dyed lengths and then stopped altogether. Seemed much easier than I expected to be honest.

The Silver Sisters images were great @ThePoetsWife

Hats are great. Sunhats or fedora atm and then a cute beanie or even a 1920’s style felt hat in the winter can look smart.

Op I LOVE grey hair - especially when in a smart shortish cut such as a very blunt bob or similar. I admit I will find it hard to do myself just because it is an acceptance of aging BUT I genuinely love it on others . Prefer it on men to their earlier colour ( honestly!) and think it makes women look very chic and as though they read interesting books ( if that makes any sense!) provided it’s kept nicely cut.

Would a stylish pair of glasses help the transition by taking the focus off your hair?

I stopped dyeing in my late 30s. My nan was white from a young age, as was my dad, and I found my first grey hair at 12.

I just grew it out over time. The line is annoying but short hair doesn't suit my face shape nor my hair type so I stuck it out.

I remember Dawn French had an undercut to grow how her grey, and she looks cool now.

My mum grew hers out during the lockdown and has a toner put in it to add shine.

I use Colour Plex Grey shampoo and conditioner to bring out the silvery strands. I'm salt & pepper at the front, brown at the back!

How are you getting on? I'm having to put my hair up and my fringe is looking a bit grim. My undyed hair is a good couple oc inches but the previously dyed hair is going a nice shade of orangy brown, I really don't want to give up and I am starting to see a massive improvement on condition

Sounds like a toner or a blue shampoo would help. It'll tone the orange down and make your brown hair more ashy so it's not so stark against the grey. Unfortunately it will also make the white hair brighter though!

I use Fanola No Yellow mask and it's such a strong colour corrector it'll turn all my hair grey if I leave it on too long. (It does wash out over a couple of weeks.)

Maybe embracing the grey depends on your age? I'm in my 50s and love my grey hairs....well I just love the fact I still have hair! I think it makes me look sophisticated and suave (although I'm actually a complete bumpkin). But my hair is very long, so i wear it either in a bun, or long plait.

I had dark brown dyed hair and highlights were truely awful, they went brassy far too quickly and really didn't blend the cool tones of grey. What worked better for me was low lights into the grey roots, so putting dark streaks into the roots and gradually reducing them each time. Ended up with a much softer grow out line and then chopped it once the last of the block colour got to chin level. Takes a bit longer to grow out the dye but it really helped me as I can't stand wearing hats!

I'm 100% grey and has realised from looking back at photos of me with dyed brown hair that my hair was actually brorange. The more my natural hair became grey the worse the brown dye adhered to my hair and ended up an awful brorange colour after just a week. I would rather be grey than orange because I am cool toned therefore orange is not a good colour on me.

Just checked back in with this thread

I'm still using root touch up type sprays. They are not totally brilliant but pretty good for the moment. I have to hope that my family are scrupulously honest with me if the sprays make me look ridiculous. 🤨😁 It's just a stop gap. Although it's probably perpetuating denial. There is an unlooked for advantage that the colour slightly rubs off and gives more of a naturally going salt and pepper appearance. Hopefully. Maybe.

Now it's a bit chillier hats and caps are useful.

I haven't had to but I'm doing anyway. If you think grey hair is a bad thing look at Dawn French in the M&S advert. It's bloody gorgeous

I don't think it's a bad thing really. It's more the lack of control of when and how. And the massive length of time it takes.

I'm so envious of those of you with lovely greys.

My natural colour was brunette and I kept it that mahogany/auburn colour for many years. The temples were silvery grey so during lockdown, like many others I decided I'd grow it all out and await a fabulous silver foxy look.

OMG it was absolutely horrible. Not silver, not pewter, nope just a horrible dark non colour that made me look a bit like Morticia. It was very disappointing. It was the colour that often looks great on men that kind of salt n pepper look, but on me it was nothing. I hated hated hated it, had nothing to recommend it, and everyone agreed that it didn't look great.

So back to dyeing my hair I went, only this time I went blonde. Such a difference to my confidence! Although the world and its mother knows it's dyed I don't care I won't go back to that dirty sodden half grey half nothing colour of lockdown.

But I tried, and it solved the mystery of what the undyed colour was!

So now I will only go grey if I have to because I'm not able to colour it anymore. Dread that day!