Does dyeing hair dark brown in your fifties look ageing?

[seeyouyesterday]

I’m early 50’s and dye my hair a mid-dark brown. I’m naturally an auburn colour but feel a deep brunette shade suits me better, I’ve had it for years. I’ve been blonde before & it doesn’t suit me. But lately I’ve been thinking can dying hair a dark brown be aging? I don’t mean if you’re naturally brunette, that’s different but like for me who isn’t & I dye my hair dark, sometimes I feel am I making myself look older?

I think it depends on the person. My sister in law is in her 50's and still has dark brown hair, it is mostly still it's natural colour but she does colour it to blend the few greys she has. It looks very natural and suits her. I would say that her skin is pretty exceptional for her age and she looks much younger than she is.

We’re Scottish too! I have my dad’s colouring which is why I think mine is fine with just the “sprinkle” of grey through it (my hairdresser’s term for it), and I’m dark skinned so even with more grey I don’t think I would look washed out.

My blueprint as I age is my aunt, my dad’s sister - from a child right through I have always looked like her double at every age. She turned 80 this year and has pure white hair in a very chic crop, and looks stunning. She’s active, incredibly stylish, and all round amazing.

It’s your age that’s ageing you lol

I think it’s the flat colour not skin tone. I think a lot of people do harsh box dyes and it’s a flat overly dark colour, which doesn’t work.

But its the same with blonde, many using the same harsh blonde box dyes, which can go brassy or too pale for fheir skin.

as we age, the colour needs to be multi faceted to look natural and softer. So a brassy or too pale blond, or a flat overy dark brunette doesn’t work.

Sounds similar to my dad.

I'm 58 and have hardly any greys. I use a semi permanent just to blend them in. I don't look my age though (genetic).

I think black hair that's a block colour can be aging. But as long as the person is happy with it it's not harming anyone is it?

Not as much as people who aren't blonde dying blonde and it looks a bit green

As a general rule as you age lighter shades than your natural colour suit better as your skin loses pigment so it's less harsh

A friend recently went back to her Auburn colour after dying it for 20 years and she looks so much younger. It's fab. Would you go back to your natural colour?

No I don't think so. Why would it be? You say that colour suits you so go for it. If you decide you want to lighten it up you always can get highlights or whatever.

Your skin tone changes as you age, so if you once had dark brown hair, you may need to go a couple of shades lighter, but I think well dyed hair can look great in your 50s. I'm 52 and I know very few women who don't dye their hair and most have so far stuck with the colour they always were naturally (or something close to it) or, in my case, the highlighted version of it.

My MIL though, who is in her 80s, goes for a shade that is much too dark. She has never changed the shade of her hair dye and still wears kohl around her eyes, like it's still 1967, and it just doesn't look good. I suppose she looks in the mirror and wants to see herself looking like she did when she was young, but IMO the most youthful-looking older people are the ones who change their look as they age, embrace different colours and shades and products and don't try to look like they did when they were 25.

I'd go lighter the older you get. My hair is now mid brown (salon dyed) in my 60s and doesn't look ageing.
I worked with a woman in her 50s whose hair was dyed almost black and it wasn't a great look.

If people want to see what they'd look like with different hair colours, there are apps you can use, like this one: https://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/service-detail-pages/hair-colour-try-on-detail-page

When it comes to hair, you generally either look like a woman in her fifties who dyes her hair, or a woman in her fifties who doesn't (whether grey or not). How old you look depends more on skin and good genetics than hair colour.

That said, dying your hair a dark brown or vibrant auburn if your natural hair is mostly grey will make you look unnatural, as your natural colouring fades at the same rate as your hair. Lighter colours look less obviously dyed.

i have been back to my natural colour a couple of times as I do like copper/auburn, but for some strange reason, I think it made me look older! (I did get a comment like this) while I get more compliments when my hair is dark, I didn’t get one when it was blonde! I’m fair with light freckles (more prominent now with all this sun!) have brown eyes but my eyebrows are naturally dark. I am the only redhead in the family of brunettes!

I do use box dye, I have had it coloured by my hairdresser but to be honest, the result is nearly always the same & lasts the same, just costs x3 as much!

Yes, I do think though, i look older because well I’m aging, regardless of hair colour, it’s just getting the best colour that suits you. I don’t think I’d go down the blonde route, as I know it doesn’t suite me, but eventually I may go a bit lighter if I fever get tired of covering the roots.

I'm mid 50s with dark brown hair, only have a handful of grey hairs. It's not necessarily the case that everyone with brown hair this age has dyed it

Unless too light. When it moves to brassy yellow toned blonde, or a pale blonde.

what works best as we age is a mid honey blonde through to a mid brunette , anything past that at either end, is nearly always too harsh and doesn’t work. And it can’t be one flat colour.

as said, my sil has went full on blonde from being a natural dark med type brunette, honestly she’s very sallow skinned and it really looks jarring. She’s been blonde awhile, it was more honey before, I don’t know what went wrong this time but it’s now pure yellow blonde, I think she did it herself

one of our friends has a new girlfriend, mid fifties, her hair is in good condition, but it’s also a yellow brassy blonde. All one colour, it just doesn’t work, she would look so much better with a more honey colour blonde with some lighter highlights.

both need to go darker, to look more natural and soften it. The friends girlfriend needs to go to a more honey colour and my sil needs to go back to a mid brunette with some caramel highlights it it.

dark brown, black, pale blonde, yellow blonde, is really hard to pull off once older.

If you have obvious white roots then yes it does.
You are better off getting a balyage to blend the whole lot together with no obvious roots.
Its perfect for me at 64 as my natural hair colour is bland mouse with a reddish tint and white.
Madonna always has dark brown roots in blond hair and Im pretty sure those roots are dyed in. They dont look natural. Its a way of telking the world look I have no grey.

I’m naturally dark blonde / mouse type colour. I’ve had highlights for so many years I started to look like my grandmother when she dyed her grey hair blonde! So now I have a mix of highlights and low lights.
i think what looks really aging is when the grey starts to come back through if you have solid coloured darker hair dyes, so personally I feel splitting colours can help to disguise the grey coming through

I hope not (looks at myself in the mirror) .

Depends on your skin. Not dark brown, that could be on the verge of black territory which looks harsh. Just mid brown will be fine. I'm 61 and I can't even imagine being grey yet. It would age me 20 years. If you have healthy hair and dress cool and do understated makeup & all the rest of the stuff brown hair isn't aging in my opinion. I know an 80 year old who looks 70 and still has it mid brown and looks younger for it. Pigment fades with age so just go lighter brown not blonde.

If you are dying your hair a darker shade than it is/was naturally, then yes, it is aging.

I dye my hair (fortunately just the temples) a warm mid brown, but it is a few shades lighter/warmer than my natural very dark brown. I don’t actually have very much grey at all, despite being in my late 50s, but my skin tone has changed and post menopause is prone to being dry - which I think seems to happen to most women - so a softer, lighter colour is a better option for gradually phasing in greys later on. Paler hair softens the angles in your face - too dark can make the contrast quite stark and the lines/wrinkles on your face more visible.

It’s also worth considering that you need to have your foundation shade checked and updated (again, because your skin tone tends to be slightly paler and less even than when younger) and explore softer make up shades too.

Not everyone's skin tone changes with age.

Looking at Mel c’s wedding images, she looks fantastic and is brunette and at 52 shes got it spot on, mid brown with some lighter brown high lights, yes her hair is clearly dyed, but it looks very natural and suits her skin tone.

emma;s hair, as lovely as it is, i think is starting to edge into too light,its lighter than it was naturally and I think she’d suit some low lights in there to give depth.

I do this and it works well. £100 every 6 or 7 weeks keeps it looking good. I have caramel, mid brown, with blond bits where the sun has reached the top layers.

My sister is auburn and blonde doesn't suit her, ditto my late mother.
The royals I believe have a no dye after 70 rule.
I'm blonde with grey temples which I like at 60. I have some highlights and then an ash blonde semi allover. I wear my shoulder length hair up more than down.
I would have lots of lowlights if it's within your budget.