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 looks ageing mostly because of the roots and the fact that it's always one solid colour which looks obviously dyed to me. Nigella lawson et al can afford the top colourists at top salons so naturally they look amazing. If you can afford top notch colouring and regular root touch ups go for it. I can't, so I have low lights which camouflage the grey but don't totally cover it up and don't look so obvious when the roots grow out and I'm too busy or poor to get it done for a while.

Definitely. Lighter hair colour is known to give the illusion of youth.

Everything fades a bit a you get older! If you don't want to grow out to silver/grey it's worth checking some old photos from your childhood/teen years. We tend to be lighter when younger so matching your hair (dye) to that can actually be quite harmonious. Losing harmony by not changing your hair when eyes and skin have changed is what is aging, IME. Personally, I think highlights are much more flattering than an all over colour. Going to a good hairdresser who can blend the highlights with natural hair colour is usually much better than a DIY job.

But you have to be careful. Dark hair is obviously dyed. But no one believes golden yellow hair on middle aged and above. Having said that, looking natural isn’t a priority apparently.

I don’t agree with it either. I’d go as far as to say that this myth about skin colour etc. encourages a lot of women to go blonde and I see far more older women dying their hair too light than too dark. I’ve been going grey since I was 21 and in my 60s still have my hair professionally coloured to my natural brunette. I just look like me. A fair skinned, blue eyed brunette.

I had blonde highlights/was dark blonde for about 8 years, went dark brown last winter and multiple people told me it made me look younger. But I don’t think there’s one rule for all, at all, so I say try it out and see!

Its not a one-size fits all.

Take me as an example. In my early forties I read a mumsnet thread about this, took it to heart, and started having blonde highlights, in anticipation of going lighter as I got older.

I kept doing this for about 7 years. It didn't suit me. I've got a natural "winter" colouring, i.e. very dark brown hair, very pale pinkish skin, blue eyes. The warm tones of the hair looked really brassy on me. I eventually went back to dark brown and everyone said I look so much younger. I have got good skin for my age (early fifties).

My hair isn't yet even close to proper grey or white, its salt and pepper, and I really hate it. When/if it goes proper silver i will switch.

Also, many women of South Asian origin have dark brown/black hair and brown eyes, and they look lovely with dark brown hair.

Its an absolute pain doing the roots every 6 weeks. I have to, because the sideburns are white - it's a bit too Addams family. 🤣 I have considered dying it white, but I dont think it would actually work.

Definitely, yes. Especially when the hair starts thinning and you can see more scalp through it. The lighter the colour the less obvious it is. Just embrace your grey or white and enjoy it. I did and I've never, ever looked back. It's like being released from one of your most hated chores.

Not necessarily. It depends on you

i would say you need some warmth so not a flat brown

Yes. Embrace the silver!

The dying your hair blonde as you age is old fashioned and therefore, aging

I absolutely agree with this, and I'm someone who was naturally very dark haired and began going grey in my 20s.

I dyed mine for years until I got into my 50s and began to feel that I was starting to look like Ken Dodd (aged 90). Not a good look.

I've let my hair grow out silver now. Far more flattering, imo.

Rubbish.

Yes, very aging. You need a lighter, more forgiving hair colour as you get older because your skin tone changes, it gets kind of paler. With dark hair you look tired.

usually yes.
Skin tone changes and not many over 50 can carry off dark dyed hair.

In all honesty I think badly done hair colour looks poor on anyone and can be ageing when you get older.

But it’s not always about the colour itself. Hair is naturally multi-tonal and when you see one block colour on hair (especially if it’s in poor condition) it just looks flat and ageing regardless.

I admit I am lucky to be able to afford it but I spend quite a lot on getting my highlights done (I’m naturally a dark blond but with about 20% grey now).

I think having hair that looks shiny and healthy is more important than the colour itself but having colour done really well makes a big difference.

A family member still rocks a deep brown in her mid 70’s and looks fabulous, but her hair is still thick, in good condition, suits her skin tone and she gets her colour done professionally.

In terms of cost I justify it by considering I wear my hair everyday, so cost per wear is a hell of a lot less than an equivalent piece of clothing I might wear once a month.

I’m a very young at heart 60 year old
I was a very dark brunette naturally but started getting the odd grey in my 30s so started colouring my hair. Happily getting a colour every 8 weeks or so but over the years the time between began to shorten before I developed my “skunk stripe” as my DH called it. Started having lowlights, then highlights which meant bleach.
2 years ago whilst planning a 3 month france tour in our motorhome I suddenly remembered my roots and how would I manage! Then I got a grip and realised that life is far too short to worry about something as ridiculous as some grey hair so I made the decision to stop colouring. It has taken me most of the 2 years since to grow it out but I get frequent compliments about my natural highlights, and my hair is in amazing condition . My mother said it would age me but she was 82 at the time still colouring her hair and kidding no one 🤣. My only regret is the wasted time and money I spent on colouring it. not to mention the harmful chemicals we paste onto our heads!
Age is about many things and hair colour should not be one of them. As women we need to push to be accepted for the gorgeous natural beings we are. Most men don’t feel the need to dye their hair so why do we?

I think Demi Moore doesn’t look that great

I took mine down to a light golden brown in my late 50's. I am 65 now and letting the silver grow out, and it looks nice coming through the lighter shade. I think older ladies with very dark hair can be glaringly obvious, although my own grandmother and father didn't even go naturally grey until their 70's!

No.

https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/older-woman-with-brown-hair

An odd thing happened with my dark brown hair with a natural reddish tone, as I have aged my hair has got much darker. I have some white strands now and have not coloured it since the pandemic. I googled the "hair getting darker with age" and apparently it is a thing. My skin tone which is slightly olive hasn't really changed. The thing that ages me is the sagging and softening of my jawline, it used to be knife sharp and really defined. I look like a melted lump of tallow these days!

It does make you look older. Try your natural grey with a few darker low lights?

Im 57. I started to get get grey hairs in my late teens so coloured my hair since then. Two years ago, I decided to stop - I was having to go to the salon every three weeks which was both time consuming and expensive and I just felt it didn’t suit me anymore. My hair is now fully grey and I love it. It suits me and my hair is in such good condition now too.

I disagree. I am in my 60s with dark brown hair. Darker hair takes years off me. I had nanoplasty recently, a side effect is that it lightens the hair. I looked washed out and awful.

I grew my dark brown hair out in Covid to find it wasn’t as grey as I thought, I switched to wash in wash out colour (like shaders and toners, remember them?), that worked ok for a few years. I did briefly try some much lighter fair highlights, they were awful and I felt really ugly. Wrong tone altogether. I’d say I am 30% white grey now and considering adding some very dark brown slices or lowlights to create a contrast without creating a four weekly pain in the arse requirement to have roots done.