How did you transition to gray hair?

[maslex]

My hair is about just past my shoulders and it's thick. I have been coloring my hair at home since I was in my early 30's, I guess (I'm 44 now). I've never been one to color my hair just to change it up, it's always been to cover up the grays.

Well now, since I'm getting older, I've noticed that I really need to be coloring it about every 2-3 weeks. That's when the grays are taking over my head. And it's not a gray here and a gray there. I think if I let my hair grow out, my whole head would be gray. When it's time to color I can mainly notice the gray all along my part and along the sides (near my temples). The other day I had my hair in a ponytail and there was so much gray underneath, it was like .

I know it's probably not good to color every 2 weeks or so, but I'm really not ready to go all gray yet. And I'm not ready to go short either (I don't want to be all gray with long hair, so when am I ready to grow it out, I'd like it to be a lot shorter)

How did you phase out of your color to gray?
How long did it take?
Did you already have short hair or did you cut it?
Any tips you'd like to pass along?

 

[wenrob]

I am 47 and will be coloring for years to come, haha. Have you thought about having it professionally colored? Perhaps it would last longer that way.

That said, going gray is the latest trend. http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/beauty/celebrity/hair/2012/01/hair-trend-grey-colour You could simply go have it done.

 

[ez]

Are you just coloring the roots? Going gray at 44 seems young to me, although I do know there are some women that look fabulous with a full head of gray, I unfortunately would not be one of them. I have a good friend who is in her early 60's with gorgeous jet black hair. I know she does her roots every 2 weeks. She gets supplies from sallys and mixes it herself. She has me doing this too but I only have to do my roots about every 6 weeks (I am in my 50's). My hair is colored blonde with more blonde highlights and it seems like the gray blends better and I can go longer without dealing with it. I get it done professionally about every 6 or 7 months. Thats when I really start noticing the raw hair underneath as you described.

I know this doesnt answer your question but hope its helpful!! Good luck

 

[Christine]

I won't be of help either. I am 51 and only have scattered gray throughout. I will *NEVER* go gray. I know for a fact that the gray I have is not the pretty/silvery/blonde gray. It is the awful gray that will age me by 20 years if I let it go. And I have short hair. I will say though, I know a few women with very short, and pretty, gray hair but they are the minority.

You may have to get your hair done professionally or go to highlights, since they seem to last much longer than color (it's bleach afterall). Or, like the poster above, get some stuff that's "more" professional that you can do at home from Sally's. The drugstore stuff is probably not as good as a more professional product and may not hold as well.

 

[kamik86]

My hair is about just past my shoulders and it's thick. I have been coloring my hair at home since I was in my early 30's, I guess (I'm 44 now). I've never been one to color my hair just to change it up, it's always been to cover up the grays.

Well now, since I'm getting older, I've noticed that I really need to be coloring it about every 2-3 weeks. That's when the grays are taking over my head. And it's not a gray here and a gray there. I think if I let my hair grow out, my whole head would be gray. When it's time to color I can mainly notice the gray all along my part and along the sides (near my temples). The other day I had my hair in a ponytail and there was so much gray underneath, it was like .

I know it's probably not good to color every 2 weeks or so, but I'm really not ready to go all gray yet. And I'm not ready to go short either (I don't want to be all gray with long hair, so when am I ready to grow it out, I'd like it to be a lot shorter)

How did you phase out of your color to gray?
How long did it take?
Did you already have short hair or did you cut it?
Any tips you'd like to pass along?

If you have to color it every 2 weeks I assume your doing it with store bought stuff? My niece does hair for a living so when I wanted mine done (just to change it up) she took me to a place with professional stuff to get supplies. One thing she mentioned is that because I don't have greys yet that we could get a cheaper developer but if I had greys we would have to get stronger stuff, because grey hair is color resistant. (I asked because in my head it seemed like covering my dark brown hair would have been harder then covering grey)

So I would try it once professionally and see if that lasts alot longer if so that is an option. Otherwise I would think the best way to do it to avoid that weird roots look would be to cut it shorter when you first go grey.

 

[alicat8]

Is your hair dark? If so, I'd start with some lighter highlights. Then it won't be as noticeable when the greys grow in. I think the transition would be easier that way. My hair is naturally a dark blonde (I can't call it brown, because brown is pretty-I call it "used to be blonde") and I do light highlights-I figure when the grey takes over it will be a fairly easy transition.

 

[Jaya]

I just bit the bullet and let it go. There's no such thing as a "temporary" rinse for me (anything that goes on my hair, stays on my hair), so I had to go "cold turkey" with it. I just cut it off very short and wore a hat a lot. Luckily, I have the silvery gray and everyone tells me it's a flattering color for me. I'm in my 60's.

 

[maslex]

OP here.

Yes, I do have dark hair. I would say a medium/dark brown. And yeah, 44 might be a little young to start to go gray but I had a few grays when I was in my teens. By the time I was in my 30's, it go to the point where I needed to start coloring the roots. And now for the most part I do just color my roots with a store bought color.

My MIL use to own her own home salon and did hair for years. She does go to Sally's to get her stuff and I remember going with her one day and bought some color but I can't remember how long it lasted on my hair.

 

[Wishing on a star]

A woman 'of a certain age' here...
Medium/reddish brown.
I have done the temporary over the counter thing a couple of times, but I don't think I will do that again. Because, my hair tends to be thick, dry, and course. I think any color would really really be bad for my hair. I don't think it would hold up well.

And, at this point, the grays are starting to win!!!

When I pull my hair back I have like the stripes of gray!

It looks my hair will actually be a really light white/silvery gray.
So, you know what I wish I could do.
It would be so cool.

I saw a young girl the other day who had bleached her light hair platinum blond, and then had colored the most gorgeous shade of light blue.
It was gorgeous! Not just like somebody who had tried to add the color to their hair.
If my hair gets any more white/silver, I would LOVE to do that!!!!

I actually saw the segment on GMA not long ago where they talked about what all one has to do to really get that gorgeous result.

I am young at heart, and while I would love to just grow old gracefully, I could really, really, do that!

 

[Feralpeg]

The front of my hair around my bangs turned a silver color when I was 35. I did color it until I was 50. I started having an allergic reaction to something in the dye. My hair stylist tried several types, but with the same result, so I just stopped dyeing it.

I am 63 now and my hair is a salt and pepper color. My color was a light brown. Now, it is mixed with a silver color. I guess I am lucky because it is a pretty silver. Of course, I am just happy to have it. It all fell out when I had chemo in 2013. I really didn't like being bald. I'll take the gray over that any day.

 

[MarkE83]

I started going grey at about 26/27... just for men is part of monthly routine now! At the end of almost every month, get a hair cut, dye my hair. There will be no going grey gracefully for me!

 

[John VN]

The same way DW did, part of growing older so just dealt with it. BTW, DW has never used make up in her almost 65 years, not even for our wedding 42+ years ago. She even worked for Avon as a lab tech.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm 66, Started seeing grey in my teens! I've been coloring my hair at a salon for longer than I can remember. But it's because I love the auburn color, not so much to cover the ever increasing grey. I'm going to have a lovely silver color. My hair in the back is still grey-less. Almost ready to let it all go grey. I just love the current color I'm getting!
When it's time to go grey, I'll cut it even shorter than it is now.....it's pretty short already! Then just let it go.

 

[design_mom]

I think I'm in a similar situation as you, OP. I have very thick, very dark hair, although mine is ear length. I got my first gray when I was 15. I'm 42 now and my stylist estimates it's about 75% gray in the front (less so in the back).

I get it dyed at the salon -- full color every 12 weeks, with a partial color (just the part and hairline) at the 6 week mark. They use a dark brown dye but do not do full opacity. This gives me some "highlights" but it's really the grey peeking through the color. The color stays on really well, so I just need to worry about the new growth.

I am not sure when/how I'll transition to grey. I think my hair would look very salt-and-pepper right now and I think it would make me look a lot older than I actually am. With the amount of grey in my hair right now, the overall look is already considerably lighter than my natural dark color. I would imagine I'll go lighter and lighter till I finally decide to go all grey. (Then I'll ask my stylist how to go about that. I'm not completely opposed to cutting it all off, but if we could dye it back to a natural color, I'd probably go for that.)

 

[tvguy]

DW is 58 and has shoulder length red hair. She has never colored it, and vows she never ever will. She only has a sprinkling of gray. All genetics. My MIL was 100% gray by age 50, my FIL had just a sprinkling when he passed away at age 75. DW seems to have inherited her dad's gray hair genes.

 

[powellrj]

I have been back and forth over the years. I went grey many years ago until people told me I was too young to be all grey. Once I had a little boy in DD Kindergarten class ask me why I was a mom with grandma hair, I went back to coloring it!

I did the highlights and low lights for many years until last year when I had enough and went to all grey. I just got it cut short, kind of like Jamie Lee Curtis and stopped coloring it. I am glad I have my dads hair and not my moms. Hers is king of a mousy grey where my dad has silver hair and thats what mine is now.

It does age me, but now I am of an age it doesn't bother me. I said when my kids got out of school I would stop coloring it and my youngest is in college now.

 

[Disneychick75]

Maslex, I was completely gray by age 30. About 10 years ago when I was 47, I decided to go gray. I kept letting my hair grow and used temporary root touch up spray. After a few months, I got a short hair cut. My husband was fine with it but he was about the only one. I kept it gray for about 6 months. People still come up to me today and say they're so happy that I began dyeing it again. I have to go to the hair dresser every 7-10 days to keep up with the roots. It's a royal pain and I'm thinking about going gray again.The only thing stopping me is the pain in the rear comments I'll get from everyone.

 

[Bluestars]

I am at the point where I have a few gray hairs. I have been getting a weave for many years and have been happy with it, other than the price. I would love to quit doing it and color my hair at home.

For people who color their hair at home, how often do you do the roots? Do you use something from a regular store or a beauty supply store? Do you ever do your entire head or is it always just the roots after the initial all over color? I wonder if coloring my hair at home will give me some natural highlights due to the small areas of gray that will be colored. My hair is light brown.

 

[Christine]

Has anyone who has gone gray actually tried to professionally make the gray a better gray. My hairdresser, who has light brown hair actually colored her hair gray and it was beautiful (and more blond looking than anything). Last night I was watching "Transparent" and Judith Light has some beautiful gray hair going. I think some of it's natural but I also think it's enhanced.

 

[MomofKatie]

I am in my late 40s. I started getting highlights to camouflage the silver strands in my mid 30s. At around 40, I was told that my grays had gone past the "blend with highlights" phase, so I started doing all over color at home. I kept that up until about 3 years ago- it had been a while since I touched up my hair, and I noticed that the grays were mostly just concentrated in 2 "stripes" along my temples.

I decided to go cold turkey and let the color grow out. After a series of trims over about 2 years, the last of the permanent color was finally gone. Overall, I am happy with my "natural silver blonde highlights"- the silver at my temples actually frames my face nicely! I always vowed I wouldn't allow myself to get gray hair, but now that I am of the age where that happens, I am very comfortable with it.