Q: ? Gray Haired Ladies

RinaRina · ‎03-13-2010

Did you stop dying your hair and then change your mind because the gray didn't look as attractive as you thought it would?

I'm at that point.

Frankly, some women just don't look good with gray hair and I'm beginning to think I'm one of them.

I've seen women my age with full gray and it looks fabulous. The mistake I made was assuming the color would look good on me as well.

"The less you respond to negative people, the more peaceful your life will become."

blackhole99 · ‎08-22-2013

I'm 67 and have very little gray in my dark brown hair. I really like gray hair, but I get what you are saying, who knows how one would look with a full head of gray.

ALRATIBA · ‎07-15-2016

I started lightening my hair when I was about 50 and sharting to see stray white hairs. I went a couple of shades lighter and the white hair looked like natural blonde highlights in what was lightened to a champagne blonde.

I continued until I retired at 68 and thought I'd let it go natural ... light brown. I have short hair, so It took from August 2011 to the following March or April to grow out.

It looked horrible and the "natural" hair didn't go with the color of my clothes.

I'm back to champagne blonde (Feria #91) ... and expect to continue it to the day I die.

Think about your the colors in your wardrobe ...

software · ‎06-08-2016

I had to wait until it did look good.

My new gray hair was not pretty, it looked harsh against my brunette hair and it was so unruly.

But now it's prettier and manageable. I still have a lot of brunette hair, I'm about half and half and it looks like I get grey highlights. Plus I use WEN, I think it helped.

@RinaRina wrote:
Did you stop dying your hair and then change your mind because the gray didn't look as attractive as you thought it would?
I'm at that point.
Frankly, some women just don't look good with gray hair and I'm beginning to think I'm one of them.
I've seen women my age with full gray and it looks fabulous. The mistake I made was assuming the color would look good on me as well.

CAcableGirl2 · ‎06-03-2010

I have some grey hairs, but try to control the more obvious ones at my crown and by my ears with Root touch up hair dye. I would rather have slightly grey peppered hair instead of all dark brown or all grey.

I thought of highlights but my hair grows really fast and I don't want to spend all that money trying to keep it up.

I have a friend who decided she didn't want to color her hair any longer and the grey is filling in quickly with her short hair, but going grey makes her look 10 years older (although I would never tell her that).

Do what you think looks good on you.

......You look like I need a drink.....

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

My hair started turning grey in my early 20's - as my Dad's had also done.By the time I was 25 I had a grey streak on the right side in the front about 4" wide so I decided to start coloring it. I continued to color until I was 34. I had breast cancer, lost my hair to chemo and when it came back it was almost all grey in front , though still colored in the back - it was no longer auburn but a chestnut brown. Anyway I never colored it again and it gradually got whiter & whiter over several years.I do feel fortunate that my "grey" is not grey at all but a pure white. I think white is prettier. I understand that most red heads turn white not grey. My dad was a red head and his indeed was also white, as were all his brothers & sisters.

I think the choice to color or not is as individual as can be. You and only you have to like what you see in the mirror.Personally, I think it looks nice when people dye blonde instead of brown or red. There are so many shades of blonde it should be pretty easy to compliment almost any skin tone, and I personally think dying grey very dark just doesn't look natural. As someone else said - too dark looks harsh. Remember - your complexion changes as your hair greys.

suzyQ3 · ‎03-09-2010

@ALRATIBA wrote:
I started lightening my hair when I was about 50 and sharting to see stray white hairs. I went a couple of shades lighter and the white hair looked like natural blonde highlights in what was lightened to a champagne blonde.

I continued until I retired at 68 and thought I'd let it go natural ... light brown. I have short hair, so It took from August 2011 to the following March or April to grow out.

It looked horrible and the "natural" hair didn't go with the color of my clothes.

I'm back to champagne blonde (Feria #91) ... and expect to continue it to the day I die.

Think about your the colors in your wardrobe ...

@ALRATIBA, I'm confused. When you say you went "natural," it was light brown? Why would your natural color look horrible? Or did you go gray and not like it, as the OP has questioned?

~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

millieshops · ‎03-09-2010

@RinaRinaI'm not stopping! I've seen enough gray-haired ladies to know that with my coloring, I will just never look that they do.

Even in my own family with 2 of my sisters sporting beautiful uncolored hair (one white, one steel gray), I know mine is different. But my coloring has always been different from theirs. They both look so beautiful in black or white or raspberry or gray - and each of those colors wash me out.

The best colorist I ever used once advised me not to give up coloring even though, he said, he'd make more money if I did because he felt I'd be in the salon more often to keep my natural hair in the condition he though I'd accept. I couldn't argue with him - my mother went to have her gray attended to every week once we kids were out of the house - and my hair is hers all the way!

So - we agree - some people look best natural - some just don't.

SahmIam · ‎04-16-2010

@RinaRina I did. I started going white around 11 and as I got older, was not happy to find that the white coming in wasn't ALL white/silver; most of it was that yellowed gray kinda color. NOT attractive as I have dark brown/almost black hair. In my late 40's (I'm 52 now) I attempted to let it all grow gray and honestly, it wasn't attractive. I have long hair and wasn't willing to cut it short (something I would do if I wanted to go all gray) so it looked....unkempt plus the color was just....awful. My stylist suggested going to a good wig shop and trying on wigs to see how the color would look on me. Yes, you can lighten your gray but then...I'm still paying for color so why not color it my natural shade?

In any event, I did try on the wigs and everyone assisting me said the same thing: it washed me out. I'm VERY pale and the white hair did nothing for me. Nothing. Spent hours looking at pictures on line, looking at women out and about and seeing how they were wearing their gray....remember, mine is not a uniform shade...it's all over the place.

In the end, we decided to allow the gray around my face (which is bright white and all the same color) grow in and continue to color the rest of my hair the dark brown (with cool undertones). I get compliments constantly as the contrast is striking and yet, I don't have to worry about the roots around my face because they're all while! Down the road we'll figure it out. In her experience, the hair color can shift as we get older so perhaps in my 60's, the yellowish gray will be more silver/white. We'll see.

Hooty · ‎03-09-2010

I have a head full of think silver gray hair, and I love it! My natural color is dark brown (my eyebrows are still that color)! I never "dyed" my hair, only used rinses on it and then I started getting too much gray to cover and stopped coloring at 40, I am now 68. You are right about some people's graying hair, but I think that is because they don't have a current hair cut, and just don't care how they look. Blonde's, are lucky they can highlight their hair to cover the gray. If you are going to cover your gray, it is better to go lighter than your natural color, darker makes most women look older and harsh!