UPDATE ON AFTER GOING WHITE - Page 2

Shanus · ‎05-17-2010

@ChouChou wrote:
Congratulations! I have been hair dye clean & sober for 10+ years. Boy, was it hard to do. I think that the first 3-4 months are the worst and if I had it to do over again I probably would have gotten a wig. I didn't and I survived. I had to do mine every two weeks as my hair is fast growing. My hair is completely silver white now. We recently attended our granddaughter's graduation and other family members found us by looking for my hair!!!! I received many compliments on my hair color and have been told that if they could go gray the way I did they would do it but they don't like the color of gray. I am lucky because my hair is super silver. I always wear silver or platinum earrings which seems to enhance the silverness.

That said, I do continue to dye my eyebrows and I do it myself. My eyebrows are completely colorless and look very skimpy. When I dye them light medium brown they look great. The dye colors hair I can't even see. It makes my brows much fuller. Without the dyed brows my face just turns into one big white blob! I have to do it about every 6 weeks. I use Just For Men Mustache & Beard dye. Because of my white hair, white brows and very fair skin my DH says I lend new meaning to the term old white woman.:smileyvery-happy.

@ChouChou Your hair sounds beautiful and yes, the transition is tough the first several months. I have a girlfriend who did it from dark hair, but at 6' tall not many people saw the top of her head and by the time it reached the 4"-6" mark of silver, she got a cute haircut & trauma over. I mostly wore white metals for jewelry or two-tone before, so no changes there. Brows have remained dark w/ a few grey ones that a brown brow mascara covers w/ ease.

Shanus · ‎05-17-2010

@Kachina624 wrote:
I went au natural when I retired in 1998, and have never looked back. Like you, @Shanus, I get a haircut about every 5-6 weeks. I shampoo my hair and go... no fussing with it. It's thick, coarse and wavy so I air dry it. When the humidity is 6%, it's dry in no time.

@Kachina624 Sounds like a great routine you have worked out. Mine isn't long enough to go back to my natural wavy, curly state & may wait until winter to let it grow out. Like you, am loving the wash & go ease of very short pixie cut now and have appts. set up for cuts at 5 wk. intervals. My hair grows like weeds...high protein diet, I guess.

Shanus · ‎05-17-2010

@bargainsgirl wrote:
Yay for you! I have dark brown chin length hair and I too am soooo tired of dying. Just turned 64. I am 1 1/2 years into taking Tamoxifen and the past 6 months i have really noticed my hair thinning. My hairdresser tells me that if I go grey it will look even thinner. I am not so sure about that. Opinions? I am so tempted but it is a difificult decision!

@bargainsgirl. Your hairdresser is wrong!!! My white hair, because of it's more wiry and a little rougher texture (just condition more often) is much thicker than my dyed hair. Also consider the contrast the contrast of seeing scalp through dark hair (quite obvious) and w/ my silver hair, thinner areas, scalp hardly visible. Where it is needed (mostly temples), I use Joan Rivers Great Hair Day in white (powder w/ brush)....comes in grey, too, I think. Good luck making your decision and with recovery on your meds, by the way. 🌸

Shanus · ‎05-17-2010

@tototwo wrote:
Still happy for ya, @Shanus. We white-haired beauties should stick together. I never colored my hair for the reasons you mentioned: I never wanted to be a slave to a box of dye. I get lots of compliments on my white hair - ladies have even asked me who colors my hair and what color do they use. Cracks me up. Honey, it's all ME!

Perhaps embracing the age I am is the best feeling. I don't hide behind a box of dark brown dye...not fooling anyone. Very few women at 69 have not a grey hair on their head & sometimes the older they get, into the 70's, looks more unnatural IMO. I've stayed in great shape physically and good skincare has kept my complexion clear & wrinkle free. Those that poo poo white hair & say it makes you look older? It all depends on the attitude you present. If you have a spring in your step and change up your style in makeup & clothing so you don't look dowdy, you don't look old, but sassy.

noodleann · ‎06-10-2015

@Shanus wrote:
@bargainsgirl wrote:
Yay for you! I have dark brown chin length hair and I too am soooo tired of dying. Just turned 64. I am 1 1/2 years into taking Tamoxifen and the past 6 months i have really noticed my hair thinning. My hairdresser tells me that if I go grey it will look even thinner. I am not so sure about that. Opinions? I am so tempted but it is a difificult decision!

@bargainsgirl. Your hairdresser is wrong!!! My white hair, because of it's more wiry and a little rougher texture (just condition more often) is much thicker than my dyed hair. Also consider the contrast the contrast of seeing scalp through dark hair (quite obvious) and w/ my silver hair, thinner areas, scalp hardly visible. Where it is needed (mostly temples), I use Joan Rivers Great Hair Day in white (powder w/ brush)....comes in grey, too, I think. Good luck making your decision and with recovery on your meds, by the way. 🌸

The hairdresser is wrong, I agree. The hair won't look thinner, it will BE thinner. I have a clipping of my hair from 20 years ago, before it started turning. The strands are much, much thicker than the white hairs I now have. My white hairs are not wiry or coarse; my white hair is gossamer-fine. Even in contrast to the pigmented hairs still on my head, the white hairs are much, much finer.

Color adds a coating to the strands, so for someone like me, coloring my hair can add a bit of a boost to the thickness. I think I have finally found a haircolor that won't go brassy on me and won't turn dark. It's a tad pricey, but I plan to get it and change over from L'Oreal.

There is nothing wrong with coloring your hair unless your color choice doesn't suit your complexion or is badly done. There is nothing wrong with letting it grow in gray or white, although it's not a look that works for everyone. In my area, it's now becoming standard "retirement hair," as much as the suburban bob was a standard for women when they got married and started having kids. Personally, I prefer color.

ElvisShops · ‎03-09-2010

I would love to quit coloring. I'm in my 40s and am afraid white will age me a lot. I have very dark hair that has been going white since my college years. I don't want black and white hair either.

Any thoughts on going white blonde? I wonder if it would be easier to dye black out than white out?

Shanus · ‎05-17-2010

@ElvisShops wrote:
I would love to quit coloring. I'm in my 40s and am afraid white will age me a lot. I have very dark hair that has been going white since my college years. I don't want black and white hair either.

Any thoughts on going white blonde? I wonder if it would be easier to dye black out than white out?

There's not a lot of difference between white and white/blonde. If you're dark hair is not at least 90% white at roots, dying it blonde will still mean constant upkeep. The white roots and the dark roots will still show through. This means bleaching roots to match the white blonde instead of dying the white roots like you are now. I see no difference in time or money saved, but your hair will suffer if roots always bleached.

I'd wait until you're ready to transition to white hair. If you can find my original post, I went through the steps and process.