Going grey from darkish brown - not sure what to do

For anyone considering this - I have just joined a closed facebook group called Going Gorgeously Gray! As you can tell it's based in the US, but has lots of good transition pictures. It also illustrates the importance of a good haircut, as many of you have already mentioned.

DoraMarr - thank you. Unfortunately just the sight of a bleach bottle makes my hair frizzle up and turn into straw, so stripping the colour is not an option. I should really be brave, have it cut short, let it go grey and then perhaps let it grow long again. I could be dead by then!

I went cold turkey too, just kept it long, stopped colouring & had the ends trimmed, it's been 2 years now & it's still a little brown at the ends, people say it's lovely, some ask about it being ombre

seacliff like you I was dark brown with reddish glints and when I started to go grey I tried to cover it but eventually 'bit the bullet' and let it grow out. It takes determination but now I'm not totally grey (apparently the hair on the back of my head is much darker, according to my hairdresser!) but I've received lots of compliments on how good my hair looks, and how it suits me. It's certainly healthier than when it was constantly subject to being dyed.

so many women dye their hair well into their 60s and 70s, keeping the shade of their younger years. At the risk of being criticised I think that is far more ageing than going naturally grey

Luckily my hairdresser.who comes to my home, so I don't have tto look in a mirror, uses mostly natural colour dyes. It is more expensive though.

just what I was thinking 123coco

I have always had an aversion to taking medication and being in contact with chemicals. I use soap and water for most cleaning tasks, and only medicate if the doctor really convinces me that I need it.
Likewise, I have avoided most make-up and hair dyes. At almost 80 my hair is still thick and healthy, and has grown grey slowly over the last 10 years or so. It has reached the point of being silver-grey at the front and sides, but is still quite dark at the back.
It must be very difficult to decide how to go from dyed to natural grey. I hope you find a good way to do it. I'm sure that you won't regret the freedom from all the time and money you spend at the hairdresser's. I just go for a trim about every 6 weeks, on Pensioners' day, and save money and time. I couldn't bear to sit there for ages being doused in chemicals.

I have very dark brown hair and going grey when I had a sleek bob was a nightmare. A couple of days after dying the roots wood start to show so had it all chopped off really short and spikey and now it can go a couple of months before the roots show. I'm not intending to go gracefully grey sowill continue to dye it dark brown for the mo. Although I will no doubt change the colour at some point in the future.

Amazing how many people love it when they finally take the step, and wish they'd done it years ago!

I am going to have a consultation at a couple of good hairdressers, and see what they suggest. I may have a few scattered highlights to break up the darkish brown.

Meanwhile, I'll leave the roots. I will use the wash in shampoo sometimes, or even the colour mousse. Thanks for all the suggestions and your stories.

I am off to have my roots done tomorrow, 2 weeks later than usual. I have curly hair that was naturally dark auburn. I suspect if I stopped having it coloured I would be 110% grey, I think if I had straight hair that would go into a tidy bob or I suited a short style I might give up the dye! My hair is not long.. just about at shoulders at its longest.
I have discussed allowing the grey to take over but am worried that I will look a lot older

Although I didnt have any grey hairs when I started I was natural golden auburn (courtesy of NandE) for over 30 years . At the age if 70 I decided to go lighter so used the golden aurburn and golden blonde mixed together for a few months to graduAlly lighten my hair. Two years ago my hair started to thin a lot on top and my scalp could he seen through my hair. So I decided to stop colouring my hair. My hair just grew through a silvery white so it was quite painless really. I then found my hair loss was due to an underactive thyroid and had to have medication to correct it.

coco123 and sluttygran I now use W@term@ns Grow me shampoo and conditioner and my hair has thickened up quite a bit and I am pleased with how much better it looks now
One of my DDs got so fed up with colouring her hair that one evening she took her husband's hair clippers to her hair and ended up with a number 4 cut . Her hair has grey patches rather than single grey hairs. She still has it short and it really suits her.

I home dyed mine for years. Going lighter and lighter in colour (my young hair was very dark). Then thanks to a fab hairdresser, I decided to embrace the grey. It’s in much better condition now and I look back on past photos of the dyed hair with faint horror. It’s so matte looking. Still yearn for my young hair when I look at my son, who has my hair (and hates it!). But it’s liberating not to be dyeing it every three weeks,

I use Vo5colour mousse,when I feel my hair needs a boost,you spread the mousse after washing hair,dry as normal,and it washes out.?

seacliff
I like you, don't wear lipstick, just lipbalm and very rarely eyeshadow, nothing on skin but plain moisturiser, so I need a bit of warmth in my hair to liven up my pale skin.
I'm sure the warm colours you mention will please you. I found that it took 3 visits over 3/4 months to get the right ratio of flashes to base colour. It works well...for me anyway. If I went grey I would look like a blank picture...devoid of colour.
Best wishes

NotTooOld you can have the colour stripped- bleached. See my previous post up thread.

I started to go grey when I was in my early twenties. I coloured it for a while and then went blonde as my ‘real’ colour’ was a sort of gingery grey.
My hair dresser recently suggested that I go platinum blonde. It is so white and my white hair blends in. Most people think it’s my natural colour and my neighbour said that when she gets old she would like hair like mine.
Had to adjust makeup etc. But I am happy to leave it until I am grey all over and it will be easy to grow out!

In a similar situation my dear (since departed) hairdresser advised me to 'go grey gracefully'. He was an excellent 'cutter' and kept it neat and tidy and I am still 'going' grey. There was more natural brown colour than I anticipated. That was about 8 years ago!!

I spent a year growing out my bleached (naturally very dark brown) hair and ended up with short hair in quite a nice shade of grey. One day in the supermarket I impulsively bought a box of semi permanent brown dye. On the box it said it would last only 12 washes, so I thought 'great!' after it washes out I will be grey again, no problem. Wrong! it turns out 'semi permanent' actually means 'faded permanent'. Now my hair is professionally dyed dark again, I've grown it long and I spend a fortune at the salon having the roots done. I don't see any easy way of getting back to grey (and keeping it long) as bleached streaks just dry it out. Anyone any ideas?

I was the same. First I went blonde for a few years and then I grew that out until I am now a natural colour...Grey! I still have dark bits so, it is more iron grey than I would like. When I was growing it out, I just joked that I was going for a badger look.

Hi there , I am 62 , well on the way to being white haired and I love it. Several years ago my younger sister " bullied" me into getting my hair coloured. The " grey" made me look old ,apparently! Sadly ,I had celtic colouring ..almost black hair ,pale skin. As my hair lightened so did my skin ,eyebrows etc and the dark hair looked dreadful, false and very aging . So , I decided to embrace the natural. My Dad and Grandad were pure white ,eventually. Mine is now white/silver streaks. I just stopped colouring it and the remnants of colour just faded.

I am careful to keep it beautifully cut into a neat bob by my lovely hairdresser and I use quality shampoo so it is smooth and shiny.

It is great to not have to sit for hours getting it coloured . Hair dressing trips are now 30 minutes or so ..and a lot cheaper. On top of that ,its fashionable at the moment.

I always think , however beautifully coloured your hair is ,by mid to late 60s almost everyone is naturally grey so it looks so false. Be brave and enjoy your lovely silver hair ! xxxxx

I just went cold turkey and kept it long. Its surprising how quickly the time goes! It will be 2 years in March and about another year to go. I love not having that awful monthly chore of colouring ?

I don't know anyone who has embraced the grey who regrets it Caro57. Like you I find it liberating.

Am early 60s and coloured my brown hair for a long time. It was time consuming and a real ‘faddle’. About 3 years ago I got my hair cut shorter than normal while the colour grew out (interesting how hair grows at different rates on one’s head). Now have salt and pepper hair, much darker at the back than front but have gone back to original style and length and feel wonderfully liberated - ps. I don’t feel old either!! Go for it!

Find a good hairdresser you can trust and ask expert opinion. I went lighter with highlights and a toner to give a more ashy effect. No white roots / dark dyed hair horrors. I now have a few lowlights to give bit of interest to the grey every couple of months. Sometimes put a wash in /wash out rinse - maybe violet or pink which again lifts the colour. Very low maintenance.

I'm 62 and still dyeing my hair, which is naturally about 60% medium brown, 40% grey. Very torn about the whole thing - I'd love to stop but my hair is very long and I really don't want to cut it. This year my hairdresser is trying to ease me closer to my roots with fine highlights - hope the transition works.