Anyone given up the dye & gone for grey?

I never dyed my hair when I was younger, but when I retired I decided to go purple. I found a new (posh) hairdresser who persuaded me to have streaks. My natural colour is now a mish-mash of sandy and grey-ish, and the purple is a third colour to add to the mix. I love it! The colour fades, too, so it looks much more natural. Photo edited to protect the sensitive!!

I am 71 and I was hoping when my hair grew back after chemo it would be a lovely silvery white, like my sister who is a year older than me. No such luck, it's still a dark blonde with a mind of it's own. if you have grey hair, embrace it I say.

I, too, have decided to go grey. After all, who am I fooling?!! Only a couple more inches to go before it’s fully grey. I love it.

Go for it, I was around the same age as you when I got so fed up of dyeing nearly every week, chemicals, expense etc.
As more grey comes in it takes on different tones, so you actually are getting a different look for free ! Just make sure you get a good cut, and you'll be fine.It is difficult taking the first step, but so so easy once you're used to it ! Good Luck !

I stopped colouring my hair three years ago, I was advised that chemotherapy and hair dye do not go together.
My scalp still gets sore so decided to let the grey take over, I have my hair cut every seven weeks and it is very short but I am quite happy with it.

What ever colour your hair is , cut and condition are what matters . I naturally had very dark brown hair and a couple of years ago decided on a complete change . It is now a platinum blonde . It shines and lifts my pale skin . I often get compliments on it . I’m 59 , but not ready to be grey yet . Maybe , I never will be !!!

I am with CrazyH. I would look awful with grey hair. I am older than you too. Not giving up colour anytime soon.

I stopped 3 years ago , I was really dark originally and still coloured it dark brown , needed to do the roots every 4 weeks , I tried to go lighter but it just looked brassy and didn’t suit my cool colouring . I just grew 2 inches out and cut all the dye out . I love the freedom of not chasing my roots every month . I’m 52 and wil never colour again

I have bleached/coloured my hair since I was 15 (Left school on the Friday Mouseybrown, started work on the Monday as a blonde) Now can't do it myself due to arthritis and can't afford the hairdressers. A couple of years ago I had a dying 'accident' (Was interrupted and mixture left on far too long) so I tried a colour remover which left my hair a very shiny baby blonde, and to my surprise, so it remains. I do use a special conditioner for blondes but nothing else. Lucky Me

Also.....saves me £70 every six weeks. Win-win.

I stopped bleaching my hair about 5 years ago, the reason was the same as some of the previous posters with regards to restricting chemicals and it was for health reasons. My natural colour which I hadn't seen for decades is not too bad, a kind of grey blonde but the texture has changed and it's not as manageable as it used to be. Mind you that could just be getting older!!

Stopped dying my hair six months ago just to see what kind of grey it was . Turns out it’s a gorgeous silver ...no dark bits or yellow bits ... it’s great and I have had a good shortish cut and left it be what it is. If it’s good enough for Judi Dench ...it’s good enough for me...and I feel fantastic.

I found my first grey hair when I was 12 and I've been fighting the grey since my early 20's. I used to dye my hair religiously and then eventually, I gave up and let the grey take over. I didn't mind it at first because my hair started to turn white and I used purple shampoo to brighten it but then I noticed a lot of what I call 'cigarette ash' grey creeping in and then I had two tone hair, white-ish at the top and cigarette ash grey at the back and sides. It made me feel old! So I did something drastic and dyed it bright pink! It's been this colour for a year now and I love it!

After years of colouring with browns, my hair has decided for me! It won’t hold any colour for more than a couple of weeks, even permanent dyes at the hair dresser. I had some of it lightened and some dyed a darker grey, then the bleached bits were toned grey. I loved it for as long as it lasted and now I am toning it silver while the natural colour fully comes through. As someone else said, the cut is important.

I started with a light grey/white streak in the front of hair in my forties. Tried gradual 3 shades of blonde but streak was always back within 2 weeks. Bit the bullet and haven't dyed hair for years( now 61) .
People ask me all the time who does my hair and what lovely shades of grey / silver I have.
A good short cut is the answer.
Enjoy au natural

Hello everyone, I have been reading posts for some time but thought would add my grey experience here.

Hairdresser cut my hair far to short. Fuming at the time but she did me a really big favor. The new growth was silvery grey so decided to stop coloring. I love it. Saves me money too.

Years ago, when I was in my mid-40's, my hairdresser remarked that the 'grey' was winning. He then very calmly suggested I grow out my roots as much as I could, and over a period of weeks, took my hair lighter and lighter. Then the big day came and he gave me a short cut - from a very long bob. People were so amazed at the cut that they quite forgot the change of colour and it gave me time to adjust. Go for it - liberate yourself from the constant worry and enjoy all the extra time you will now have. I have to say that you will also use less conditioner, your hair will be healthier - and you will be happy.

jenni your hair looks amazing! Natural and beautiful. For several reasons I stopped having mine tinted pale blonde/light brown, which had been my natural colour. It is now white rather than grey and I like it! I tried this a few years ago and it was then a dirty grey, so I hastily resumed having it coloured. Now, however, it is great! Why not give it a try? You can always revert to colouring, as I did, if you don't like the natural look, but white hair seems to give the skin a lift, and I am so pleased not to have to spend a fortune as my hair grows like grass.

On the positve side - it's clearly growing well!

I have fair colouring, very pale skin, (used to have freckles) blue eyes and blonde eyebrows and virtually invisible blonde hairs on my arms/ legs (although I do shave my legs)
Grey hair would make me invisible as I don't wear make-up so I have roots done in a chestnut tone every 6 weeks and flashes of copper in between.
As others have said, a good cut is everything and I always do my own hair masque treatment at home before swaddling my head in a towel wrung out in very hot water - so soothing.
Been dying my hair every shade since I was 16...that's 58 years ago. My hair is still thick and glossy but I don't use laquer or products on it, only wash it every 2 weeks and brush it vigorously 4-5 times daily with a Mason Pearson boar bristle brush.

I got my first grey at 23 and began colouring in my late 30s. Now 56, I still feel my skin looks too young for grey hair but have changed to semi-permanent mid/light brown dyes with fewer chemicals. I plan to follow J52's example. My brother is white at the front and dark at the back and it just looks unattractive to me!

At 60 I still only have the same amount of greying round the temples that I had at 40, I love the silver vixen look, last summer I bleached my brown hair to white, I liked it but my children kept nagging me that it made me look older, the upkeep was difficult, dark brown roots, and so I went back to brown, with greying temples

I hadn’t dyed my hair for years. Allowing the grey to show as it gradually took over. The trouble is, it’s a lovely white at the front, fading to a steel wool look and then my natural brown at the back. Feeling I needed something to lift my mood, i had blonde highlights (foils) put in and I love the result.

I started to go grey in my 20s and coloured it myself at home for over 30 years. My natural colour is almost black and I used a black dye. Unfortunately my roots became visible after just 1 week so I used to colour the roots in to make them less noticeable. It became unbearable - I had to run my life around my hair colour. If I had coloured my roots in as opposed to dying them I couldn’t go out in the rain as the colour would run down my face!
Anyway, about 4 yrs ago I took the plunge. A friend of mine who is a colourist specialist took several strands of hair after cutting it and mixed up several colours to use which would lighten it as much as possible. She showed me the results - some worked, some didn’t! She used this and 3 lowlights and over a couple of years and about 6 months ago I decided to stop the colour altogether. My life is so much more simple now!! Just a trim every couple of months. Not to mention saving money. It’s a win win for me. I actually like the colour too and don’t feel that it ages me either.

I've noticed a lot more older ladies now with beautiful white hair. Stopping the dye seems to improve hair health too.
I'm 83 and stopped colouring my hair 2 years ago, it still has a little bit of natural colour.
I used to use a light auburn colour, it wasn't a harsh dye..