Anyone given up the dye & gone for grey?

I bit the bullet nearly 3 years ago and haven't regretted it Kandinsky, It was liberating after being tied to regular (and costly) appointments with my hairdresser for colour and I'm lucky that, although not completely grey, the colour my hair is I like.

It took a while to grow out (about 18 months) but worth it in the end so be brave and do it!!

I started dying my hair metallic silver. I now have lovely grey hair with a sparkle to it. It did take a while but having it trimmed regularly helped

I have vitiligo which now affects most of my body, including my eyebrows and hair! Dying was proving very difficult so I now have bright white hair; apparently it looks great and not ageing at all - people often say I look much younger than my 59 years!

Mine is white now, has been since I was about 55, 62 now and I've just had bright red for a play, permanent as I'm doing the play again in three weeks, but I love it (fortunately) and have had lots of positive comments (well they're hardly likely to say they hate it I'm sure, even if they do), I love it so much I shall keep it for a while, then maybe purple if I can find a bright permanent one!

I'm 48 and about 18 months ago, I decided to stop dying my hair. It was originally dark brown, but I found my first few grey strands when I was 21 and had dyed it ever since.
I stopped using brown dye, had lowlights, used anti-dandruff shampoo to help fade the old dye and had a really good haircut every 6 weeks. I've attached a montage of my progress from the day I decided (top left) to how it looks now (bottom right).
I can honestly say that it was the best decision for me! Good luck! xxx

I decided to grow out my natural colour 2 years ago as part of a general drive towards integrity. I was sure there would be some grey in there because I'd seen it at my temples in between colourings.

What has grown in the last 2 years are two swathes of silver/white which frame my face on either side and interesting light brown shades interspersed with a few grey hairs over the rest of my head. I love it and the fact that my hair feels so soft and healthy. Colouring dried it out and I used to spend a fortune on conditioning treatments. Now I don't need to.

I get complimented on my hair often. I would recommend giving up the dye. Many young people are paying to have their hair coloured grey!

The growing out phase is tricky, but as PPs have said, there are websites and FB groups to help you through it. I used Growing Grey Gracefully and Curly Silvers.

Oh loving all the photos - you all look amazing!

All the photos look absolutely fab!

I love the red highlights. The cut is beautiful and the red is in all the right places.

MommaCharles - doesn't it look a million times better natural? Gorgeous! So glossy!

I think keep the natural colour and spend on the cut and conditioner (apart from that red) - wins every time.

I have short hair, a bit thin on top. It is silver at the front. I sometimes use a hair colouring powder, just brushed gently through the grey. It works quite well, and washes out.

I used to use a light blonde rinse in my fifties and early sixties to give my hair a bit of a "youthful" boost, but stopped doing that a few years ago (I am now approaching 69). My hair is a silvery white with some darker tones close to my scalp just above my neck at the back. A couple of times I have been at my hairdressers (for a cut, not for dyeing) when other customers have asked to have their hair coloured to be like mine. My hairdresser maintains that a) she is often asked for this kind of colouring and b) it cannot be reproduced. I am actually almost at the point where I believe her when she says that she loves the colour of my hair. Either way, I'm quite happy with the colour and the way she cuts it – I just wish it wasn't so thin and so fine.

I doubt if anyone in their late sixties onwards has much in the way of natural colour in their hair, but if you want to try to convince people that you are younger – or, if you just like it – what the hell!

MommaCharles Your hair looks absolutely fabulous, but you seem to have gone blonde, not grey.

However, a friend aged 71 has stopped dyeing her hair and looks 10 years older now she is totally grey. I think you have to choose a lighter colour as you get older but I will continue to be dark mousey blonde.

I have never dyed my hair, although I have 'threatened' to go pink, crimson or possibly green when I'm impressively old! I am nearly 65 and really don't mind being a silver. Actually I'm not uniformly grey, it's a kind of pepper and salt.

I love being offered seats on the bus and train and the benefits of being a senior - all the concessions and free prescriptions ( not that I need that service overmuch as yet, thankfully). I mix with a lot of young people, as I went vegan 6 years ago, and I'm a kind of 'hero' to some of those in the movement, being from a generation that they consider a dead loss for being open to veganism! They think we are all too old and stuck in our ways to listen to and respond to new information. I also love being a grandmother and grannies ought to have grey hair, right?

I haven't dyed my hair for about 8 years. I am now 60 and going grey gracefully.

I'm 68. I stopped colouring my hair three years ago. I absolutely love my white curly hair and wouldn't go back to colouring now. My hair is a lot softer and shinier, and sort of sparkles on a sunny day, I've had a lot of compliments about it. I have a friend in her 80s whose hair is still naturally black (hardly any grey hairs). She is envious of my white hair and wishes hers would go grey as she feels her face is too old for dark hair now.

Why not try grey and see if you like it. If not you can return to colouring. Your hair will then be a 'blank canvas' and you can then try new and exciting colours. Be brave!

I wanted to dye my hair and went to the chemist and asked what they thought and she said it was a lovely colour and if I died it any other colour my face colouring would not be right, so I didn't.

I went white suddenly after my divorce. My son came to see me one day and said ''why have you dyed your hair white?' I was 45. I remember my aunt saying that she went white by 40 as did her sisters, so I suppose it was expected. It just went back to my childhood. I suppose it is an advantage being blonde to begin with.

I absolutely love my heavily silver streaked hair , after fighting it for many years, I ditched the dye. There are times I look at myself, especially first thing in the morning and think I must get a colour put on to brighten myself up, but that doesn't last, I have had to introduce different colours into my wardrobe, I used to wear lots of black but now I look awful in it, if I do wear it, its with a bright scarf and accessories, plus a bright lipstick. Lots of people compliment me on my hair now which I grew at the same time as growing the dye out. I've saved a fortune and all that time sat in a hairdressers too.

Greytin94 Your hair has similar colour to mine but a bit longer. I have not bothered to dye it . I think it would look totally artificial if I did.
Unfortunately my hair goes very frizzy depending on the weather.
I blame my great grandmother Catherine for that.

I was paying good money to have my hair dyed and then they messed up and I decided it’s not worth the hassle. Plus the hairdressers had thumping dance music on every time far too loud.

I had a very short bob 2 weeks ago and love my grey hair. Acceptance is the thing.

Hi I am 52 and decided to stop colouring my hair last year and let the grey show through after seeing a photo of Demi Moore with grey streaks!I wasn't even sure how much grey I had as I had been dyeing my hair since I was 14. My hair is mid mousy ash brown with about 10 percent or less grey. I have to say I hate it! Not because of the grey, just hate how my natural colour looks on me. My mother had beautiful silver hair from age 40 but carried on dyeing it very dark until 70 plus, I didn't want to be dyeing mine too dark as I got older but my natural colour makes me look washed out, I have fair skin with a lot of pink tone and greenish/ blue eyes I would love a head of white or silver hair and see ladies all the time who look much better with grey. I always thought as I got older I would go blonde but am just too dark still to do this. I had decided to stop colouring as I was struggling with the upkeep of roots, even though my hair was just a shade darker and warmer. I had also thought I would stop now before it got to badger stripe stage as could not bare to go really short as always had long hair. Also hate trips to hairdressers and as anther lady said feel like it is torture not pleasant day out! Not sure what to do now, am thinking of a demi or semi permanent that will not cause root regrowth. Any suggestions appreciated

I'm 70 and if you saw me in the street you would see someone with dark short hair. I have grey hair at the temples though and grey hairs dotted about when you see me close up...but essentially I am still dark haired.

It's amazed me, and people who know me are also surprised. But my grandmother was in her 80's and still had a lot of dark hair in with the grey. So something in the genes I think.

I expect mine will change all of a sudden though, just enjoying it at the moment.

I stopped having my hair coloured at about 60. My family and OH were all against it and said it would age me. I was fed up with the bother of having it done and the cost. Was advised to go as light as possible while growing it out. No problems but it did take a while. Result is all over white hair snd lots of positive comments from family, friends and one person I don’t even know stopped me and commented. Really pleased and got extra money to spend on nicer things.

When we moved 6 months ago to a rural area I just didn't find time for colouring my hair,there were lots of refurbishments going on. Then in February this year I decided enough was enough of paying a fortune to have it coloured. So I bit the bullet and went from a red head ( from a bottle) bob, to a very short pixie cut. I love it, there are still tiny bits of faded red to grow out.But it feels so liberating to not be a slave to the dye.

After being bottle blonde for most of my life (I'm 54) I became fed up with root regrowth. A change of hairdressers and an consultation with a wonderfully inspired young stylist later, I'm now a lovely soft, ashy blonde, and can go for six months or more without needing a top up. She matched the tone to my natural colour so I can go grey gracefully. I barely notice the regrowth.

I recommend having a consultation with a good stylist /colourist and planning long term.

Looking at all the photographs of people advocating going grey, you all seem to have gone grey evenly all over your head. No one seems to think of the dilemma facing those of us whose hair does not go grey so obligingly.

My hair is going grey slowly from the outside in. I never have to worry about roots because the crown of my head shows no signs of going grey - and I probably never will. The hair on the crown of the head of one of my uncle's was still its original dark brown colour when he died at the age of 85, but surounded by a coruna of white hair.

One of my aunts didn't die her hair and showed the same pattern and I really did not like the look, this eskimo ruff of white hair surrounding the dark crown.

It is really annoying, I am in my mid-70s, my hairdresser says only about a quarter of my hair is grey, mainly round the face and some at the back of the neck. As I colour the grey I have to match the rest, no-one realises my hair colour is mainly natural, they just assume I do a really good dye job because they never see any non-existant roots.

At 59, I have had no dye for 10 months. I used to get brown lowlights or blonde highlights, and that worked well, not a solid colour so no weird line of regrow the. But I suddenly became allergic to the brown.
I’ve kept it a bit shorter, trying to get rid of the dyed bits and they have gone now. But I don’t really like it, don’t know what to do.