Coloured to grey hair transition

Wow, all you gorgeous Grans brave enough to post pics - you all look so fab.

GagaJo - is your hair white or gray at the roots? I hesitated about going natural - white/silver - thinking it would make me look older but quite the reverse. In fact I get so many comments from much younger than me ladies. My hairdresser tells me that she gets lots of clients wanting white/silver hair. IMO it's all in the toning - I use silver shampoo and it really does lift all the drab yellow tones.

Amendment: 3rd pic is me fresh from the hairdressers.

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I removed all traces of dye from my hair, first by growing it out then with a dye remover as I was donating my locks to 'The Little Princess Trust'.
At the hairdressers, I went in blonde and told them what I wanted, and came out practically white!!
That was around 2015/16.
I've stayed that colour ever since.
I have thought about dying it again (my hopeful-to-be-DiL kept asking me if I was going to dye it), but I'm quite happy to be white with a few odd bits of natural black!
First pic is me fresh from the hairdressers.

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My own colour is dark brown but I started lightening it when I found grey strands coming through. Lockdown couldn’t end quickly enough and my very first appointment was with my hairdresser. I’m still not ready to ditch my highlights and have my colour done every 10 weeks. My one real luxury beauty treatment!

Up until lockdown I had what I called my mars bar look?. Basically it was a combination of light brown,my natural colour ,caramel and hint of blonde. I must admit I liked it and it was often commented on . Lockdown was horrendous,my hair is short so was long and half dyed. I had it cut in August 2020 and my natural colour was left.
I was quite surprised how little grey there was! It took a lot of getting used to though. I didnt have it redyed. Mainly because pre vaccines I didnt want to spend that amount of time in the hair dressers!
I will be absolutely honest .I have saved hundreds of pounds and the hairdressers and my hair is in good condition. BUT I must admit most times I look at my hair it feels drab!
My hairdresser is lovely and never put any pressure on etc!
My daughter and I were talking yesterday and although she feels my hair looks fine as it is when it was dyed it made me look more youthful. She wasnt being mean it's something we both agree on?.
Interestingly the difference in colour is not vast,but although subtle my face looked brighter!
So,it will be after Christmas now but 2022 I will be going back to highlights. I have given it a year but I'm getting a bit fed up with looking in the mirror and going "meh"?.
I suppose that's what it's all about really,feeling comfortable and confident whatever the colour!

GagaJo

Going my natural white took years off me. The dark brown that I was dyeing my hair was far too harsh and made me look older. Try a wig on in a light shade and see how you feel.

My roots are 4 inches long now. My brown dye has faded to a brassy blonde. Hot!

I'm in 2 minds about going grey. My hair is thin and the dark brown that I love and that feels most like 'me' thickens the appearance a little. I've even discovered a Japanese dye that I love. It gives good coverage. BUT. It's onerous, putting up with the roots and the monthly dye job.

The flip side is that IF I go grey, it'll make me look so much older online (I teach online now) and I need to keep scouting for work. There is no DOB on my CV and it isn't usually asked for by prospective parents/students. So looking a bit younger is good.

I'd be a lot more inclined to bite the bullet if I was totally grey/white but there is a lot of dark at the back of my head. Not such a good look.

My hair was very dark brown, when I started to go grey for years I had it coloured dark brown by a friend who was a retired hairdresser. When she eventually thought that I had completely lost all the natural colour we decided to remove all the dye. Well what a shock we had, my hair was completely orange. I looked as though I was wearing one of those wigs that Scottish football fans wear at international matches. My friend had to hotfoot it to the local Boots store and I prayed that no one came to the door. Thankfully it got sorted and although I have sallow skin white hair really suits me.

MaggieTulliver you look great, if my hair was going to look like yours I wouldn't hesitate but at the back my hair is still quite dark with a bit of grey whilst at the front it is very grey.

It's a dilemma I go through every time my highlights fade. If I could go completely grey or white it wouldn't bother me at all. I have friends that look fabulous with their grey hair. But my once red hair is now a sandy colour with odd strands of white and it seems to drain the colour from my face. So I've just come back again this morning from having copper highlights put in and even DH said it had made a difference to how I look. There'll be a big difference to my bank account when I finally stop colouring but until then.....!

Looks good to me Maggie!

Ah thank you Germanshepherdsmum! Must remember to wear a scarf more often - that crepy neck ?

Rosalyn69

You look great MayBeMaw. You’ve inspired me to ditch the blonde. I’ve been thinking about it and now I’m going to do it.

I'll second that ,the photos are inspiring, I'm blond as well

You look beautiful Maggie and so does your hair!

I’m 64 and this is my head of totally grey hair. I used to be a very dark brown that morphed through to blonde over the years but I went pretty seamlessly to grey about three years ago. I love it and get loads of compliments. I don’t miss my old hair colour at all!

After colouring my hair for years, I let colour grow out during lockdown as I couldn't get my usual colour. It took me 13 month to grow colour out. I am now silver with a bob style. New me. Much easier and cheaper.

I have always had hi-lights. However I swim most days of the week. I found the chlorine/seawater/sun would wash the colours out and my hair would become straw like. My hairdresser suggested that I embrace the grey. I have a very short pixie cut and I now receive many compliments on my hair colour. As it looks as though I have hi-lights. I would never go back to colouring my hair. I am in my early sixties.

It’s much more difficult transitioning from jet black hair to grey.
I have always had naturally black hair. I am now 76 years old, and I’m still dying it. Although I only do a root touch up every few months.
I often wonder when I’ll be able to give it up.

Love that women are releasing themselves from the tyranny of the dye box! I wen t grey at a very young age and tried with the dye - dear heaven that’s when I found out my hair does not take colour well. The first lot came out pink so had to use another box. Over a few uses I developed an allergy to the chemicals, I was relieved to stop and allow the white line to grow down - got so far then had all the dyed stuff cut off - liberating! And now I have also become a curly “girl” - been fighting the curls and frizz for well over 50 years. Having recently moved 21/2 hours away from my curly salon I have resorted to cutting my hair myself, curly hair can hide a multitude of mistakes. I have just found a new curly hair specialist only an hour away - can’t wait till next week. ( Had an ancient friend who in her 90s still dyed her hair very dark brown, dressed to the nines and wore her bling every day - it worked for her as she was always larger than life.)

What happens on a windy day Julie?

I’ve now gone back to a glossy light brown and me and my hairdresser are working on going back to my natural colour and seeing what grey comes through. I feel great.

If you hate the harsh white stripe effect at the parting whilst letting it grow you can use a touch up
Spray over the roots until
It’s grown enough for you.
Or
do the dye strip technique - where you decide on a parting and only colour the very top
Layer of your dyed hair, letting the grey grow out underneath. When you feel you have enough of the grey hair you just change your parting to reveal your lovely grey hair. There are lots of you tube and Pinterest tips that can explain the dye strip technique better than me!

Mawbemaw your hair looks much better white. Beautiful ?

I did smile at the typo.☺️ Loving the chats ladies.

?I'm well known for being thick skinned. Knew someone would spot it Oopsadaisy1 and MawBeMaw, so I got in first.

No sinks in my bathroom though?. I have a basin.?