Would you go gray?

[anlo]

My hair used to be naturally dark brown, almost black. I had my first grays at about age 12

Now I'm almost 32 and 90% gray/silver. I have to color every 6 weeks and do home root touch ups in between appointments. It's getting old, and expensive.

My stylist says she can color it gray so I won't have as much trouble growing it out if I want to go for it. My hair is really long and thick. I hate coloring it at home because it takes forever and I inevitably end up with color everywhere. If I start home coloring I will probably end up cutting it short again.

I'm torn and can't decide what to do. Part of me wants to just embrace my natural hair and the other part is screaming "you are only 32!!! Wtf are you thinking?"

Thoughts?

[meggers5]

I'm 26 and have a lot of grey. I dye at home to cover it. If it were me (which it will be), 32 would be too young for me for to accept it.

I would love it if I were comfortable enough to just go with it, but I'm not.

This isn't helpful lol, but I sympathize. If you think you can rock it, then go for it. It's probably really liberating.

[eddy]

I am 32 and also about 90% gray.

I can not imagine going natural. I am way to young for that shit.

[nahoku]

At this age (I'm almost 35), I would probably color even though I reaaaalllly wouldn't want to. I'm cheap and lazy (and I've never colored my hair before). I've been lucky though and have only found a couple of grays so far. I am hoping that when they do really start to come in that I will look okay and be okay with going gray naturally.

[shostakovich]

I'm also 32. If my hair started to go majorly gray now, I think I'd color it. I'm already having a hard time with being this age (which is silly, I know), so having gray hair would really bother me.

But, take this with a grain of salt because I've never colored my hair, ever. So I have no idea of the time, maintenance and mess that goes into it. I might change my tune if I did, because I am inherently lazy.

If it helps, I am wildly jealous that your hair is really thick - mine used to be, but has thinned with age

[Deleted]

I color my hair a lot, just because I get bored with it. My hair is also long and fairly thick, but I don't mind doing color at home. So, I'm not sure my opinion will be helpful.

I would try out the gray to see if I liked it, but even if I did, I would inevitably get bored of it within a year and change.

[Kristinmo]

Nope. I have every intention of dying my hair to cover gray until the day I die. (Or maybe I will be really lucky and inherit my mom's hair that has never grayed).

[Waffles]

I want to say go for it as it really can look strikingly good but I'd feel 32 is too young to admit defeat.

[ax2]

I've always thought it would depend on the health of my hair. If I could have shiny, healthy gray hair I might, but it's the wiriness that if think I'd have trouble with. I think color would make that easier to hide.

[Deleted]

My dh wants me to, when I start to grey. My dad is just starting at 58, so I think I might do it if I'm a late greyer.

[olives]

I started getting gray hairs in high school. I've been coloring mine so long now, I'm not even sure what it would look like if I didn't color it. I go every 5 weeks. It is expensive, but it makes me feel better, and I can't put a price tag on that.

For me personally, 32 would be way too young to let it go gray.

[luckyval]

I'm not ready yet - I don't think I'd be ready to embrace it until I'm in my 50s.

SIL is 36 and has given up coloring and it's just not doing her justice

[ECB]

There is a certain age where I think I might just go natural. We'll see. I just think of the pictures I've seen of some women who do this and just look amazing. I love the confidence to just say "screw it". These women, though, are in their 50's and up.

I have to say that 32 seems really young to do that, and it WILL make you look older. I've known a couple people who have done this and it really does age them.

[sneetch]

No. I have dark hair and definitely have some grey, but I have it colored every 8 weeks. I'm 34 and would not feel comfortable at this point. My H, on the other hand, is 50% grey, and it looks good on him. It's not fair.

[anlo]

These replies are definitely helping firm up my opinion that this is money well spent.

ETA: I tried going to a lighter brown with blondish highlights, and we didn't have much luck finding a shade that I felt comfortable with. It just looked really brassy and did my skin tone no favors at all. I've done red before, too, but I felt like that made the roots look even worse than the dark brown. I think when I do decide to go for it, I'll try gradually going blonder, then maybe gray.

[clairedunphy]

If I go gray after 50, I might embrace it (my hair is blond so I don't think it will be so obvious as those who have darker hair). But not at 32.
However, I never think other people with gray hair look bad. I actually love the look of ladies with longish gray hair. I think its beautiful. Someday I hope that is me. But I do not want to look 50 in my 30's.

[stella1802]

I always said I would, then I actually got gray hair. I get my hair colored every six weeks to keep that shit covered.

[Deleted]

I'm planning to let my hair go grey, but if it's like my dads it won't start turning until my late 30s. I don't dye it at all now.

Both my dad and grandfather have the more silver grey hair that didn't change texture when it turned though. And I'm blonde, so it's probably going to be subtle when it starts changing.

[anlo]

Oct 10, 2013 9:43:01 GMT -5 specialk said:

I probably would keep coloring for now, and then go gray in my fifties or so. What I would be concerned about is the growing out process- that can't be fun.

The growing out terrifies me. Once I do this, I want to commit, because I'm not going to grow this shit out twice.

[Kit]

I'm too vain to go gray now (I'm 32). I just couldn't do it.

[Blueper]

I'm not at that point yet (only a few grays), but I am horrified of getting stuck in the hair dying cycle.

[mrsbro]

Oct 10, 2013 9:35:53 GMT -5 ax2 said:

I've always thought it would depend on the health of my hair. If I could have shiny, healthy gray hair I might, but it's the wiriness that if think I'd have trouble with. I think color would make that easier to hide.

I'm with this opinion - if I had nice gray/salt&pepper hair I would rock the hell out of it.

[anlo]

Oct 10, 2013 9:35:50 GMT -5 Waffles said:

I want to say go for it as it really can look strikingly good but I'd feel 32 is too young to admit defeat.

This is exactly it! I think it can look great on other people...just not me, lol.

I think if I could pull off a cute pixie cut, it would make it easier to take the plunge. I want to look like this:


...but would likely end up like this:

[LLL]

I'd keep coloring for a little longer.

[angelaa73]

Fuck no! I have an appt every 3 weeks to hide the 35%(!!!!) gray

[housewife]

For me, it'll depend how my face looks. If I look pretty youthful I would be more inclined to do it. If I look how I'm pretty sure I'm going to look - NOPE. I would probably stop having it professionally done since I'm cheap like that.

[tacokick]

I know someone who went grey early and it worked. I think part of it is just attitude.

[eddy]

brunette and gray hair suuuuuuucks.

I dye it every three weeks. blech

[anlo]

Oct 10, 2013 10:10:45 GMT -5 dcannie said:

i went blonde at 30/31 because i was at 90% grey and upkeep was just too much to try to keep my old brunette. once i found the right blonde it was so much easier.

Was it a shock to go blonde? I just can't picture it on me at all.

[celeste]

I'm 37 and starting to go gray. I'm going to embrace it for as long as I can. I'm blonde, so it's not super noticeable. Having said that, if I was over 50% gray at this age or younger, I'd dye the shit out of it.

ETA: My mom is a bottle blonde at almost 70...which I think is a little silly. So my opinion about going gray is also based on not wanting to get caught in that trap.