Grombre e.g. stopping hair color

[centralsquare]

Has anyone let their gray grow in? I am considering it. It’s both scary and freeing. I’m 44, and my new baby hair that’s growing in after having my daughter is white. Just white. I haven’t gotten highlights since June (got a toner in August), so I’m technically four months into it. I’m wondering about just grinning and baring it.

But then I remember I’m starting a job in a few weeks and feel like I should dye it and try some other time. That’s just The Man talking, right? I’m still awesome and valuable if I am in some awkward grow-in stage?

grombre.com/about

[wawa]

Do not give in!!!

I have always been a bit vain about my natural color (it's nothing crazy, just a nice rich brown with reddish highlights in the sun) so when I started to get a noticable number of grays I didn't even think about doing something with it because it's not as if I could dye them to my natural color easily. (i.e. I mean match the depth of my natural highlights with a box dye. And I'm notup for the cost of salon dye)

(I got my first gray when I was a teenager...it's been a very slow build)

I'm all in for less women dying their hair. I work with a bunch of hippies and a strong contingent are graying naturally and it makes me happy.

[wawa]

As a compromise...if it just looks abrubt...could you add some high/low lights to kinda blend it? I don't know how that works.

[nsl]

I started greying in my early 20s, and at 38 am now probably 1/3-1/2 grey. I do a box dye (the wash-out kind) every six weeks or so. The box color doesn't match my original hair color, but it does turn the greys a golden brown that looks a lot more natural as it grows/fades out than permanent color did back when I had it done at the salon. I figure that I'll re-assess my stance on coloring my own hair when I hit 40.

[centralsquare]

Nov 2, 2019 16:25:53 GMT -5 wawa said:

Do not give in!!!

I have always been a bit vain about my natural color (it's nothing crazy, just a nice rich brown with reddish highlights in the sun) so when I started to get a noticable number of grays I didn't even think about doing something with it because it's not as if I could dye them to my natural color easily. (i.e. I mean match the depth of my natural highlights with a box dye. And I'm notup for the cost of salon dye)

(I got my first gray when I was a teenager...it's been a very slow build)

I'm all in for less women dying their hair. I work with a bunch of hippies and a strong contingent are graying naturally and it makes me happy.

Honestly, I feel the same way. I never really felt strongly about hiding the gray, bc I didn’t start dying to hide it. But once that was an option, it seemed to make senses It’s been fun to have some highlights, but my natural color is also a rich brown that changes with the sun. And I miss it. When I’ve asked to go closed to my natural color, it ends up looking too dark.

I scheduled a cut but not color today. I’m staying strong!

[mortomo]

Nov 2, 2019 16:26:34 GMT -5 wawa said:

As a compromise...if it just looks abrubt...could you add some high/low lights to kinda blend it? I don't know how that works.

This is what I have to do since I'm allergic to hair dye.  I just get foils to blend my grays in.  I don't have a lot of gray though, just enough to make my natural color look dull.  She uses 4 different colors so that I have dimension to my color.  That's how my natural color used to be before the grays set in.

I am not one to embrace my grays though.  I'm fighting this age thing as much as I can (within reason).

[raangoli]

This is an internal monologue I have with myself every so often. I haven’t dyed by hair in a year. I have super dark black hair naturally so seeing the grey against that is stark. Part of me wonders if it ages me but then another part of me says eff it. Why is it that men can go grey and it’s socially acceptable while women are made to feel old and haggard?

The other part of me is also lazy to use a box dye as well as being concerned about the chemicals that are in there.

I was starting to reconsider my stance but then I saw a woman yesterday that was a similar complexion to me with beautiful grombre hair and I decided to stay the course and let the grey hairs be.

[MrsAxilla]

I’m astounded that y’all know your natural color. I haven’t seen mine since I was 16!

[wawa]

Nov 2, 2019 20:32:53 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

I’m astounded that y’all know your natural color. I haven’t seen mine since I was 16!

Yeah when I was a tween my fave cool aunt brought me to a color appointment so she could point at my head and say "can I have that?" and used to make a big deal about how I should never dye it. So....I never did.




Which is funny in retrospect because again... It's just a nice brown. But I guess that's hard to get right?

[mortomo]

I never dyed my hair until I hit my early 40's when my grays started to become noticeable. My color now is close to the color my hair was when I was younger.

I work with a lot of twenty somethings and am old enough to be their mother. I definitely don't try to look like I'm 20, but I try to look like a more youthful 50. Covering my grays definitely helps.

When I found out I was allergic to hair dye I seriously thought about letting my grays grow out since it's a pain to sit there for 5 hrs and super pricey to get a head full of foils. Maybe when I retire.

[jr009j]

I’ve debating this a lot lately when I went to get a glaze on my color and we realized I had an inch of solid gray roots. One thing I always notice is that most of the people who do let their grays grow out naturally have dark hair. Then it’s a cool, contrasty look. I have dark blonde hair and have no idea how it would look.

[pierogigirl]

My hair is getting pretty gray. Naturally it is a medium brown with reddish/goldish highlights and it's curly. The gray is pretty evenly spread through my hair, so it looks lighter than normal unless your are right next to me. I just don't want to bother with getting and paying for it to be dyed. Maybe when I'm more than 50% gray and I think it doesn't look good, I'll get it done.

[cabbagecabbage]

I just broke down and added some color to mine. I'm 38 and about 10% gray on dish water ash hair that's a level 6. I had about 3 inches of roots.

For 5 years I had used pure henna and it was a beautiful red but I got ansty and wanted a change.

This spring I paid an ungodly amount (for me, $400) to have my hair stripped, highlighted, Olaplexed, and toned to try and get close to my natural color. After a few months of it looking good the orange of henna was really coming out again and my roots looked so long and gray and purple shampoo wasn't doing anything. I can't afford another hundreds of dollars service so I used a $5 herbal essences temporary color in light ash brown get the clown orange out. It's a bit dark but it blended the ash and the orange for now. It says it will be gone in 28 washes. My plan right now is to grow out to to at least a chin length bob and cut it and be my natural color again. I might use temporary dyes until then. The brassy/ashy contrast is too much for me. I'm too vain to push through.

[Pippin]

I’m really coming around to the salt and pepper look. I don’t dye my hair currently and probably won’t start. It just grows to fast and I hate keeping up with it. My only complaint personally is the couple greys I get don’t curl like the rest of my hair so they just stick out and do their own thing.

[wawa]

Nov 3, 2019 20:28:42 GMT -5 Pippin said:

I’m really coming around to the salt and pepper look. I don’t dye my hair currently and probably won’t start. It just grows to fast and I hate keeping up with it. My only complaint personally is the couple greys I get don’t curl like the rest of my hair so they just stick out and do their own thing.

YES. I have a heavy clump of grays on the right, sorta off the "corner" of my forehead and those little fuckers like to just go *ping* every which way.

[mrsukyankee]

Funny you brought this up as I think I'm going to go for it. I'm turning 51 and I'm done with dyeing my hair - I've been doing it for 25 years (when my greys first become quite visible). I will have quite a lot of grey/white with some dark as well. True salt and pepper if I'm like my mom.

I'm starting off by getting it cut short.

Probably one of these two looks:


 

And then I'm going to keep it that length and possibly do a few wispy highlights or something of that sort while also going a bit lighter in colour (it's currently similar to the women above). I'll do it all gradually, stop dying eventually and hopefully, I'll end up letting it all grow out and just cut off the growth over time until I'm whatever natural colour I am.

[beetea]

Ugh. I've been wrestling with this for years. I'm 45 and my hair has been graying since I was in my early 20s. I usually have my stylist do a base touch up on my roots + highlights or lowlights 6-7 times a years. It's expensive and takes up so much time!

I wish I was brave enough to let the gray grow out I don't think I'm quite ready yet.

[fayeelle]

I have 🙋‍♀️ No regrets at all. I stopped coloring my hair about 2 years ago. FWIW I'm 37 and about 15%-ish gray (more silver really). I grew out my roots to my shoulders and cut off 8 inches this summer.
Soooo freaking amazing! My hair is noticeably healthier too. Do it!!

[centralsquare]

Nov 5, 2019 2:04:57 GMT -5 fayeelle said:

I have 🙋‍♀️ No regrets at all. I stopped coloring my hair about 2 years ago. FWIW I'm 37 and about 15%-ish gray (more silver really). I grew out my roots to my shoulders and cut off 8 inches this summer.
Soooo freaking amazing! My hair is noticeably healthier too. Do it!!

Awesome! I’m sticking with it, even though I look at it and feel kind of sad sometimes. Other times I’m excited. Feels like it’s worth trying out at least! I’m also doing the Curly Girl method, so I’m just changing it all up. Why not.

[centralsquare]

That’s awesome, mrsukyankee. This is the photo I saved from a local hairdressers IG:

[readyin07]

I am pretty unhappy with how I look at the moment so I think I am team dye til I die lol. I highlight and I have really thick hair so for now it hides it pretty well. The expense kills me though for real :/

A few people I know have joined the grey movement. I think they both look good. It just depends on what you want. The two I am thinking of in particular - one is a little more heavyset with a rounder face and she wears it super well because she has a softer look. The other is very skinny with a longer thin face. She is very attractive, but I do think her grey is aging her more than the other friend. Not saying that’s a bad thing, just a fact.

[centralsquare]

The problem is, I don’t want to be 60 and dying my hair. My MIL is in her 70s and still doing regular highlights and such. It seems silly.

It seems easier to do it now, but I don’t think it will be easy.

[dcn]

I’ve never dyed my hair and don’t plan to start. My stylist today said my greys are like glitter so I’m just gonna go with that haha.

[calmcosmo]

My friend is doing it right now. She is totally gray naturally and was dying her hair dark brown. She is 4 months in and just letting it come in naturally. She's got about 3 or 4 inches of growth and it is a really pretty shade of white/gray.

ETA: She's on Instagram as mysilverhairtransition

[centralsquare]

Nov 9, 2019 13:47:07 GMT -5 calmcosmo said:

My friend is doing it right now. She is totally gray naturally and was dying her hair dark brown. She is 4 months in and just letting it come in naturally. She's got about 3 or 4 inches of growth and it is a really pretty shade of white/gray.

ETA: She's on Instagram as mysilverhairtransition

She looks amazing! I’m not 100% silver yet, so it’s not quite as harsh... but we’ll see how it goes!

[mrssandro]

I am trying to embrace going completely natural and I haven't found a hair dye that works well with my curly hair. I used to dye my hair every 2 months but since trying to do the curly girl method I have pretty much stopped.

[centralsquare]

I got my hair cut like the woman in the picture! Love it, and love my new stylist.

I am also leaving the gray.

@

My daughter (4.5) asked, “momma, who put that white in your hair? I love it!”

Day 2 without much of a refresh, just some texture spray and scrunching.

*poof*

I did not, sadly, instantly look like a luminous 20-something.

[cosmowife]

This thread convinced me to stop dying my hair. I only have a bit of gray so it won’t be too noticeable growing in. It’s already been a while since I last colored my hair so I’m already to about two inches of roots. But the #grombre tag on Instagram (I think that is what it was called) was very inspiring. I told DH that my grays were like glitter for my hair (my hair is very dark). I’ve seen lots of really chic women with dark hair and silver streaks - I’m really loving the look and almost looking forward to getting more grays lol.

[centralsquare]

Nov 21, 2019 13:14:43 GMT -5 cosmowife said:

This thread convinced me to stop dying my hair. I only have a bit of gray so it won’t be too noticeable growing in. It’s already been a while since I last colored my hair so I’m already to about two inches of roots. But the #grombre tag on Instagram (I think that is what it was called) was very inspiring. I told DH that my grays were like glitter for my hair (my hair is very dark). I’ve seen lots of really chic women with dark hair and silver streaks - I’m really loving the look and almost looking forward to getting more grays lol.

Me tooooo! I’m so oddly excited. And I mostly keep feeling that way. I have the odd sad moment, but honestly, I haven’t been loving my hair dyed. It hasn’t felt like me.

I do have some moments where I feel like a middle aged frump.

[mrsukyankee]

centralsquare,you do NOT look frumpy at all. Love that cut.

I'm going next Friday for a consultation for my cut and transition to grey. I have a LOT of white hair along with my dark hair so it'll be noticeable. The guy is meant to be a specialist in cuts and balayage, so hoping to ease the transition. By the time I get my cut, it'll be 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 weeks from my last hair dye (I usually get it done every 4 weeks) so it'll be noticeable.