OT: Has anyone here 'transitioned to gray' after coloring hair?

DH's beard started going gray in his early 40's. I like to tease him by saying "Oh, I remember when I gave you THAT one, and THAT one, oh, and THAT one was a whole lot of fun!" *snort* Of course, he's just happy he HAS hair. His father went bald in his early 20's.

I'm sure I'll get from DH as good as I've given. Looking at my mom and aunts, I've got about 3 years to go. :)

yes, but John...you are a man...men seem to get away with going gray easier than women do. it's the old double standard all over again. same with gaining weight. Look at the men on TV, beer bellies and gray/ bald heads. Look at women on TV, slim, pretty, make-up on, dyed hair! and not a wrinkle to be seen. I dont get it.... amy

Good one, John! . In message , John A. writes

This is being a very interesting thread. I started finding white hairs when I was "tweener", about age 12. Not a lot, but consistent. After a traffic accident when I was 15 or so I have a section where my hair had to be shaved to stitch up a gash (just below the hairline in the front, from about the center of my forehead to just over my right ear) and that area grew in lighter and is now pretty much silverish. There are other areas where it does show up. I have colored my hair just to cover the grey, not to change the color. Both my husband and I like the natural color of my hair... which is a coppery auburn red. We were discussing this a bit earlier today.... the whole thread. Rick is a sweetie, he said that I was "transitioning" gracefully, but I am not sure. I have decided to do something just for me in a few weeks time. Before Houston I am going to go have my hair "styled" (which means professionally trimmed) and colored for the trip. I think it will help me feel better about myself and help me deal with all the other stress I have been going through. (On a side note, the probate hearing was yesterday, judge will sign the order and the first checks from the estate should be going out early next week.)

So those of you who will see me in Houston will get to see the "real" new me.....I hope.

Pati, in Phx

gwen wrote:

Pati, I saw you last year, and I liked your hair color! Hmmm ... the "real" new you will be interesting, if it's any different.

So glad to hear about the imminent closure of one of the issues, at least, Pati. Let's hope that next month will be a good one and see the resolution of outstanding ones. . In message , Pati C. writes

I work with a person who still teases up her hair and wears heavy eyeliner. You can tell that she is 30 years beyond the 70's. She's worse looking than Mimi from the Drew Carey Show! (I also used to know somebody who looked just like Mimi before Mimi even came along! Red hair and all!)

Taria-- i knew someone at my old job in PA. Some of the girls used to call her "Rainbow Bright" after the doll. She wore multiple colors of eye shadow and thick rouge and the black eyeliner. She thought she was all that and a bag of chips! i kinda felt sorry for her. amy

I only ever colored my hair a few times, but after the last time, I decided it was too much trouble and I didn't want to do it any more. I let my roots grow out about 3 inches or so, and then went to the hair- cut place, and asked them to cut off all the dyed bits. I guess that's more like going cold turkey, eh? :>

//Mary/mgl

I look at life this way: I've earned every single gray hair on my head! At

66, I'd rather use the $$ for fabric! Also, I can stand up "tall" (all 5'1" of me) and act like a mean ole witch - AND get away with it!

I dyed my hair for years and when I turned 50 I asked my husband if he would mind if I quit. He said he didn't care. I quit dying my hair, it grew out totally white, and he never said a word. One day I asked him if it bothered him. He looked at me, squinted his eyes, and said, "Oh, is it done yet?" He didn't even care enough to check it out so I never touched it with dye ever again.

People no longer tell me I look younger than I am, but I don't care. I've earned every wrinkle and every white hair, and I love spending the money on something more pleasing to me.

------------------------------------- Patty Mitchell

I went gray two yrs just let it grow out from blond coloring ,surprise- surprise it starting growing in dark again on sides and the back like it was before starting before I coloring it ago. But it end up with dark gray in the sides and the back,white on top, that's the area that won't take the color. You never know how it will grow out.

Patty

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A decade ago I started coloring my hair (L'Oreal, Clairol, whatever)when gr= ay started showing but it got to be too much of a pain. It seemed like eve= ry 3-4 weeks I was having to "rearrange" my hair so my roots wouldn't show.= My hair was dark brown so when I colored it I stayed with the same color = family. My hair is short so when I decided to quit coloring I gradually ph= ased out the color by using a color that was 1-2 shades lighter and using a= n ashy tone. That way the gray wasn't so obvious and since my hair is shor= t I was cutting off the old stuff on a regular basis. It didn't take long = to be all "silver".

Same here - no more color for me! My hairdresser 'highlighted' a couple of times during the grow-out phase and it blended really well. I'm now totally natural :)

-Irene

--gently snipped--

My hair is short so when I decided to quit coloring I gradually phased out the color by using a color that was 1-2 shades lighter and using an ashy tone. That way the gray wasn't so obvious and since my hair is short I was cutting off the old stuff on a regular basis. It didn't take long to be all "silver".

Gee, it's a problem, isn't it?

My used-to-be red hair slowly went dark auburn over the years. That was shock enough! Having spent mumbledymumble years populating my wardrobe with blue and green and studiously avoiding pink and orange, I woke up one day to find myself not-a-red-head any more. It was a psychological trauma! And *then* I began noticing evil little white strands appearing!

I'd sworn I'd go grey gracefully when the time came, having always wanted to grow up to be a distinguished-looking old lady with a grey bun. But the grey was *rude*! It snuck it at my temples and around my face so that my whole complexion changed suddenly. I started by plucking the handful of offenders, but that was *really* stupid! See, I had very, very long hair at the time and all I achieved was to give myself a short crop of silver fuzz when the greys grew back. And they brought *more* greys with them! As (a dismayingly short) time passed, it dawned on me that if I kept plucking my greys I'd be bald! Probably like Good Queen Bess by achieving a progressively high forehead.

Of course, being me, I wasn't going to cave and colour - mostly, if I'm honest, because it would've costed a fortune (really fat hair). I thought I had a good solution when DD nervously decided to cut her bottom-length hair when she turned fifteen. I had my own cut very short at the same time to show her she wouldn't dissolve when the locks came off. I *thought* I could colour then, with just a short mop to deal with.

No.

Couldn't bring myself to do it. What about that grey bun? So here I am, busily growing back for two years. It's past my shoulders but still not long enough to achieve the bun (really fat hair). I simply couldn't cope with the short hairdo: I had to *style* it every day and, being mine, it was quite unruly! It took an intense dislike to the blow drier and simply refused to go in the direction I wanted it to. Even the hairdresser agreed that it's more than unruly - it's downright disobedient!

Long hair just hangs: you can have a 'do' if you want or simply plait it, ponytail it or let it hang. It's warm in winter (nearly lost me ears during the first one sans hair!) and cool in summer (bun is much cooler than short curls at the back of my neck). For some odd reason, the washing and brushing have never been an issue for me - not nearly as big an issue as wanting to achieve that darned grey bun!

So, for now, I'm a bit streaky and a bit bushy. The bun will make me happy, but I'll be so pleased when I can achieve a) a plait and b) the distinguished silver colour I imagine. I guess the bottom line is, I just have to wait. Sigh.

PS. If you've ever wondered whether permanent marker might be a temporary solution, it's not: it just makes you look as though you coloured your hair with permanent marker!