Telling women (and men) with grey hair to colour it

  • Thread starter Thread starter Salonika
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Salonika

Guest
Decided to start this thread because while it is similar to “Telling women over 40 what they should wear” I didn’t want to mix the two up or been seen as a hijacker!

I am often asked why I don’t colour my hair, even by grey haired men of my vintage (late 50’s). I am told by younger people at work that I should do so because it would make me look younger. Employment guides “suggest” or tell older women looking for jobs to go and colour their hair.

Why don’t I colour my hair? I’m not ashamed to have gone grey. Grey goes fine with my complexion. Cost – I can spend the money more wisely. Maintenance – I think the grey at the roots of coloured hair looks awful.

Am interested to hear from guys how much expectation they think there is that they will colour their grev hair or is the old idea that greying was distinguishing on a guy (but ageing on a woman) still around . Certainly such hair products are advertised more now for guys.
 
**I think coloring gray hair is totally about personal preference.

As for me, I have had some gray hairs for years, and I’m only 31. I can’t stand it. So I color it. Now, if I were in my 50’s or 60’s and my hair decided to go ALL gray and it suited my complexion I think I would wear it proudly. UNLESS it stood in the way of getting a job etc. We all know that a lot of this life is about appearances. If I need to dress a certain way or color my hair or wear make up to get by in this society then I will. No big deal.

As for men, my dad has a healthy amount of gray and he couldn’t care less. My hubby on the other hand freaks out when he finds one or two.🤷

I think there are many people (men and women) who look great with gray hair. But there are also many who look so much older and more tired because of it. Those people should color it if they want to look better.
**
 
I almost always think the coloring looks unattractive in comparison to the natural greying. You’re right about it going better with complexion, too, imo 🙂
 
This is a bit hypothetical for me–A quick spray of Pledge, some buffing and I am out of the house.
 
**Forgot to mention to that women and men who go gray and want to color it away should NOT color it what they USED to be. If one used to have black hair that turned gray then coloring it black will most likely look hideous!

I like the colors they have to help with the shade of gray without taking it away. To brighten up the silver or tone down the yellowness etc. One doesn’t have to “look” like they colored their hair.**
 
I began going grey at age 16, colored mine for decades!! About 3 years ago, I decided not to spend the $$ anymore.

Believe it or not, I have people ask me who colors my hair now. If I could remember my photobucket login, I’d post a pic 😃

A modern cut, using shimmer lights once a month, and product that gives my hair lots of shine and definition keeps it looking young even WITH 70% grey.
 
I have grey hair because I earned every strand! At 51, I got tired of spending money to have it done professionally, and because my original hair was jet black, nobody could ever duplicate that. And besides, if God had to give me grey hair, he gave me a really, really nice batch of it. It is healthy, it is soft, it is still a good texture to razor cut, and the color of grey is just fabulous!!
 
I really haven’t had anyone tell me to color my hair. I have had tons of people express shock over how much gray I have in my hair. "MY GOSH, you know how many gray hairs you have!?!?!?!?!?!?! :rolleyes: I don’t suppose my being 33 has anything to do with it. 🤷 I guess your not supposed to get gray hair before 40 or 50?
 
My girls tell me I have few grey streaks in my hair. It is not grey. They are blond highlights. I have also notices some blond highlights at the roots around my face. This started just a few months ago, right before my xx birthday. (OK, 48th) I started getting really upset because NOBODY believes me when I tell them how old I am, and these blond highlights were the first visible sign of my aging.

Isn’t denial a wonderful thing??? 😃
 
bluerose said:
It’s SILVER, okay? 😃
Click to expand...
Thanks Bluerose. Silver sounds better and doesn’t have the connotations “grey” does. Like lifeless and dull.

From now on I will try to use “silver”: instead of “grey”. Wonder how many tmes I will regress?
 
I had red/auburn hair that darkened with age. Some of the previously red-headed women I’ve known have greyed with a yellow tint to it.

If, when I grey it turns a yellowish, I’ll beat feet to my hair gal to have her color it. For now, the opposite of grey happened. It went from auburn to sooo dark, I’m highlighting it.
 
I think it’s personal choice. And just what looks better person to person. Everyone’s ocmes in differently. Sometimes it’s flattering to the face, sometimes not.
 
I used to think I’d never color my gray hair, because I’ll feel proud of my age when it’s more advanced (I’m 26 now).

But then I started coloring my hair just for fun … and realized my straw actually benefited from a Garniere color masque - it’s now sleek, healthy-looking and there are no split ends! And I can comb it! 😃

So I’ve decided to keep coloring it. I’m a red-head now, but when my hair goes gray, I’ll color it a really, really pale blond - almost gray, so people can guess my natural hair is gray, but I still get the benefits of hair-dye!

As for expenses, it’s easy to color your own hair or have your spouse do it…
 
I’d colored my hair for a while. I’m 51. And 2 years ago, when our first wedding came about, I became VERY allergic to hair color. I tried everything. But the bottom line was always a chemical burn that would begin after I left the beauty shop. It would last a couple weeks. Ouch.

Our second wedding was last November. I colored my hair for that and now I AM DONE. IT IS OVER. No more burns for me. Last time, I was on prednisone for 10 days. Not going there anymore.

But I am amazed at how many people say to me “but, have you tried…???” Yes, I’ve probably tried it, and YES I am allergic.

Now, I get a cute cut and I am spending my money on makeup and clothes, not hair color.
 
I color because mine is the ugly gray no the pretty silver, and, I don’t want to look any more like my mother than I do already. One of us around is enough! :eek:
 
When I recently started getting my first gray/white hairs, I was thrilled! Why? Well, for the first time in my life, my hair is coloring itself and I don’t have to pay for it!!!:extrahappy:

Annie
 
newf said:
But I am amazed at how many people say to me “but, have you tried…???” Yes, I’ve probably tried it, and YES I am allergic.
.
Click to expand...
But have you tried all natural HENNA? ;):D:p
 
I am a hairdresser who works as a barber. I’m in my mid 50’s and have about 20 gray hairs so far, but I’m not planning on coloring my hair unless everyone starts telling me I look tired.

In talking to men about these things, I have found that most of them don’t really care what color their wife’s hair is, but they do want their wives to care about their appearance and look as nice as possible. They see it as a reflection on them.

For men or women with silver/gray hair, I always recommend a shampoo for silver hair (So Silver, etc.) to get rid of any yellow -which is really environmental pollution (smog, cigarette smoke, etc.).

For those who want some color but don’t want the color line, there are semi and demi permanent hair color products that will fade away after about 6 weeks. They also make the hair more manageable. Always choose a color which is a couple of shades lighter than your old color or you’ll look like Wayne Newton. 🙂
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top