To be or not to be - gray

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I honestly can't tell you for certain why, but nobody ever treats me like I'm invisible, grey hair or not! LOL

[kmehrzad]

GLC1968, I love the photo of you with gray hair, absolutely love it!! It's a great cut for your face and hair texture. If there was some guarantee I'd look like you with gray hair, wouldn't have a second thought embracing it.

[lph]

GLC, you look(ed) fantastic with grey hair, but I know just what you mean. I suspect I'd be almost that grey if I let it grow out completely, and I'm just not ready to "change my age" that fast. I'm 40. I certainly don't want to look 25 or 30, and I don't want to hide the grey, but I highlight my hair instead so that it's visibly both brown and grey, and feel that I look my real age that way.

It's strange, isn't it. It's probably a lot more common than we think to be that grey at that age, but most people don't know it, not even the ones carrying that hair!

[GLC1968]

I should also mention that part of my annoyance with the grey was that I had to keep it cut very short for it to look good.

As much as coloring my hair now is a pain, getting a good cut every 3 or 4 weeks was also a pain. At least I have the option of coloring my own...I can't cut it myself.

(and thanks for the compliments you guys )

[OakLeaf]

GLC, you look fantastic either way!

I've definitely read that baldness is almost as common among women as men... probably LPH is right about premature greying. I had a friend in law school who was almost completely grey in her late 20s. It didn't help her that she had pretty dry and sensitive skin too, so she really did look much older.

[shootingstar]

I'm 40. I certainly don't want to look 25 or 30, and I don't want to hide the grey, but I highlight my hair instead so that it's visibly both brown and grey, and feel that I look my real age that way.

It's strange, isn't it. It's probably a lot more common than we think to be that grey at that age, but most people don't know it, not even the ones carrying that hair!

Having hair colouring that allows some natural integration of greying is blessing, lph.

Yes, the irony of how prevalent hair colouring among women has become that we no longer know what is "normal" in terms of aging and greying.

GLC you look great in either hair 'colour'. I appreciate the hassle of frequent haircuts for a very short styled cut.

I don't know ...maybe I'm warped..but from a cycling perspective, to see women who cycle lots and have visible grey hair..it looks impressive! I don't have grey hair yet, but yes I never worried much about helmet hair when I walked into workplace to change:

I secretly do want to challenge others to rethink that mid-life women can be consistently physically active and look more alive than their sedentary peers. So I put myself forward, slightly messy with my helmet removed.

[five one]

I honestly can't tell you for certain why, but nobody ever treats me like I'm invisible, grey hair or not! LOL

I am a graying baby-boomer who is a quiet unassuming person and a conservative dresser. I tend not to attract attention to myself. For this reason, I am invisible to 20-30 something sales associates in the retail world. Most of the time I don't mind because I like to be left alone when I shop. When I'm ready to pay though, they had better not ignore me. I got really loud once in Tiffany when I was passed over in favor of a couple looking at engagement rings.

That said, this is not a good enough reason to try and shave a few years off by coloring my hair. I don't have a lot of wrinkles, so I probably could pull it off. It's just not worth it to me. My work environment is filled with people of my generation, so I don't have the pressure of fitting in with younger co-workers. But I can understand your reasoning GLC, since you are much younger. I think your hair looked great gray and wondered if you'd kept it that way when you cut it short awhile back. It's a very flattering cut.

I resent that this is not an issue for men. Is anyone telling George Clooney he would look younger/better if he dyed his hair?

[Crankin]

Oh, I think it is an issue for men. They just don't talk about it...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

There's another factor here that perhaps has not been mentioned...

As women get older (starting in our 50's and then 60's, 70's), I personally think they begin to look really strange if they continue to dye their hair a darkish color with no grey at all. It can look oddly fake and harsh when paired with an older face. Some unusual women can pull off that look, but most cannot (myself included).

And what's up with the maroon thing anyway? LOL

[bmccasland]

There's another factor here that perhaps has not been mentioned...

As women get older (starting in our 50's and then 60's, 70's), I personally think they begin to look really strange if they continue to dye their hair a darkish color with no grey at all. It can look oddly fake and harsh when paired with an older face. Some unusual women can pull off that look, but most cannot (myself included).

And what's up with the maroon thing anyway? LOL

Not to mention when their grey roots show - the white stripe down the part? "skunk stripe" Looks sadly silly IMHO

[shootingstar]

As women get older (starting in our 50's and then 60's, 70's), I personally think they begin to look really strange if they continue to dye their hair a darkish color with no grey at all. It can look oddly fake and harsh when paired with an older face. Some unusual women can pull off that look, but most cannot (myself included).

Another reason why I'm not eager to keep my hair all-black into the decades ahead. Nor am I willing to turn it brown-auburn shades or whatever combos. My skin texture and tone has changed. So my hair over time must "blend" in with the times..

As for men not caring or really caring, the worried guys I've noticed tend to be ...those who are losing hair/balding in a wierd patchy way.

Nowadays the contemporary and temporary coverup INDOORS for some guys is a wool ski looking toque, jeans, ....kinda of hip like the young teens. But not healthy for the scalp at all. Any experienced hairdresser will tell you that.

[Tuckervill]

I've seen Jason Alexander on TV a couple of times recently, and his hair seems dyed unreasonably black. Then I saw him with a toupe on because of a show he's in, and I think that's why it's dyed black. But it really looked strange on the Jenny Craig commercial.

Karen

[dinabean]

37 here. Embraced the gray for a while, then got a bit sick of it. My next door neighbor happens to be a stylist/own a salon, and she recommended a semi permanent rinse. The nice thing about it is that it does not give me a line when it grows out -- it just fades after 6-8 weeks. So I just start going naturally gray again after a while if I forget/don't have time to go see her. Much better than a line. So far, so good. I am not disciplined enough to get in regularly enough to do a permanent color. I would be the dork with the skunk strip otherwise.

[Hairfixr]

Greetings Ladies ~

Lonnie Morse here - USA Champion Hairstylist - semi retired

Regarding your discussion of whether to hair color or not.

My forty years of being in the beauty industry has shown me that when a woman is uncomfortable with her looks - then do something about it. Professional/Retail Hair color is "safe" hair color. I've had my hands in it for years. Hair strands are dead keratin cells there fore hair color cannot seep into your blood stream - even if it did by skin staining, the FDA would not allow it to be sold on the retail shelf

When to color - - you have the rest of your lives to wear gray hair later in life. Some women really never accept gray hair because it simply does not look good "to them". They are the ones that have to live with the look. Yes - sometimes they are the ones that sometimes use their own judgment and apply a color that is too dark - hence the black widow look "wink" Over compensating is a common error with home applied hair color. Professionals always suggest going lighter with color as you age. To put it nicely - it softens the ageing skin process


The topic of men came up a few threads back - - The reason many men wear skull caps is they get cold or chilled easily because they do not have sufficient hair for warmth. I have really never come across a guy that worried about going grey prematurely. This probably the reason men’s hair color still hasn't taken off like women’s hair color has. I find that most women compliment a guy about his "distinguish look" so men adjust much more easily than women do. Yup - another unfair mother nature move

Note: - The reason some women grey gracefully into salt and pepper is because of the contrast of silver grey in contrast to natural dark brown/black hair color. Those who have lighter dark blond/brown "especially red" hair will fight the yellowing tone value during the grey transition. Why Brown reddish hair that turns grey doesn't go totally silver most of the time - I know - it's not fair - blame mother nature again

So - for those of you that are not ready yet to go al-naturallel - hang in there a few more years with applying hair color. Do what you need to do to feel good about yourselves.

For those who are totally OK about turning grey - that’s OK too. My favorite client is prematurely Silver Grey - I wouldn't talk her into color at all - She is a Silver Fox - however - she is always in a smart classy haircut. This is an important factor - if you want to keep the sassy look while you age gracefully then keep up with a current trendy haircut that fits your lifestyle. Most on this forum are bicyclist - there are many short classy trendy styles to pick from. For those who wear long hair - ? ? ? Just expect more maintenance because there is more material "hair" to maintain. Longhair styles are generally simpler by reason of control. It is a choice that you are comfortable with, nothing wrong with that. Just know that long hair styles don't age well unless styled carefully. It is also important to accessorize appropriately for the event attended and be confident that you look - "not good enough" - - - - BUT GREAT.

Hope I have not infringed up on this forum that is for women - I will not enter anymore comments unless I'm invited. I felt I had something of benefit to offer.

Buy the way - I am an avid cyclist also

hairfixr ~

[shootingstar]

An opinion of an experienced hair stylist is appreciated for this topic.

Do join us more often on cycling stuff here too!