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7 Signs You Are Ready To Go Gray

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In June of 2015, I made the decision to stop dyeing my hair. Honestly, I was really curious to see what my hair would look like. I wasn’t sure I was going to continue it in the beginning. The contrast between my roots and the growing out colour looked awful, so in November of the same year, I made the drastic decision to cut my hair super short. Ever since then, I have had absolutely no second thoughts of going back to the bottle.

Have you been thinking about making the transition to grey hair? If any of the following reasons resonate with you, it may be your time for you to take the leap and embrace your naturally beautiful gray hair!

7 Signs You Are Ready To Go Gray

1. Your roots are advancing faster than the marching guard.

I tell ya, this was one of the major factors in my decision. It seemed like I would just get my hair done one week, and the next week, the roots would just be flourishing silver. It didn’t seem like my hair was growing any faster but boy those roots would come in real fast.

2. You can’t get yourself to the salon every 6 weeks at the least.

Don’t get me wrong, I love going to the salon, but I just couldn’t seem to get there often enough. Plus the fact that I would never pre-book my appointments. I know, stupid. I would wait till I really needed to go before I would call and it would be more like 8 to 12 weeks before I would get there. Totally fine in the winter in Canada because I would just wear a hat but in the summer, in the sunlight. Not pretty.

3. You can’t afford it or you are obsessing about the cost.

Trying to save money, more than once, I bought the box from the drugstore and coloured my hair myself. Every, single time I did, I regretted it. The colour would never turn out the way I wanted and my hair would get fried. The next time I needed to do it, I would shuffle off to the professionals. I hated the dreaded question, “Did you colour your hair yourself last time?” I would reply “Yes” with my head hanging low in embarassment. I should know better. I’m not twenty anymore. I dyed my hair every colour of the rainbow then and my hair would look great or at the very least would re-cooperate very quickly. But I digress. Going to the salon, a real salon, not a quicky cut place, is really expensive. I would rather spend my money elsewhere, like say, in Bali.

4. Your dyed hair color is looking very harsh against your skin.

Have you ever seen those older women that still dye their hair dark brown or black and their skin is so pale? It looks awful. I was worried I was starting to look like that because my hair, naturally, is one slight shade lighter than black. I have stayed out of the sun for many years now so I do glow white in the dark too. Going grey just toned down the contrast between my hair and my skin tone. I love the way my silver streaks soften the dark shades of my hair.

5. Your hair is thinning.

I don’t have any scientific proof, just my own observations. My mother dyed her hair well into her 70’s. Her hair became so thin and you could see her scalp. After she stopped, her hair got thicker and fuller. It stands to reason that pouring chemicals over your head every 6 weeks would do some kind of damage. I believe my hair has also gotten thicker and fuller too since I stopped dyeing my hair.

6. You get a lot of split ends or frizziness.

I don’t know if it is just age or all the colouring I have done in the past, but I just couldn’t grow my hair any more. I would get tons of split ends and no amount of straightening would hide the frizziness for very long. Now obviously, my hair is short so I can’t really say whether those problems have disappeared but I love how manageable my hair is now.

7. You just can’t be bothered any more with the upkeep.

I was done, D O N E. I didn’t want to do it any more. I’m over fifty. I know it. You know it and everyone that sees me knows it. I’m embracing it. This is what fifty looks like. Gray Hair. I’m not going to hide it.

I have no second thoughts about stopping the colouring. How about you? Have you done it or are you thinking about it?

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Susan Jones

Tuesday 6th of April 2021

I decided to go gray a few years back. I've been dying my blondish hair dark brown or auburn for 35 years. I was tired of looking like a skunk 2 weeks in. My hair is thin to begin with. It was awful for a while, but as my color began to fade out it wasn't bad. So now I have a mix of gray with blonde running through it. I have gotten more compliments on my hair now than I ever did before. Women actually ask where I get my hair colored. My sisters think I was crazy for letting it go. But I am comfortable with who I am and growing old. My dad sent me an article from the WSJ about going gray. I guess it is the in thing.

Darlene wilfong

Tuesday 24th of November 2020

What if your hair is white. What do u use then

Elena Peters

Tuesday 24th of November 2020

Do you mean how do you transition?

Lia

Friday 29th of May 2020

I noticed my first gray hair at 18. Both my dad and his mother went gray VERY early on. My dad is now 64 and has been completely white for at least 8 years. I had always hoped it wouldn’t happen to me but 3 kids, an active duty spouse and 4 deployments later, here I am. Just turned 35 years old and the majority of my hair isn’t just gray, it’s white! I’m only 35! It’s embarrassing, it’s expensive, it’s annoying-but I’m terrified to switch over! I have been trying to transition to an ash brown hair color with silver highlights in hopes that will make my transition just a bit easier. My hope is to someday live on an island where I can go barefoot, braless, hair dye less and maybe even dread my white hair, because I’ve always thought women with gray and white dreads looked so powerful and beautiful!

Elena Peters

Friday 29th of May 2020

They do don’t they! The ultimate in low maintenance for sure. Thank you so much for sharing. I’m sure you are not alone in this journey and hopefully one day you will come back and tell us all that you have done it and let your hair go natural. If you end up on the island though, take me with you!

Diane Montgomery

Tuesday 15th of October 2019

I stopped messing with my hair when I turned 60. I kept it blonde. It was fairly short so it was easy to do. I used a highlighter kit and pulled a few strands of hair through the cap and highlighted to a white color to blend it more until it all was natural. I've had so many people say, "if my hair would look like yours then I'd let it go gray." I've also got a couple of friends that want me to color it again. I've been tempted, but it's so nice not to have that aggravation of coloring anymore and looking at gray roots.

Maria Puente Logan

Monday 7th of October 2019

I knew when to go grey. I was coloring my own hair. Was tired every four weeks. So I began with a lighter semi perm color and kept going lighter, until I changed to an Ion color Storm. I still had a lot of black, blended in perfectly, until I just stopped. Love my hair, no fuss, color free!

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