I’m trying to remember a time when my mom wasn’t a blonde. I look at older pictures of her and she had really dark hair just like me when she was young. I’m not sure when her transition to lighter hair was but she was definitely way younger than I am right now.
I never really noticed her grey hair roots coming in. The blonde seemed to camouflage the grey hair. That was only a few years ago and she is 85 now. I convinced her to finally stop colouring her hair and let it go grey.
Now, her hair is thicker and a beautiful silver-grey. Absolutely no one noticed when she made the switch. To be fair, all of her friends are her age and their eyesight isn’t the best. lol
Fascinated with women that have had the guts to stop colouring, I talked to a woman at work one day that had let her hair go completely grey. She is slightly older than I am. She said she did have dark hair like me too when she was younger. She keeps her hair in a pixie cut, so for her, the complete transformation did not take long at all.
So, here I am again, staring into the mirror and all I can see is the grey hair roots advancing. What is it with the one day it’s fine and the next day your bangs are too long and the grey roots look like they’ve gained an inch. Off to the stylist I go, thinking this it, let’s go blonde. I could do with a change and I think blonde is the only colour I didn’t try out when I was a teen. This will be awesome!
“Really? You want to go all blonde?” my hairdresser asks.
“Yes, I’m tired of noticing these grey hair roots just one week after colouring!” I reply confidently.
“But you have no grey at the back of your head at all. It’s all in the front.”
“That’s ridiculous! Is that normal? Why?!”
“So you can see it.”
“Same again please and I’ll re-book for six weeks”
Sigh.
UPDATE 2019: I wavered for an entire year after I originally wrote this post but officially transition to grey hair at the end of 2015. It has been almost 4 years since the change and I admit there have been times that I have wanted to go back to colouring.
It is short-lived though as I remember how bad I was at the upkeep and honestly, being totally grey haired is not as bad as having grey roots literally all the time. I love my grey hair but I know that deciding to embrace grey hair is a very personal decision. You should do what makes you feel good. If that means colouring until your dying day, then go for it. No one should tell anyone how to live or look. As a woman over 50, you have earned your right to do as you please.
If you are thinking about letting your hair go grey, check out my other articles and products I recommend at the bottom of this post.
Have you transitioned to grey hair? Please take our survey. Over 15,000 women have participated! Add your vote and click “view results”.
The following are a list of products that I use on my gray hair. It needs special care to make sure it doesn’t go brassy or really coarse and frizzy.
This post contains affiliate links. This means that I may earn a commission should you choose to sign up for a program I recommend or make a purchase using my link. It’s okay – I love all of these products anyways, and you will too! To read my full disclosure and more boring legal stuff, click here.
Recommended Products:
Pantene Pro-V Silver Expressions Shampoo 13 oz
Pantene Pro-V Silver Expressions Daily Color Enhancing Conditioner for All Silver and Gray Shades, 13.5 fl oz (400 ml)
One n Only Shiny Silver Ultra Shine Spray 4 Fl Oz
Heavenly Hair Coconut Oil Hair Serum – Chemist formula heals, protects and returns your shine!
Marc Anthony True Professional Bye Bye Frizz Keratin Smoothing Blow Dry Cream Cream, 4.7 fl. oz
Pandemic hair. Ha. I was doing roots every 4 weeks. Then came the time when our salons were closed. One year later and I love my silver and white hair. Growing it out was hard, but I was not going out much at all. Hid under hats and just let it fly most of the time. My hairdresser, when salons reopened, was THE BEST. She allowed it to grow and trimmed so I kept my bob with the transition. I have tossed all the clothes that do not look good with my new coloring and have discovered BOOM for a change in cosmetics. Brighter lipstick and still a heavy eye. New bright colors for reading glasses and sun glasses. Still on the journey but I don’t regret it. This is what I look like at 73 and I am happy to have given up the dye trap!! Not for everyone, I know but I wish I had done it 15 years ago.
Good for you! I agree going grey is not for everyone but I do wish some more would just try and see if they like it.
On October 2019, I finally let my hair grow it’s natural color, at that time I was 33, after 14 months and 2 weeks I finally end my transition, in a few days I’ll turn 35, and let me tell you, these couple of months have been wonderful!!! I have enjoyed seen my grays grow, there’s no age to accept your natural hair, grays for me means confidence, beauty and freedom
Good for you! I bet you look fabulous!
My stylist told me about the technique to transition to grey at my last appointment and today when I went in for a cut and color I decided to go for it. I’m lucky as I’m more white than grey and mostly just in the front and my natural is a dark blonde to medium brown. She said to give it 3 appointments to really see what it will look like. I like how it turned out today, not as gold/brassy so I think I’ll stick with it. I’m looking forward to my hair feeling healthier and apparently thicker and not subjecting myself to the harsh chemicals that go along with colouring. Plus spending less money is a bonus. My stylist said it’s all the rage and her clients that have gone this route are thrilled. Here’s hoping I’ll feel the same way. I’d say, try it and if you really don’t like it, it’s easy enough to go back to colouring.
Good for you! I bet your hair looks gorgeous!
Photos Laura? Id love to go gray. Im tired of coloring my hair literally every two weeks, but I have young features ( Thanks mom), and Im not ready to “look my age” ( Im 51).
Came home from sequestration on the MS Zaandam, with no hair color services (remember that drama?). All our travel plans were cancelled for a year, so it seemed a good time to make a few changes. Bought a new machine to exercise and lose weight, and the moment the salons opened I went in to start the transition. I’ve been dyeing my hair for over 30 years, been a dark brunette for 67 – in two and a half hours I became a graying blonde. Shocking – but my hairdresser did a great job with highlights and lowlights. After a second treatment I will continue with monthly toner and trim. It’s been four months and I am still surprised at my reflection. I am not happy about being old, gray and wrinkled, but my hair looks beautiful, and I AM losing weight.
I am so glad you are embracing all these changes. Good for you for losing weight. It has been a struggle lately for me for sure. I blame Netflix.
My pre- covid hair was blonde and in the process of growing out. Now over 6 months with out color, I have ash blonde hair with brassy ends and gray roots around my face. I don’t want to cut too much off, so I am thinking of adding grey highlights to accent my hair. Just afraid I will regret it later. My hair is thin and I don’t want to look striped. I love being able to pull my hair up in a messy bun, when at home and don’t want to lose the length. I would hate to not like the grey and have to cut it all off.
Is this still an active page? I am 54, tired of stressing over the white roots every 2 weeks. My young hair was a dark brown like a level 3. As I got older I started dying it for fun. Then it was to keep the few greys at bay. But now, my greys grow back so fast my purse strings can’t keep up. And they don’t cover well anyway. I have toyed with letting it do its own thing, but like you most is framing my face and on the top of my head in the front. So today I bought a bunch of blue shampoos. The kind that literally smell like bubblegum and turn your shower walls blue. I don’t know what to do to make this transition. I am not all grey yet…if i was, I think it would be easier. My hair is currently super short which I thought would help in the transition. But this is probably a dead page and I am probably talking to myself. Because that is my luck.
It most definitely is not a dead page! You have to wait out the transition and cut as it grows or you could add highlights and low lights to soften the demarcation line.
Snap..RebeccaHave hair to my bottom and 2 inch grey/white. Embracing the grey now!
Yay!
I don’t understand. What did the new hair dresser do differently?
I decided about 6 months ago I wanted to go back to my natural colour which is now brown and grey after over 35 years of dying it. I’m 51 and for the over 20 odd years I have been dying my hair black. My hairdresser had started off the process by gradually lightening it and adding streaks. However she said the only way would be to grow it out which was hard to think about. It’s now 27 April 2020 and I am in lockdown and not been able to see my hairdresser since beginning of February, so here goes, now I feel is the perfect time to grow out. Have to be brave, wish me luck
At 48 I got tired of going every 2 weeks to get root touch up and every 2/3 months highlights. I hate seeing my grey hair coming out and told my hairstyles that I wanted to go grey. She said it would take 1yr to do the transition. Well here I am almost 1yr 1/2 and not even started the transition. Went somewhere else now and in 2 weeks going to start the transition. Too bad my old stylist couldn’t do it or wouldn’t do it. She lost me after going to her for over 10 yrs as a client.
I decided to let my gray come out about six months ago. I was brownish red so my hairdresser recommended highlights to make the change. I knew it would be a pretty silver because of my mother. Now I have just the tips in the beige blond highlights. As soon as is grows a bit it will be all me. Being gray is not bad, being gray with a haircut that is outdated just makes you look old.
Im 59 and blonde ..i have apot of grey in my hair well really white..lol…but i have never dyed my hair but i have bern thinking about it to either a grey or a white..so ready for a change…crazy what i been told…
I’m 52 and stopped dying my hair 13 months ago. I’d been thinking about doing this for a few years. Turns out, I have a serious silver streak in the front, and just a smattering of silver and grey throughout the rest of my head. I have long hair, and will keep the length. I’m doing a natural grow out! I wanted to do this partly because I grew tired of the maintenance and partly because ALL hair dye is super toxic…even “green” brands. My hair has stopped falling out as much, and the texture is so much healthier. I agonized about “looking older” for years when I thought about doing it, but am SO glad I did it. No going back for me. I love it.
Deciding to be grey actually means more hair coloring than before. The women in our family grey very slowly (don’t wrinkle much either) so at 65 I have two little patches at my temples. Hate my natural color, love the silver, so decided to go all out. My daughter and I are just about to do the second and final bleach and then color. I wanted pure silver white so it’s taking some work. After this though, we’ll do upkeep with foils, letting some natural come in to provide contrast. My husband loves the silver (but at 81 he’s been silver for years) so I get a lot of support. Wish me luck!
I am Almost through my gray transition at age 57. I started 15 months ago. I have a long bob. I receive compliments on my hair daily. I am totally enjoying the rebel mentality that goes with going gray and keeping it on the longer side. I have always been the classic nerdy good girl. This new freedom trend setter style is liberating for me! As you can tell it doesn’t take much to make me happy!lol.. not having to worry about hair appointments, gray roots, over processed hair is very nice. I don’t think I’ll ever dye my hair again….. but being a women.. who knows! I say what ever makes u happy. It’s just hair.i loved your article.
I made the decision to stop dying my hair just over a year ago. It was my second attempt, as heading to uni at 50 two years earlier had me dashing to the hairdressers for fear of looking like the ‘old girl’ in class. Fast forward to today and I have shoulder length, wavy grey hair (still slightly salt & pepper, darker at the back) and I love it. There are perhaps a few more silver sirens on campus amongst the academics, but as a former brunette the year of dealing with the multi-colours was worth it! New hair, new make-up and wardrobe colours, new style. Be bold, it is fabulous 🙂
You got me thinking again! Lol thanks for sharing.
Haaa love this, I will never dye my hair, let the grey shine. I’m already blonde and the grey is actually a rather pretty white.
I like it.
I was going to title this “Blondes have it easy”. You just proved my point.
Lol!!!! Damn!
I love white hair so when I wa dying my hair blonde I noticed that I didn’t have to color the front of my hair since it was white. So this last year I quit coloring my hair and it is more white than grey. I am very happy that I quit dying and have gone natural!