The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsAnybody choosing to stop coloring their hair?
There are groups on Facebook and other websites to help and encourage women through this process. Weve been brainwashed into thinking that women are old, haggard and no longer taking care of ourselves if we dont cover up the greys, while men are considered silver foxes. Ive read so many posts from women who have been told rude things from their partners and close family members and even from complete strangers. My good friend decided to go back to coloring because she couldnt take the negativity anymore.
Last coloring for me was in December. Its one of the most freeing decisions Ive made. The awkward first few months of growth was easy with having to stay home anyway. Now, over six months in, Im enjoying my silvers!
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,712 posts)oregonjen
(3,346 posts)tblue37
(65,524 posts)short I'd stop, but my hair grows too fast.
Raven
(13,907 posts)always get a pounding headache after sitting with that goop on my head.
oregonjen
(3,346 posts)Im not looking back either!
yellowdogintexas
(22,288 posts)The woman who cut my hair told me I should let it grow out completely; she thought I was going to really like it & I could always recolor it if I didn't.
So I did let it grow out, and she was right, I do love it!!! I miss my dark hair but now I look like I paid big money to have it frosted. Since I have a short pixie cut the color mix is really interesting.
This was maybe 14 years ago. I only started coloring it to begin with because my formerly very dark brown hair was fading to this icky mouse color.
Oh yes, the lesion went away eventually so it's all good
Sanity Claws
(21,863 posts)This seems to be an ideal time to transition to gray. As soon as the salons reopen, I plan to get a cut but not to dye the roots. I already have 3 to 4 months of grow out. That was the hard part.
BTW, how gray are you? Haw drastic will the change be?
leftieNanner
(15,190 posts)I still had 6-7" of dyed hair left. I went to Sally's Beauty Supply and bought some bleach. Died the still brown stuff and then let it all grow out white.
That was 2.5 years ago. No regrets.
oregonjen
(3,346 posts)Ive seen pictures of beautiful white hair all over, but that isnt me. Im so happy I made the decision to stop putting harsh chemicals on my scalp.
WestLosAngelesGal
(268 posts)...after reading an article about Jamie Lee Curtis in AARP. I have never loved my hair so much as I do now.
TruckFump
(5,812 posts)I have not colored my hair for years. I have just a small amount of gray around my face. I love my gray hair. I tried coloring it for a few years when I was in my mid 60s. It looks and feels better and is healthier when not colored.
leftieNanner
(15,190 posts)Plus as our complexion changes, it looks better with natural hair than dyed. I'm embracing the white hair!
It makes me smile that young women have been dying their hair gray to be stylish.
oregonjen
(3,346 posts)shining through.
TruckFump
(5,812 posts)So many of the younger set love my gray hair.
BusyBeingBest
(8,059 posts)on top of my head that's getting more obvious by the day, along with graying temples. Have dark blonde/light brown longish hair that needs a trim desperately--not looking real good at the moment. Thank god for ponytails. I would like to quit, but it feels like I'm giving up trying to look good. My husband swears he wouldn't be bothered by it, but I suspect he'd rather I keep it up. Don't know what I'm going to do.
oregonjen
(3,346 posts)You can always color again if you dont like it. It sounds funny, but there are support groups to help with this transition. Join them and see what you think!
BusyBeingBest
(8,059 posts)which will be the six-month mark, and reassess then. I think my own psychological discomfort of watching those roots increasingly coming in white is the biggest challenge for me, not negativity from anyone I know (except my mom, who thinks I should color until I'm 80 LOL).
oregonjen
(3,346 posts)Im a bit past the six month mark and its been nice to slowly say goodbye to my dyed hair. The color has faded a bit, though. Its a nice way to transition, especially because Im not going anywhere.
leftieNanner
(15,190 posts)And I decided to stop coloring my hair. I had the long hunk of still sorta brown stuff to deal with. I went to the Beauty Supply store and got some powdered bleach. They told me how to use it. Then I bleached out all of the remaining color. It worked because my new growing in hair was mostly white (not a steel or pewter color). Don't know whether that would work for you or not.
BusyBeingBest
(8,059 posts)bobbieinok
(12,858 posts)Her hairdresser suggested she try it IIRC. (He's really good!)
Glamrock
(11,803 posts)Im gonna be 50 next year! Im so doing the Ronald Reagan thing. But, truth be told, I am one very vain individual.....
Midnightwalk
(3,131 posts)Let me go ask my wife. Wait a second.....
She spit her drink all over the cat and they are both mad at me. Thanks a lot OJ!
oregonjen
(3,346 posts)Doreen
(11,686 posts)to do highlights. I hate it that were my grey hair is coming in looks like those grey hair that's on the bride of Frankenstien. At least I could look like the bride of Frankenstien with some nice color.
Arkansas Granny
(31,538 posts)Over the years my hair has lightened somewhat, but I'm still blond.
louis-t
(23,309 posts)I feel much better.
leftieNanner
(15,190 posts)Realized that my roots were growing in white, bleached out the bottom part of the previously dyed hair, and moved on. Love my silver hair! Plus it's healthier without the toxic dye stuff.
GreenPartyVoter
(72,384 posts)oregonjen
(3,346 posts)GreenPartyVoter
(72,384 posts)2 weeks, so I decided that grey is lovely indeed!
Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)GreenPartyVoter
(72,384 posts)Jirel
(2,028 posts)Thats gorgeous. Id stop coloring if mine popped like that.
GreenPartyVoter
(72,384 posts)oregonjen
(3,346 posts)My hair could probably use it.
GreenPartyVoter
(72,384 posts)NRaleighLiberal
(60,031 posts)and soft grays. Reminds me of Emmy Lou Harris. At 63, she still makes this 64 year old's heart stop. We are at 40 years of bliss!
We don't care about hair color, clothes, etc...the essence of life is to enjoy our time, our experiences. The rest...the "stuff"...the vanity is a waste of time and money.
as for me? just happy with the little I have. Mostly in the garden or out hiking, so well hatted!
Response to NRaleighLiberal (Reply #29)
Dream Girl This message was self-deleted by its author.
Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)oregonjen
(3,346 posts)cornball 24
(1,481 posts)to be an old hippie chick so I guess it's now or never.
Jirel
(2,028 posts)I almost always do it myself, anyway.
Gray hair looks great on some men and women, and awful on others. My husband was going white before age 30. At 50, he is almost full white, and its gorgeous. I just made him trim off the last of the dark hair.
Me, I cant stand my gray. If everything started to go, Id reconsider. But thin white streaks? No thanks. Worse yet, my natural color is near black. Nope, my hair will stay a nice, maintained auburn unless the white pops everywhere.
Skittles
(153,261 posts)I heard from some folk that they'd finally see my "real" hair color - I have never colored my hair, it has always been blonde
oregonjen
(3,346 posts)though it has gotten darker on its own, I do get random white hairs but they are just amusing to me.
never colored it in my life and haven't cut it in nearly 40 years,
bif
(22,793 posts)I'm an advertising copywriter, and like most people in the field, there are stretches of unemployment. My dad suggested I color my hair--he thought maybe I wasn't getting hired because people thought I looked too old. Well, I ended up coloring my hair for the last 15 years. After I got laid off from a job last year I said "Screw it", and quit coloring it. I let it grow out and grew a mustache and beard. Almost all grey. Best decision I've made in ages. I got so sick of using those nasty chemicals.
oregonjen
(3,346 posts)Ageism is very real. Isnt nice to realize its okay to be grey?
TristanIsolde
(272 posts)Let's just let nature take its course and age gracefully I say. And about the opinions of others... fuck that and fuck them, I don't give a damn what others think
Freedomofspeech
(4,228 posts)Could not have done it at a better time. Everyone loves it, especially my husband. Right now it's like 50 shades of grey. I will never dye my hair again. Plus saving tons of money, another plus.
oregonjen
(3,346 posts)stopwastingmymoney
(2,042 posts)I was a blond child and have done highlights since I was a teenager
Im weird that my hair has become darker in my recent hormonal upheaval years
I have better than two inches of root but it doesnt yet bother me enough to actually go to the salon just yet
I will go back though, I just dont feel like myself if my hair is too dark
blueinredohio
(6,797 posts)LeftInTX
(25,720 posts)Tikki
(14,560 posts)Tikki
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,947 posts)when you have an old-ish face just makes one look even older and a bit pathetic - but I didn't want to go around with several inches of gray roots while it grew out. The lockdown was a perfect opportunity because I'm not going anywhere and probably won't for awhile. By the time it's safe to go out I figure all or most of it will be gray and I won't have to deal with that awkward transition.
LeftInTX
(25,720 posts)I haven't dyed it since January.
Pictures taken today
oregonjen
(3,346 posts)That might be a way to help you feel better about your hair?
ailsagirl
(22,904 posts)to gorgeous silver manes.
Love the hairstyles!
oregonjen
(3,346 posts)Although, its still spending a lot of money, hours in the chair and lots of chemicals on the scalp. Jack Martin charges thousands of dollars for those styles. Intense bleaching to achieve those looks can be very damaging to your hair if not done correctly, but if you want the transition to be over and done with, its definitely a gorgeous option!
catbyte
(34,514 posts)Being Ojibwe, my natural hair color is dark brown, so going gray is not something I can transition to gracefully. My hair is between chin and shoulder-length, so either I would have to practically shave my head or look like Cruella De Vil for months on end. Maybe I'll stop in 10 years or so, but not yet.
Lars39
(26,117 posts)handmade34
(22,759 posts)I WANT Gray or silver or... I am destined to naturally have brown hair forever... so I color it!!
Habibi
(3,598 posts)and when it grew back, I decided not to start coloring it again. Too expensive, and I may very well lose it again anyway. I love my silver/gray now, though I confess I do miss being a redhead some days.