The FastDay Forum

Should ladies & gentlemen of a "certain age" let their hair go grey?
My OH is silver haired & bearded now & advises me it's about time I went grey because we look different now I am retired. I have had my hair coloured for the past eight years now since a sprinkling of grey became apparent & I am about two shades lighter than my natural very dark brown. Are we pressured by society to try to stay ever young looking? & since we are here to try to improve our longevity & lose weight what should "oldies" do ?
Over to you please!

I have had a grey streak in my hair since my twenties. I used to henna my hair but as I became more grey the henna went orange, then I tried other dyes but basically I am lazy. If you look at my photo you can see my big streak of grey; my hair is dark brown. Lots of people have asked me if I have had the streak put in! The only thing I don't like about my grey hair is its tendency to be wiry and stick out!

i think you have to test it out - some women can look fantastic with silver or white hair, as long as it's well cut, but for others they just look 'older'
I have had my hair dyed for years professionally, I did consider going back to my natural colour a couple of years ago, tried it and it didn't look or feel right. My natural colour was reddy brown, but now I'm a cool blonde and have longer hair for the first time since my twenties !

I also think it's all about how 'visible' you are as an older woman - I have noticed that I'm not invisible anymore since I now have longer blonder hair ... Sadly I don't think the same thing applies to men they can look 'distinguished' at an older age, while we just look old, or worse, are invisible. I think every woman over 50 will know exactly what I mean

Like deciding to lose weight it is a very personal thing, but I think that anything that boosts your self esteem is worth it.

Hi Isis,

I think the we definitely should colour our hair as we get older, unless it is either completely grey or white! Then, a nice short style looks great!

Personally, I don't like hair when it has grey mixed in with it, unless it's on a male, which seems very unfair!

They seem to be able to get away with most things in life, hair colour being one of them!

Apparently, as we get older, we have to go several shades lighter than our natural colour, otherwise our ever-changing skin tone doesn't look right!

I believe that it is a personal thing.
I colour my hair since I can remember myself (I get bored easily) but after 30 it has been a necessity since the first few white (the hair that makes our hair grey are white, not grey BTW) hair appeared and so far I can't see me going grey.
My mum is somewhere in the middle. She has kept her grey base but does ash blond highlights on top which is great because it doesn't look fake at all.
To conclude, I will say that I strongly believe that any change we make should be only because we want to and not because someone else (partner, child, parent) wants us too.

Although in my early 60's (surely not, I hear you cry!!) I haven't yet gone grey, though my hair is lighter than a few years ago.
I've made the decision never to colour my hair, as I really hate 'the badger look' on women whose hair roots are showing grey. I don't probably have the patience to maintain hair colouring myself, either.
So I'm happy to be 'au natural' and I don't wear makeup either!

I think men who colour their hair look awful - Tom Jones looks much better now and I'd like to do the same for Macca!

I died my hair fair for years while going through the salt and pepper stage but now I am white all over I don't die it any more. I get a lot of compliments on my hair, something that never happened before it was white/silver, I also now have waves in my hait that I never had before, it was straight and fine with no body and used to drive me mad, so one happy bunny here then.

I love my grey hair. I used to have thin straight horrible hair. Now the grey is thick and curly. I don't want to cover it up. I am also happy to be getting older. At 53 I feel am older and wiser and I don't want to be young. Well, maybe a younger body but not a younger mind. The grey somehow is a nice acknowledgement of it.

I'm in a similar predicament. I'm 63 and I've had grey hairs for years but not that nice, all over silver that some women get so I went for colouring it. Now its getting more expensive and more of an effort and I keep wondering whether to risk it and just throw in the towel! I do hate the root thing. I've gone paler and paler blond as my skin and regrowth have changed but the big debate has started again!

My compromise has been to get a semi permanent colour that should cover the grey at the root and even up the colour. By the time that washes out I should have enough root to be able to see the extent of the grey and will decide which way I'm going. If I have enough to have passed the horrid salt and pepper stage I may give grey a go. Did the patch test this morning so will be able to try the colour in a couple of days.

I have been dyeing my hair since I was 30. At 50 I'm nearly completely grey but I will not give into it yet so it's to the hairdresser every three weeks to dye those horrid grey roots. My step mother in law is in her 80's and she still dyes her hair black.

I noticed my first grey hair at the age of 11. (I have a picture of my father when he was 19 and his hair was grey all over.)
I have never let it bother me. As long as it's cut nicely (short for me), I think it looks very stylish. Think Helen Mirren, Judy Dench...

I agree it is very much a personal decision. I started going grey in my early twenties and at 50 am completely grey with lots of white. However I have had my hair coloured professionally back to my natural dark brown for many years as I think I would look much older if I was grey. It is not difficult to maintain as I have a short messy hairstyle that hides my roots effectively.

I expect that I will stop colouring it eventually as I agree that old people with completely dark hair can look strange, but not for some time yet .

Yeah, but the point is that a lot of us don't have that lovely, even grey. I've often wondered if the do actually have the colour enhanced or if they are just lucky! Hair like that is a world away from 'field mouse'!

Postby Isis » 09 Jun 2013, 10:44
"Should ladies & gentlemen of a "certain age" let their hair go grey?
My OH is silver haired & bearded now & advises me it's about time I went grey because we look different now I am retired".....................

Isis, PLEASE tell me that you do not have a beard, like your OH?

Ballerina x

I have gone for the semi permanent solution as I can't stand roots either.Have graduated from hairdresser to DIY, finally got brave enough to try it myself. I am not all that grey yet , When I am properly grey I might stop.