Silver sisters - Transitioning to gray hair...

[FlowerHair]

Hello! I have another long thread with gray hair pics, but I wanted to start a thread for those of us who are transitioning to gray and for those who are already all gray. I thought we could share information and tips for our hair here. I may be the only poster doing this LOL but maybe someone out there will find this thread helpful anyway.

Here are some previous threads about gray hair:
My mom's silver hair
Pictures of beautiful gray hair


Let's discuss topics like hair products too keep white hair white, buying clothes and makeup in new colors that match our hair, how to keep these white hairs soft and post update pics if you like.

Who's with me?? (I expect the sound of crickets... )

 

[LivingInPeace]

Mine is coming in fast and furious! I'm not ready to surrender yet. I'd like to let the semi-permanent color go but I haven't made friends with the gray yet.

 

[FlowerHair]

Mine is coming in fast and furious! I'm not ready to surrender yet. I'd like to let the semi-permanent color go but I haven't made friends with the gray yet.

I used semi-permanent colors before, but they dried out my hair.
So did the henna and indigo, not to mention the actual color was a horrible clash with my skin color and eye color.

You'll know when or if you want to stop coloring, your hair may be stronger than mine.

It's not easy becoming friends with the grays...I do fear looking old.

 

[nisemac]

i'd be interested. i'm just starting to get gray hairs, and i don't plan to color. my mom is gray--only reason she colored for years was because her gray wasn't 'even'. once it was more uniformed she stopped. chemo also changed her texture, she went from soft, fine curls to stick straight. 2 years later its finally got some curl back but i don't think it will ever be the same.

the gray that i have coming in seems to be slightly looser in curl and not too wiry. what i've really noticed is that its new hair that is coming in gray. i'm not seeing graying at the roots of existing hair.

looking forward to the info!

 

[FlowerHair]

i'd be interested. i'm just starting to get gray hairs, and i don't plan to color. my mom is gray--only reason she colored for years was because her gray wasn't 'even'. once it was more uniformed she stopped. chemo also changed her texture, she went from soft, fine curls to stick straight. 2 years later its finally got some curl back but i don't think it will ever be the same.

the gray that i have coming in seems to be slightly looser in curl and not too wiry. what i've really noticed is that its new hair that is coming in gray. i'm not seeing graying at the roots of existing hair.

looking forward to the info!

It's so interesting to hear about the texture of gray hair, it seems to vary a lot. My grays are very wiry and stiff.

How does your mother feel about her gray hair now?

How much gray do you have at the moment?

 

[LivingInPeace]

I think I'm between five and ten percent gray.

Edited to add: the front of my hair is more like 20% gray.

 

[felic1]

my silver hair is wiry like christmas tree tinsel. It is hard to straighten and requires a lot of heat to lie down. It does not look attractive to me. I have a long white streaked patch in front. It reminds me of Lily Munster (lol). I dyed it black and felt better but it is growing out. A lot of people look good with gray but I have not fully accepted it.

 

[CodeRed]

I have nothing to add, only that when I start going grey I hope it looks as good as FlowerHair.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

I don't know that I'm even 5% gray. I have patches at my temples then random grays sprouting throughout my head.

I'm not ready to have gray hair period, but I could deal with it better if it was uniform and not these crazy skunk stripes.

Henna turned it yellow.

 

[GoldenRule]

I think I am about 20% (which means in reality it is probably 30%). I hendigo mine but I am ready to stop and let it come in. I've been fighting it since I was 26 when it was "premature graying" but I've recently been reminded that it isn't premature anymore What I noticed is that I am VERY gray in the front and not so much in the back. I am probably only about 5% back there. I do not have much of a problem with it except for my hair is a medium to lighter shade of BROWN (#4 - #6). Most weaves, wigs, etc... that cater to gray hair are a mix of BLACK and gray, not brown and gray so it is pretty hard to get a match when I want to go that route. I have no idea how to transition off the henna. I have about 1" of chestnut and gray roots, the front of my hair is orange from where the indigo faded and the back is brown with a few orange strands. If I just leave it to grow out, this will look insane.http://www.longhaircareforum.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[Ltown]

i havent let my gray come in but if i would its moslty in the temple, my gray is wiry too getting resilent with dye too. my mom is in her 70' and she refuses to go gray, which is only in the temple too.

 

[Holla]

the gray that i have coming in seems to be slightly looser in curl and not too wiry. what i've really noticed is that its new hair that is coming in gray. i'm not seeing graying at the roots of existing hair.

looking forward to the info!

I hate to even be in this thread bc if LOA is true, I should focus on what I want not what I don't…. so I won't be in here long.

That said, I noticed the same with the FEW (soon to return to their natural dark brown color ) that are temporarily on my head. It seems as if those FEW strands grew in (and with a quickness :roll eyes compared to my other forever naturally dark strands. Only one or two (at most if any) have come in grey from the root with black strands on the ends.

 

[GoldenRule]

If I remember correctly, mine didn't "grow in". The hair already on my head started to lose pigment. There were brown strands that turned yellow and drove me crazy. I bought all kinds of blue shampoo whiteners etc... and nothing worked. Now they're bright white so it was if my hair lost color over time.

 

[nisemac]

It's so interesting to hear about the texture of gray hair, it seems to vary a lot. My grays are very wiry and stiff.

How does your mother feel about her gray hair now?

How much gray do you have at the moment?

My mom loves her gray and was always ready to embrace it. I'll have to pull up a pick to show it. her only issue is how fine her hair is--which is why she keeps it short.

based on the pics, i'm less than 5% gray. i'm the last one in the family to go gray. my older brother was born with a patch of gray, and he's full salt and pepper now. and my younger sister started getting gray in her late 20s, but colors.

i'll be 46 in May. my visible gray is at the hair line--center and temples. the new gray i'm seeing is shorter hairs coming in at the root i my crown, only visible when parting my hair. right now, the texture of my grays match current hair texture.

 

[trclemons]

I will be 47 in September and I have less than 10 gray hairs. They are all new hairs and the texture is the same as my other hair.

I will not color my hair because I do not feel like going through the hassle of constantly maintaining the color. I am just praying that I don't get a lot of gray hair, but for the few that come in, I want them to be white and not dingy gray.

Regarding my mom (who will be 64 in April): Her natural hair is about 30 - 40% gray, but she hendigos. She uses wigs as protective styles (none of which are gray). She and her best friend says that some older women go too long wearing their hair black and it ends up looking ridiculous on them. So, she and her best friend made a pact that they will tell each other when it is time to either start wearing gray wigs or their naturally gray hair.

I will lurk on this thread because I'm still hoping that I won't get enough gray hairs for it to really be an issue. Attached is a photo (ignore my brother), but my mom is in the middle with her protective style wig and I am beside her.

 

[Tibbar]

I decided early on to accept my grays and not dye my hair. I started getting more grays in my late 40s and now I'm about 30% gray. I come from a family of women who DO NOT embrace the gray, so I'm an "outcast"

I'm OK with my hair so far, I'm not sure if that will change as I become more gray. I definitely have some areas where the gray is more concentrated, but I don't have any cool streaks of gray -- I wish I did... maybe later....

My gray hairs do their own thing. They can't be contained but they seem to be the same texture as the rest of my hair -- slightly more wiry and way more 'flyaway' than the rest.

It's a journey...

 

[trclemons]

I decided early on to accept my grays and not dye my hair. I started getting more grays in my late 40s and now I'm about 30% gray. I come from a family of women who DO NOT embrace the gray, so I'm an "outcast"

I'm OK with my hair so far, I'm not sure if that will change as I become more gray. I definitely have some areas where the gray is more concentrated, but I don't have any cool streaks of gray -- I wish I did... maybe later....

My gray hairs do their own thing. They can't be contained but they seem to be the same texture as the rest of my hair -- slightly more wiry and way more 'flyaway' than the rest.

It's a journey...

Hey Soror!

 

[Tibbar]

Hi Soror! trclemons

Your mom has the right idea about letting go of the dye at the right time. My mom, who (shhhhh!) is 82, still dyes her hair JET BLACK Mom does not look 82, but she does not look like she should have jet black hair either... She also does not run to get it dyed when it grows out and has been known to sport at least a good inch or two of pure white roots....

Of course I am 30% gray so it's easy for me to judge from over here... I may feel different when my hair is pure white too ...

 

[rabs77]

It's been tough but I am learning to be at peace with my grays. I have been greying steadily since I hit 30. Like you Flower I had been dyeing my hair for the last 3years, and it really dried out and changed the texture of my hair( garnier herbashine is the devil!!).
.I've been dye free for a year now. My crown is 30-40% gray!!! my edges all around my head is only 5% gray. I have to be really strategic now when I part my hair

 

[davisbr88]

I'm 27 and I only have 4 silver hairs (that look golden in fluorescent light for some odd reason), but I am actually really looking forward to being gray. I absolutely love gray hair, and I won't be coloring. I will be following along for silver inspo.

 

[HairPleezeGrow]

I'm about 20-30%! I hendigo also...

 

[Mz.MoMo5235]

I'm a mix of 5% to 10% grey. I am not going with out a fight and I blame my mother for it. My mom started going grey in her teens and dyed non-stop! Even my earliest memories include her dying her hair. My mom was 40% grey by her mid 30's (when I was old enough to help her dye it and then I saw the new growth for my self lol). She insisted that since I was her twin I would go grey early too. I've had a fear of going grey since I was 8 years old!!! If I remember stories correctly my mom was probably at my level of grey at the age of 14 (I'm... older than that )

I think if my grey were more uniform I would just let it be but my greys are all new growth, they're the same curl pattern but wiry I guess is the word *shrugs*

I tend to forget to dye my hair until I decide to do some unusual part or like when I got box braids o_o That was traumatic lol. I also have a bad habit of plucking my greys that stick out from a slicked bun.

Does any one else get random greys that when plucked (if you're a plucker) have black roots (or what ever your natural color may be)? I always get mad when I pluck those because I'm like "NOOOO!!! It wasgoing back to normal!!!!!" lol

 

[Honey Bee]

My mother is in the process of transitioning from Bigen to rocking her grey, so I'll keep an eye on this thread. My own grays are insignificant to me, less than 10%, I'd say. (I'm 33) They don't bother me and I don't bother them. But, now that I'm almost natural, my hair's strong enough to play with some color, so I'll be doing that for a little while.

 

[MissCapricornCutie]

It's so interesting to hear about the texture of gray hair, it seems to vary a lot. My grays are very wiry and stiff.

How does your mother feel about her gray hair now?

How much gray do you have at the moment?

Funny....this past week "selfied" my naturally (curly) 50 shades of gray.

The appearance of my gray varies from 40 -60%....it's quite chameleon-esque.... depending upon type of hair products used, hair length, time of year (lightens significantly in summer), how I part/style it, whether it's straight or curly, etc.

I haven't consistently colored in more than 15 yrs. and haven't straightened it in nearly 5 yrs. I'll attach both for comparison.

 

[danysedai]

I'm not transitioning but I wanted to recommend what my mother uses. (see my mom's silver hair thread).
She loves loves Salerm white hair shampoo and as she is relaxed, she also likes Bantu Yellow out conditioner after she uses a neutralizing shampoo. Her grey hair (and mine) go green after a relaxer, the Bantu conditioner removes those tones and leaves the hair very white. I wanted to buy her another relaxer (Gentle Treatment relaxer for grey but 1) it's no lye and 2) she likes Mizani.

 

[LivingInPeace]

Funny....this past week "selfied" my naturally (curly) 50 shades of gray.

The appearance of my gray varies from 40 -60%....it's quite chameleon-esque.... depending upon type of hair products used, hair length, time of year (lightens significantly in summer), how I part/style it, whether it's straight or curly, etc.

I haven't consistently colored in more than 15 yrs. and haven't straightened it in nearly 5 yrs. I'll attach both for comparison.

Your hair is so pretty! I love the curly look!

 

[FlowerHair]

Thank you all for responding!! I especially loved seeing MissCapricornCutie's photos!
I think I'm around 50% gray now, at least that's what my mother said to me this morning when I visited her. However, it won't show in its full "glory" until it's grown out. It may take a year from now or more...

I find that I wear more royal blue, pink, black and gray. All colors that go well with my gray hair. My skin seems more vibrant with this natural color. Silver jewelry is great too, of course.

I have bought some silver shampoos, but I haven't had a need for them yet.

I'm going to take some pictures and post here this week.

 

[trclemons]

I just finished reading this article: http://www.blackhairinformation.com...d-grow-long-hair-age-affect-hair-growth-rate/.

 

[DragonPearl]

Great thread.

I am not ready to embrace the gray yet though I am fed up with the upkeep of continually retouching my roots. Off to research Hendigo...

 

[DarkJoy]

Great thread.

I am not ready to embrace the gray yet though I am fed up with the upkeep of continually retouching my roots. Off to research Hendigo...

Hendigo is fabulous. Touching up my roots now.

Oh yea. Im 41 and about 10 to 20% grey. Started when I was around 16. I will transition to silver when its all silver. Right now its sprinkled mostly in the bangs and crown. Some areas are more wirey than others