A Professional Opinion

So I went to Bleach on London's Kingsland Road last night to ask about the best way to approach the dyed-to-grey transition.  While it is tempting to eschew dye altogether, I do think that as my roots start to come through in a more noticeable way, it is going to start looking less than ideal.  Bleach is a rather intimidatingly trendy salon, but they have an excellent reputation as bleach experts.  There was a cute dog in there as well:

I rather naively assumed that the hairdressers at Bleach would just be able to dye my hair the same colour as my roots, and after about a year of having the artificial bits cut off every so often, I would eventually have hair that was all my natural colour.  As with most things in life, it is not as simple as that.  I have been dyeing my hair every couple of months for about 15 years, and it has been every colour of the rainbow, from jet black to bright red.  This means that there are layers and layers of dye on my hair follicles, that would need to be broken through before there would be a good enough base colour to take a grey dye.  The first thing that they did at the salon was take a few strands out of my hair in order to perform a bleach test on it.  Then they did an allergy test by putting some dye on a small area behind my ear, and then I went on my merry way.  A few hours later I had a text from the stylist who did my consultation, with a picture of the strands that had been bleached.  They were orange.  Unfortunately this means that it would probably take several attempts to get all of the colour out of my hair, which not only would cost a fortune, but would also be very damaging to my hair.  They've invited me back in to discuss other options, so I will keep you posted on that.

Lucky for me, I have a very good friend who is a Vidal Sassoon trained stylist.  I told him what happened and he wasn't really surprised.  Until very recently my hair was pillar-box red, which is apparently 'the devil', as it is a complete pain to get rid of on the hair shaft, which is ironic as it fades very quickly between dye touch-ups!  What my hairdresser friend suggested is to start with some highlights - just low peroxide and a small amount of bleach - to start lifting the colour out of my hair, and to help the roots to blend with the rest of my hair a little better.  This would be more of a gradual process, and it would look artificial at first, but hopefully over time I would be a nice natural silver-grey colour.  It would probably work in my favour to chop some of it off as well.  The alternative is to just let the roots grow out and stop being a wimp!

The Silver Snooper: My Interview with Sarah

When I started this blog I thought it would be nice to interview as many people as possible, so that I could present a range of viewpoints and experiences.  I started following Sarah on Instagram recently, and when she commented on the blog I decided that she could be my first victim interviewee.  

 

How old are you (if you don't mind disclosing that!)?  I was 41 on Wednesday :)

When did you first start going grey?   I started going grey in my mid twenties I think - maybe a little later.

What made you decide to stop dyeing your hair and go fully grey? Was it a difficult decision?  How do you think it will work logistically?  How have people responded? I decided to go grey for several reasons. Firstly, I'm quite health-conscious. Since having my son in 2012 I've suspected I'm suffering from hormone issues and possibly thyroid problems. Having read up on this I don't want to keep using unnecessary chemicals. Also, being brunette means greys reappear really quickly and I can't afford to get my hair coloured every few weeks in a salon. Doing it myself is such a faff. I've realised as I get a bit older I'm caring less what people will think of me, and on the whole my friends and family have been really encouraging. To my face, anyway! It has been a long decision in the making but having looked up amazing-looking women like Sarah Harris and Caryn Franklin I'm willing to give it a try. Logistically, giving up the dye will make life simpler and I'm going to use the money I save on hair colour to buy myself the odd treat instead! The whole growing-out process does scare me a little bit and I'm dreading the stage where my roots are several inches long but I'll deal with it.  I'm really comfortable with my decision and even announced it on Facebook. I was tired of people talking to my hairline in a not-very-subtle way. Now I find I'm looking in the mirror each morning and cheering on those silver strands!

How do you think that having grey hair will change your makeup/wardrobe, if at all?   I'm really excited about the changes I'll make to my makeup and clothes. I think grey will look really good with red lipstick and denim (I'm a big fan of indigo). Not sure what happens with the eyebrows though...

What do you think that going grey means to women vs. men? Going grey is such a big thing for women. It's seen as a sign of ageing, which in turn means we're suddenly less desirable or even noticeable. You're often seen as being washed-out, of having 'let yourself go'. I do worry that when I pick my son up from school (he starts in September) I might be mistaken for his grandma. Of course, with men grey hair's seen as a sign of being distinguished and worldly-wise and attractive; the George Clooney effect. Someone commented on my blog that they were looking forward to the day when there are as many grey-haired women on TV as there are men.

Sarah is a blogger, writer and photographer, and you can check out her blog here http://mitenska.blogspot.co.uk/.  

Sarah Harris

OK yes, I'm obsessed with the woman. I basically want to be her. Here's an article she wrote about going grey: 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/hair/grey-hair-is-the-ultimate-sign-of-fashion-confidence/

Fabulous Grey Women

I just wanted to publish a few photos of young (by which I mean under 50. I know 50 isn't old but it's not a young age at which to go grey) women looking great with naturally grey hair. It was quite tricky to find photos as most were of the current trend for dyed grey hair. I don't know who any of them are (apart from Sarah Harris from Vogue-the first photo), but they are all rocking the grey. It's inspiring. 

Week 1

Hello! Apologies, I posted that last post and then buggered off on holiday for a week.

Anyway, I just wanted to post a couple of photos of myself so that you can see the current grey levels.

A couple of qualifications:

I look like a snooty cow but I promise I'm not. It's just my face. 

My hair is actually greyer than this in my view but not showing up very well. The rest is not my natural colour. 

I didn't have that nose piercing a week ago. Must be having some sort of quarter life crisis. 

I spoke to my friend/hairdresser Archie and he suggested that I go grey gradually using highlights. I'm not 100% sure how that would work so I'll update when I know more. I'm also going to go for a consultation at Bleach London for a second opinion. 

31 and Grey

My name is Alex, I'm 31 years old and under my dodgy packet-dyed hair, I am totally grey. I have been dyeing my hair regularly for about 15 years. Given that I haven't been my natural colour in all that time, it's hard to say exactly when I started to go grey, but I think it was when I was about 22. I am now sure, given the colour of my root growth, that I would be 100% grey if I weren't dyeing my hair. For a long time, I was horrified by this prospect, but as I am getting older (and lazier), I am coming around to the idea of going fully grey. Personally I think grey hair looks fabulous, and can look very chic and modern. There are a few naturally grey young'uns in the public eye, such as Sarah Harris from Vogue who is 35 and looking fabulous, but you don't see many women below 45 who have embraced grey naturally.

 So anyway, this is a big decision for me, and after a bit of googling, it looks like there is a lack of information for women my age(ish), wanting to go grey but not knowing how. Going grey is obviously a fact of life for most people. However, the average age for women finding their first grey is 33. So there aren't many women in my position, finding themselves almost totally grey at an 'uncomfortable age'. I am hoping that by starting this blog, I may be able to help other people who want to embrace grey hair at a young age. In the short time since I decided to take the plunge, I have asked myself a lot of questions:

Should I just let the grey grow out and put up with a band of grey roots until all of the dyed hair has been cut away? - probably a year plus. 

Should I use a dye stripper? - probably terrible for your hair.

Should I dye my hair grey, and then maybe the re-growth won't show so much? - probably quite pricey, and also you run the risk of the re-growth looking dreadful.

What makeup will suit me with grey hair? Will I still be able to wear my favourite hot pink lipstick? - personally I think this will look wicked with grey hair, so I intend to keep wearing it no matter what.

What colour should my eyebrows be?

What colour clothes will suit me?

Will having grey hair make me look older/washed out/etc?

Will I be confident enough to pull of what many would consider to be quite a daring look?

See - I told you there were a lot of questions. Personally, I am erring on the side of taking the plunge and dyeing it grey. I am sure there are disadvantages to this, and luckily for me (and you!) I have a friend who is a hairdresser, who may be able to shed some light. Watch this space!