Gray hair is in: Dyeing it is out

Dear users, dear authors,
even Hollywood stars don’t necessarily dye their gray hair anymore. How do you handle it?

gray hair isn’t any heavier than your natural hair color, so let’s leave it the way nature intended. I’ve long been past the age where I dye it and so on; until I was 35, I tried every color there was back then. Since then, I prefer my natural color, because I realized it still suits my complexion best. As for the gray, thank God I inherited that from my grandma—at 78, she wasn’t much grayer than I am now at almost 70. I’ll show you a picture of me, just taken

Best, Inge

I’ve always had dark hair, but I started going gray in my late 20s. Of course, I didn’t want that back then, so I always dyed my hair back to its natural color. But over time, it became too much of a hassle because you constantly have to touch up your roots. About three years ago, I decided to let nature take its course and let the color grow out. It did take me a while to get used to the new look, though, because I’d always seen myself as a brunette. So it wasn’t so much the gray as the lighter hair that bothered me. But now I’m quite happy with the color, and it’s definitely practical! Just wash my hair and I’m done.
The photo shows me last December on my 70th birthday.

Until two years ago, I also had my hair dyed with natural colors. Then I got tired of it and thought it was cooler to embrace my natural color. My 5-year-old granddaughter

made a funny comment recently. She asked me, “What color is your hair?” I replied, “Gray-brown.” Then she said, “No, not gray—that’s silver with brown.”

Cute, isn’t it?

Yes, I always say that too: “I have silver hair!”

....that’s not silver—it’s chrome 🙈😂🙈
I’ve also realized for myself that dyeing my hair is no longer an option. When you dye it yourself, it usually ends up as “one solid color” without any nuances. Now, with this “chrome” look, there’s so much more life to it....
  My natural shade is kind of a dark blonde—I dyed it dark for a long time. I still have some really great dark brown dye lying around....but nah, I like it just the way it is now....
At the salon, they’d always say, “A sassy short haircut and a little color,” and boom—I’d have had to go back every 4 weeks for a trim.... Now my hair is a little past shoulder-length, I pin it up, and it has very natural highlights.... 

As a redhead, my hair doesn’t turn gray—it just fades.
Most of my hair is still its natural color.

Besides, I don’t dye it anyway.

Well, I haven’t dyed my hair for a year and a half either. At first, it didn’t look so great because of the new growth, but now only the ends are blonde—the rest is brunette with gray. It just happened that way because of COVID—since I have medium-length hair, I rarely go to the hairdresser anymore. I feel comfortable this way, and my husband has gotten used to it by now. I don’t plan on starting again either. Applying that poison to my head and hair all the time has bothered me for a while anyway. Health comes first.

Oh dear, I seem to be the only one who isn’t happy with her natural hair color.

My favorite hair color is and always will be red. I don’t like my natural color at all—it got darker and darker after my childhood, going from blonde to mousy. That’s how I started dyeing my hair. Maybe also because my brother was a gifted hairstylist and was incredibly skilled at coloring and cutting.

So I’ve been a redhead for most of my life and still am; I’ve only been blonde on very rare occasions. And I still can’t come to terms with my natural hair color, and I happily go to the salon.  

....if your brother is/was a hairdresser, then I can totally understand that; he must have had a tip or two for you.
I always dyed it myself because I simply couldn't "see" paying that much at the hairdresser's. My sister-in-law runs to "her" hairdresser every 4-6 weeks.... that's €60 every time. I wouldn't even have that to spare. (she doesn't really either, then cries elsewhere that she has no money). 
Maybe things would be different for me if it were easier for me to leave the house much more often to meet other "people." This way I'm here by myself, and I can live quite well with my chrome.... 

My hair has always been a “non-color.” With our wire-haired dachshund, the color was called “wild boar,” and I thought it was hideous. I’ve never dyed my hair—I’ve always had too many other priorities that were more important to me. That’s why I was glad when my hair started turning gray in my mid-20s (a family trait)—at least that was a color you could actually name. At first, my hairstylist said I’d look younger with dyed hair, but I don’t think “looking younger” has anything to do with hair color. Besides, the first strands to turn gray were the ones that looked really vibrant.
In the meantime—I’m 70 now—my hair is completely gray, except for a round dark patch at the back of my head that my hairdresser enthusiastically reveals every time—I wear my hair very short. I’ve also been asked many times where I get it dyed. My answer: “I do it all myself.”

A few months ago, I decided to stop dyeing my hair too and let the blonde grow out. My hairstylist used a light tint to match the blonde to my natural shade. And now I’m amazed at how many gray hairs I already have. They usually appear in strands. I had to laugh at my teenage daughter the other day. She sometimes combs my hair with a hair treatment, saw the gray strands, and suddenly said, “You have so many gray hairs—but you’re not even that old (I’m 47). You’re not supposed to get gray hair until you become a grandma!”
Oh, no—if I ever do become a grandma, I’ll definitely start losing my hair.

A current photo from today: not dyed — I’m 59.