How old is too young...

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sbbhbm
sbbhbm Posts: 1,312 Member
in Chit-Chat
I have a conundrum. I have had white hair since I was 17 years old. Not gray- white. Not just a few strands, almost my entire head. My father had a full head of white hair at 18. Mine started changing when I was 16, so I started coloring it. My color prior to that was a deep red auburn. I'm extremely grateful that hair color has come a long way in looking more natural (though I do go through phases where I'll go crazy with purple or something), but I'm wondering when would be a good age to just let it go? I'm 34- is that too young to be walking around with white hair? It's not that it makes me look old- it's really silky and soft. I stopped dying it when I was pregnant, and was pretty shocked at how pretty it was just straight white. But it also looked kind of weird.

What are your thoughts? Ladies, do you color your hair? And if so, when do you think you'll let it go natural? And men, would you find a younger woman with white hair attractive or a bit off-putting?
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Replies

  • literatelier
    literatelier Posts: 209 Member
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    I've had huge white streaks since I was 14, luckily under my part so when I wear my hair down you can't see them. But I stopped coloring when I was 18, and since then my whole head has gone a lot more salt and pepper. I've always had people tell me how "cool" my hair is. Sometimes I think about dyeing it again, mostly because I wonder what I'd look like with normal hair, but I honestly think it's not worth the hassle to maintain.

    I also have a guy friend who has had a full head of white hair since college. He's never dyed it, and again, he gets a lot of people coming up to him to tell him how awesome his hair is.
  • MM_1982
    MM_1982 Posts: 374
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    Didn't Anderson Cooper have that issue too? He's been fully grey since he was in college.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I think pure white silky hair would look pretty awesome.
  • devilwhiterose
    devilwhiterose Posts: 1,157 Member
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    Do you have a pic of how you look with white hair? If I let my hair go...about 50% of new growth is white.

    I'm 26, and having 3 kids and husband did that to me. :laugh: I color mine because new growth isn't 100% white, so it looks sloppy. Also, in my profession, I go to alot of meetings so growing out white/brown hair would look bad. I probably won't stop coloring until I'm into my 50's (we'll see). I know someone 62 that colors her hair. It looks ok except with the way she's aged, it looks really unnatural.
  • laurenc42
    laurenc42 Posts: 20 Member
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    I'm 33 I'd so go natural. I think it would look really cool!
  • dovetail22uk
    dovetail22uk Posts: 339 Member
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    I think it sounds beautiful!

    I've had some grey hair (and definitely grey) since I was 25 (almost 15 years ago) and I get more and more every year. But they don't look nice and are coarse and wiry. So I dye my hair and it looks pretty rubbish! But I'd be very happy to be like you if my hair was soft and white rather than wiry and grey. I think when it's all grey then I'll just leave it and not dye it anymore.

    I've seen a couple of ladies your age with the same thing and I've always thought how striking they look and it doesn't make them look older, it just makes them stand out from the crowd, but in a good way!
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,926 Member
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    I'm 34 and if I didn't color my hair I'd be at least 70% gray. I've always wondered what the age will be when I stop bothering - maybe 45...I feel I'm too young right now to stop coloring.
  • morningmud
    morningmud Posts: 477 Member
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    I'm 39 and color; I don't plan to ever stop. My aunt is 75 and she still gets her hair colored as well. Go with what you feel comfortable with.
  • EvaMRein
    EvaMRein Posts: 14 Member
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    If all my hair grew out white I'd so let it grow out. Then maybe I'd look like Storm (played by Halle Berry in the X-men movie!) I'm 36 and unfortunately for me, white hair is "peppered" through out my scalp like my hair can't make up it's mind if it wants to be black or white. So I dye it brown.
    I'm envious of anyone who's hair can be just white. I'd stop spending time and money on dying my hair and just let it grow out that way. :heart:
  • kobiemom
    kobiemom Posts: 218 Member
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    My husband has the same thing. He was self-conscious, so he kept it short and colored it for years. It took him to age 50 to let it go. It didn't bother him any more, even though his hair was whiter than his mother's. Go with what works for you.
  • _Wonder_Woman_
    _Wonder_Woman_ Posts: 218
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    I have cousins that started to go white/grey in their teens.
  • mrincredible93
    mrincredible93 Posts: 146
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    Age is a state of mind. Not a number, or a hair color.
  • AngieM76
    AngieM76 Posts: 622 Member
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    I am 37 and will probably always color it. Naturally I have a dirty blonde color, I color to a lighter blonde.
  • EvaMRein
    EvaMRein Posts: 14 Member
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    I'm 33 I'd so go natural. I think it would look really cool!

    I TOTALLY AGREE!
  • sbbhbm
    sbbhbm Posts: 1,312 Member
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    The growing out phase also bothers me, should I decide to just let it go. I'd look really unkempt I think, and being a corporate designer, I have to maintain my appearance for meeting with clients. I have thought about using temp dyes while it grows out though...

    And I forgot about Storm- yeah that was pretty hot!
  • devilwhiterose
    devilwhiterose Posts: 1,157 Member
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    The growing out phase also bothers me, should I decide to just let it go. I'd look really unkempt I think, and being a corporate designer, I have to maintain my appearance for meeting with clients. I have thought about using temp dyes while it grows out though...

    Yep. I'm a fire sprinkler system designer. I meet with alot of folks and...for a while, I didn't dye it...but it looked really bad.
  • GreenWurst
    GreenWurst Posts: 2
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    Mines going fast but I remind people they pay for their gold highlights and I get my silver as a gift...
  • yiffanarff
    yiffanarff Posts: 123 Member
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    The growing out phase also bothers me, should I decide to just let it go. I'd look really unkempt I think, and being a corporate designer, I have to maintain my appearance for meeting with clients. I have thought about using temp dyes while it grows out though...

    And I forgot about Storm- yeah that was pretty hot!

    Maybe to ease the growing out process, you could start going blonde (with highlights)? A lot of women I know with grey or white hair do blonde streaks because it is somewhat similar to the natural colour, so you don't get that awkward 'skunk streak' at the top of your head when things start growing out, and you can go longer between colourings. I imagine it would make it a little less awkward for growing it out completely as well.
  • drchimpanzee
    drchimpanzee Posts: 892 Member
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    I started going bald when I was 18 so I guess I have a similar experience of "looking old" at a young age. In my 20s I shaved my head every day to at least try to look like I was bald on purpose but eventually I just got to where I could let it grow out without worrying. Do whatever works for you I'd say. Worst case scenario is you don't like the way it looks and you can just dye it again.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    I am almost 37 and have been dyeing my hair since I was about 10 years old. I am not sure what color my hair is anymore! I really enjoy coloring my hair, and I'll probably do it forever. I do think your hair color sounds really pretty. I would try letting it out at least once to see if you like it. Like another poster said, try going blonde and keep getting lighter highlights to grow it out.

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