I am sure if you are on this page, you are on your way to go gray or have been thinking of the same. Maybe some of you have already provoked the journey as quarantine life offers us a lot of alone time to try things we wouldn’t have done before, away from all the judgement of looking in a certain way as we’re not seeing anyone.
The first question you will be caught up by is, “How will I look after the transition?”
Unfortunately, I was not fortunate enough to get the inspiration to start the journey. But today, there is a vast support system of women sharing their grey hair experiences on every social media platform.
I thank these women who came forward with their before and after pictures as an inspiration for YOU.
“Since giving up the dye, I have gone through a metamorphosis that started internally and eventually became external for all to see. It started with feeling vulnerable and working my “why I’m not dying my hair” confessional/justification into many conversations. I had many, many more of those with myself, strongly diverting from the more negative thoughts.
It’s been a long and bumpy journey that’s required patience and perseverance. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been so worth it. Who knew that something as small as hair colour could rob or fuel confidence because of a different perspective?
Today I feel immense freedom and gratitude for where I’m. I truly don’t know if I’d been able to stick with it if it weren’t for this beautiful community of sisters.”
– April @broadenedbeauty
“Hi, I’m Claudia. I am 45 years old and live in Melbourne, Australia. I’m originally from Uruguay. I started my grey hair transition close to three years ago. It has been a journey of self-discovery.
I’ve gone from stressing about hiding my grey roots to embracing and loving my natural hair.
Happiness, freedom and self-love describe how I feel about myself now.”
– Claudia @claudia_v_feathersone
“I’m Diana Andri, a 38-year-old greying activist from Budapest, Hungary (Central-Eastern Europe). I started spotting my first grey hair at the age of 24. I only learnt to cover any silver hair as soon as it appeared – as many women do in my country, where the grey movement has only started to be more visible.
I’m most grateful for the shift in my approach: what I considered a fault in the past, and I did everything to cover up. Now, I regard my silver-brown hair as one of my unique characteristics. By cutting my hair short and growing it out in its natural greying colour, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, which also positively affected my life. In the past year, I was also able to make bold and brave decisions regarding my career and standing up for my needs.”
– Diana @merj.oszulni
“I found my first gray when I was thirteen years old. I decided to no longer dye my hair when I was twenty-seven, and now, five years later, I have no regrets; I positively love my gray hair.
Wearing my hair its natural colour, long and wavy, I feel comfortable and fully myself. The regular compliments encourage me, but I’ve gone gray for myself and find plenty of confidence in simply enjoying my decision.
Many women have expressed their desire to go gray; I’m happy to encourage them toward whatever they believe will be best for them. I love my hair and am happy I didn’t continue to colour simply because others figure a young woman should have no gray hair.”
– Elizabeth @locksofgray
“I am Ildikó Ujvári, 51-year old, the initiator of the “Silverwoman” movement in Hungary. A year ago, I created the “Silverwoman” community and closed group which provides support and inspiration to those women who also started their greying journey.
I decided to stop dying my hair in May 2017. I have always had a strong resistance to chemicals. I believe in a natural way of life and try to live up to it as much as possible. Through my own example and experience, I try to prove that greying women can still be attractive and stylistic above 50.”
– Ildikó @ezustno
“Embracing your true self can be very difficult. I cannot say that I feel uncomfortable now with silver hair, but when they first started coming in, my knee-jerk response was, “I’m too young for this! I have to dye my hair!”. And so I did for several years.
My misunderstanding of myself burdened me. I’m happy to be free of that burden and part of such a lovely, motivational, uplifting group of folks. The journey to silver hair has been eye-opening, but the impact hit hardest after I found the silver sister community online. I had not realized that so many other folks were embracing their silvers/whites/greys. I’m glad to be a part of this silver revolution!”
– Jackie @silver.hair.and.long.lashes
“My name is Kathryn, and I live in British Columbia, Canada.
When the root touch-up wouldn’t last even three weeks, I decided enough was enough. I was sick of wasting my time and money on dyeing my hair, trying to hide the white roots, and sick of using the root cover-up spray. So my last root touch-up was on Nov 1, 2019. I grew out of my roots for about five weeks, then got a cute curly bob with an undercut. The style highlighted my gorgeous white streak in the front. Finally, after about three months dye free, I cut my hair into a short pixie cut.
Ditching the dye has been so liberating. I feel lighter. I am done hiding my white roots. My pixie cut takes maybe three minutes to style in the mornings, and I get so many compliments on my cut and my colour!”
– Kathryn @becoming_a_silver_kat
Ageing should not be feared; it should be embraced and appreciated. If we start thinking differently and do not care much about what others say, we will be happier and more comfortable in our skin.
Love your greys, they are part of who you are. I love mine; they are part of what makes me unique.”
–Radhika @duskysilver9
Hi. I am Lori from Canada.
“Going gray gave me unshakable confidence. I hope that I am setting an example for my daughter so that she grows up knowing that authenticity is what truly makes a person beautiful. “
– Lori @lori_dawnolyn
“My name is Niru. I am 33 and live in England. I stopped colouring my hair about two years ago. Giving up dying my hair has been such a relief. I don’t stress about my roots creeping up every two weeks and not forgetting all the mess. I am less self-conscious and more confident now. It’s liberating and feels like an act of rebelling in accepting and being comfortable in your skin or hair ❤.”
– Niru @quaintpiquant
“Since I don’t dye my hair, I feel free!
My hair feels healthy, voluminous and hydrated. Last time that I felt my hair that healthy was in my teens before I started dying my hair.
I feel more confident about myself because I have nothing to hide.”
– Noris @canicienta_
“I’m Anna Singh, and I just turned 50! I’m originally from Patna, Bihar and my family frowns upon grey hair. I was sick and tired of colouring my hair weekly and keeping up with the maintenance. Not to mention it was time-consuming and expensive. Today, I feel liberated from being chained to a box of colour. It’s given me the freedom to focus on more important things in my life. Even my Mom stopped colouring her hair to support me. I will never go back to dye again.”
–Anna @anna.the.grey
“I gave up dying my hair in Oct 2018. I had been considering it for a while and even had my hairdresser put in a white extension to see how it would feel (it’s not the same thing at all), and finally, I decided it was time. After going gray, I now have confidence in myself. I feel good. I feel I look good.
I wasn’t expecting to find confidence when I went gray – a new hairstyle, but not what I have now. I also wasn’t expecting this new community I have online now of my #silversisters. It’s a great feeling and something I would wish upon everyone.”
– Poonam @poonammk
Hi.. I am Renuka from Singapore.
“It’s been a year and a half since I stopped colouring my hair and coming to peace with my greys!!!
I’ve recently continuously pondered as to why I feel the need to convince society. I have finally risen above all this frivolity and have accepted this beautiful natural process.
I am experiencing a major boost in self-confidence, morale and happiness now!
– Renuka @6yardsof_art
“There was no plan except never to use synthetic products. So when henna couldn’t hide my greys anymore, leaving a miserable orange tint, I decided to let go. So here I am, and I love it!”
– Ruby @rubychatterjeecreations
“Setting my natural colour free was a no-brainer for this woman whose hair grows at lightning speed! That stinking silver was “dyeing” to get out! HA! From being the topic of conversation to making new friends worldwide, being a Silver Sister has been one of the most gratifying life changes ever.
I love every single aspect that comes with being my most authentic self. I’ll be 50 this year, and if I think back to when I was colouring (it’s been two years w/o colour now), I never thought at 50 I’d be gray all the way. It’s like being a teenager all over again, but excited to be having people guess your age by your hair colour instead of your grade! It throws people off! It’s just too much fun not to go with the natural progression of life.”
– Windi @silversparklesbright
“You never know if you’ll like it until you try it. It is scary at first. There is absolute uncertainty in the beginning. Give yourself some time to weigh your options until you’ve found the way you think will work best for you. And then stick with it.
You have nothing to lose but absolute freedom from dye to gain. Most importantly, do whatever makes YOU happy, whether ditch the dye or continue dyeing your hair. Your happiness is above all else!”
– Amber @celebratethegrey
Read: Amber’s Going Gray Story
“As long as you are alive, you are ageing. Everyone is getting older. And if you’re lucky, you will too! Going grey is a choice, a preference. It is not for everyone. The choice to go gray relieved me of a social expectation I no longer felt obliged to meet.”
– Tina @tinacclark687
Read: Tina’s Going Gray Story
“I am just happy that my reflection finally mirrors how I feel inside. It’s like I’ve returned to myself, and it’s a nice feeling.”
– Sarah @silva_sista_sazza
Read: Sarah’s Going Gray Story
“Listen to your inner nudge and know your why. My why was for my health. I didn’t want the constant chemicals on my head. Lumps in my breast woke me up, and even though they turned out to be cysts, they still scared me. Enough was enough, and I was going to do what it took to feel awesome from the inside out.”
– Nicole @own_your_sparkle
“The hardest part was the growing out stage.” For the three months, I was like what to wear and how to style and look presentable with the skunk line. What helped me was looking in the mirror and saying, ‘This too shall pass.’
– Anjana @sparklingsilvers
“My journey has been nothing short of amazing. My personal growth has been equally as brilliant as my hair growth.
I am learning a deeper love for myself and the ageing woman I am becoming.”
– Jennifer @jens_going_gray.zy
“After seeing the before and afters of the confident, radiant young women, I quickly understood that if I went grey, my whole appearance would not change. Only one thing would change – the colour of my hair! And that was it!”
– Roma @roma_goes_ashy
“My hair loves me now. It has grown thicker than it ever has and is healthier than it has ever been in my life.
So if you are on the fence, do it! You will not only be ok, but you will shine in the beauty of finally being your authentic self.
Going gray has been the best thing I have ever done. Thank you, Mother Nature.”
– MaryAnn @maryannburrows_
“There is no age limit on having fun, so why not express yourself! Maybe that means throwing in a hot pink streak through your silver mane. Or maybe you are getting tired of your dyed ends and want to add a pop of colour as I did.
Adding the colour to your dyed ends has an ombre effect, with silver at your roots and the colour at the bottom. Life is too short to be serious all the time, have fun with it, and you do you!”
– Frankie @naturally_silver
Read: How Frankie made her grey hair growing out period a fun with the use of semi-permanent colours.
“I have been very fortunate that I have not had many negative comments.
The only person that struggled with this change was my mum. She could not get used to the fact that I would never colour my hair again.”
– Abi @million_silver_strands
“It’s been 3 years since closing and I have documented almost every few months of growth with pictures on Instagram.
It was long, tiring, hurtful, and depressing initially but equally rewarding, beautiful and transforming in the end.”
– Pratiksha @chandi.jaisa.rang
There are different ways of going gray. Go for the best way that suits your personality and preferences.
I opted to go with a pixie cut after three months of grow-out as I didn’t have the guts to carry the skunk line for months. There are several other reasons why pixie is trending nowadays.
Women find it easier to get the dyed hair cut and start over with their natural hair, giving themselves a drastic change too.
Some women also bleach and tone their hair silver at home to get rid of the skunk line.
In the midst of growing out your gray hair, you may be succumbing to adding a pop of colour to your dyed ends; this post may help you.
You may like this list of Gray Hair Friendly Shampoos without harmful chemicals for your natural silver hair.
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Do you have any online or real-life gray hair inspiration? Let me know in the comment box.
I’m fully transitioned to silver gray. I love it!! No trying to keep up with covering the grays, now I let them shine.
That’s amazing. Enjoy the liberty!
I wanted to go grey for me and as a screw you to society. I’d see the male TV presenters and actors and wonder why they were all grey/ salt n pepper and the female actors and presenters had all immaculaty dyed perfect hair and thinking why cant I go grey, why do women have to dye their hair to look young and beautiful. It took a while but eventually I thought f#*! you, I’m beautiful just the way i am and if you dont like it then screw you! Im not going to conform to society anymore.
I rembered what one of my therapists taught me “Radical Acceptance”. Fighting against something is you not being able to accept what is. Me fighting (dying) my hair was not accepting that my body & hair are changing.
Once I made the decision to stop dying my hair I was soooo happy. I love seeing my grey hair!! I am so proud of it, I earnt every single one of them through the challenges in my life. I cant wait for all my old hair colour to grow out and i can chop it off and have a full head of long beautiful natural salt n pepper hair. I’m not spending the rest of my life conforming to society and it’s expectations, I want to be me.