Isabelle, your greys are both beautiful and dignified. What I'm learning from you and Joy and others who have never coloured their hair is that it's quite a different experience to go slowly into that silvery night than suddenly!

Despite my hairdresser's constant protestations that I wasn't "grey enough to go grey," I went from blonde to downright silver in literally an hour so it was quite an adjustment. I guess there was a lot more silver there than she thought! I'm glad I already had short hair or that would have been another bump.

Retailgirl, I have always loved those periwinkle blues and I still find them magical. They're not always easy to find in the type of clothes I like. I'm glad to hear you still wear gold jewellery. It feels "off" on me right now but I am not getting rid of it until I am more adjusted.

Staysfit, you and I had a similar transition. I missed hair appointments for a while, my stylist moved to another location, and I noticed that I liked the roots better than the dye. So -- CHOP! Your story inspired me; when I read on the forum that it had only taken you four months, I decided it was time for me to take the leap as well. As for colours, like you, I'm not adjusting mine all that much but I agree that white is now better than before, especially in a pattern.

Una, do you know I don't even know how to do a catseye? I am loving this idea of electric blue for you!! What you said about going from a colour hair to a neutral is extremely pertinent for my main discoveries re colour. Not only is it a neutral, it's a neutral with quite a lot of dimension compared to my dyed blonde (which already had more dimension than some dyed blondes). It's changing the kinds and colours of patterns I prefer near my face.

Irina, YES to the accessories. I have always been a bit this way. I don't wear a lot of jewellery period, but I think that is largely because I've had trouble finding bold jewellery that is scaled to my petite frame. I find bold looks better on me -- but a lot of bold is just too darned big for me.

Joy, your silvers are so very beautiful. Your hair really is your crowning glory and "finishes" your look in such an amazing way. I love how you experiment with all the trends and look so current.

I'm 44 now, got my first silver strand at age 14. My base color is very, very dark brown (nearly black). I've never once colored it, and it's been some variation of a pixie for 23 years.

It's still not totally silver; I have a higher percentage of silver in the front than the back, but it's gradually shifting over time. My eyebrows are still very, very dark, as are my eyes.

Black has always been one of my best colors, and still is. High contrast still works well for me, and I'd say it works best. I've always been better in cool colors, too, and that is even more so the more silver I get (beige, peach, cream, & most pale colors are death on me).

I do find that more saturated colors work a bit better close to my face, and while I"m still drawn to white tops in summer, it *must* be super white and it helps if my skin has a bit of color to it, otherwise I look ghostly.

As for makeup, I haven't changed my routine much over the years, but emphasizing the eyes really does make a difference (I only line the top and wear mascara; occasionally wear eyeshadow) and a bit of cream blush on the apples of my cheeks -- just enough for a 'flush' -- really wakes me up, where for years I never wore blush except on rare occasions. My brows have become really important, too; I don't need to fill them, just keep them shaped, but they make a huge difference. And lip color helps a lot; I think it balances out my face and keeps the contrast going. I never wear anything super dark, a MLBB shade of gloss is best for me.

I am regularly approached by total strangers because of my hair (my husband just laughs about it now). Sometimes people think I'm older than I am from a distance, but then they see my face (I have very oily skin and no wrinkles) and are terribly confused.... Without a doubt it is my signature, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Lots of great thoughts here, Suz.

FWIW, my clients who transition to grey hair seem to: change their make-up routine, re-address their brow definition, add more grey to their wardrobes, and wear more colour.

Lots to read here, which I haven't. HA. As my hair has acquired more gray around my face mostly, I've gravitated toward more silver jewelry, especially earrings; brighter lipstick - reds and dark pinks; a lot less brown and tan in clothing colors; grays instead of blacks sometimes; more monotone and/or neutral outfits. I think the reason for this last is because I feel my hair has MORE color, paradoxically, as it's not only brown, but silver and brown.

I don't know as my "style" has changed as much as my chosen colors.

I don't think I changed my style much. I never liked brown, beige and muted colors so there was no need to change my wardrobe color palette. I could probably use more strong make-up now, because I can look washed out, but it is still not part of my everday rutine. Hearcut style is the most impotant in my opinion. Unfortunatly, in my part of the world, when hairstylists see gray hair they immediatly go for very matronly short hairstyle. I would like to go shorter and edgier, but I don't have hairstylist that I trust.

Hi Suz --

Loving the stories/photos from YLFers, especially the ones that are new to me.

As my 1st year going grey-iversary closes in, not much has changed for me -- but I'm open to more shifts as my hair continues to evolve from its current state (dark in back, salt and pepper on sides, big and smaller grey streaks in front). I found a photo of my dad in his early 60s that shows a similar pattern, so am hoping I'll hold here for a while so I can continue to ease into life as a semi-brunette.

[That's one big reason I stopped coloring -- didn't want to deal with the near-overnight visual shift of dyed to natural. I do think that often requires a period of integration that can be tough...hope the surprise has worn off when you look in the mirror!]

Letting the roots come in while keeping hair at/near shoulders (aka ombre hair) has driven me to wearing a lot more of my prints that have white/grey in them to echo the chaos above. I spent most of my spring/summer budget on that type of item and am glad I did! With a couple inches left of dyed hair and less variegation, I'm turning back to solids.

I think it's tricky to get our natural levels of contrast right to begin with and that continues as hair shifts so I'm sure continued experimentation is in my future.

Otherwise --

• Coarse wavy hair pre-grey = embracing Curly Girl techniques ("washing" with conditioner regularly, sulfate-free shampoo 1/week or so, etc) for several years.
• Consult from a freelancer (vs store-based) skincare and eco-makeup expert a few years ago re skin health/appearance and colors with a goal of maximum glow/minimal makeup in flattering colors. I saw her again recently and no changes yet but we'll see!

Mine is right in between golden and silver - and it's long so it's very much a part of my style. I have found (so far) that I don't need to change up my colors too much - I still love olive green (matches my eyes), deep cool browns, navy, charcoal, white and some jewel tones. I've recently started wearing gold jewelry again after wearing silver for a long time (thinking I "should"). I even love some of my gold jewelry against charcoal gray. I do agree that as the hair lightens, the brows are more and more important and it's probably best to keep some color on my lips, even though they are dark by default.

My mom in law has gone totally silver/white and I noticed recently that she looks amazing in silver and silver blue tones. Her brows seem to be dark still and pretty full so she is lucky in that respect.

I think it's not a bad idea to consider teeth whitening (if needed) and things like that. And SHINE on the hair is also very important to me. I use either Argan or Jojoba oil these days and only use shampoo a couple times a week, using conditioner only on the other days.

Texstyle, that's a really interesting point about teeth whitening! I think it's a great idea. I feel it especially as I had to have oral surgery recently and the antibacterial mouthwash is very staining. Looking forward to my next cleaning.

You look amazing in your olives, navies, and whites.

Vix, the change was immediate and a bit shocking but in a good way. I was well and truly ready for it and I don't regret it for a second! I like to shake things up now and again and it had been a long time since I'd made a big shift in style. I totally agree about white in prints. Seems to add so much life, all of a sudden!

Real_me, I was always cool in complexion and wore cool colours already for years.

Anchie, I agree 100% that the right cut seems even more crucial with grey hair. But what is the "right cut"? I have been watching the women around me and have not come up with any generalizations -- as always, it depends on individual factors. What looks hip and current on one will not on another.

cjh, I recall you used to wear a fair bit of brown and tan so this must have been a bit of an adjustment. But it's good to hear that you still feel happy with your overall style and it sounds as if the transition is treating you well. (Show us some outfits!)

Angie, thank you! That pretty much summarizes what people are saying so far on the thread. Great to know.

Andrea, it sounds as if you have beautiful cool colouring and know what works for you!

I remember make up was the biggest challenge for some reason. I had read so followed advice on brows and lashes. I was already a silver and bright colour girl but some shades are lighter now. Red was my signatu re colour whereas I do blue now and more fuschias. I thought I would be able to do creams and tans but less so except in accessories. I still have a lot of black for corporate wear but add lots more white shine silver. I would like to do more of white light shoes etc. Like others I get more compliments than ever and needed to wear less makeup than when I died my hair dark brown as I guess I had been compensating for the loss of colour. My next plan is to grow my hair longer like those grey pinup pinterest women... I am 5 9, with white hair and I intend to own it! More...
ps best thing I ever did imho

I can't wait to see your longer hair, Jenanded~

I went through a whole bunch of things at about the same time, so I'm not sure how much of it is actually attributable to my hair, but they sure did come together nicely.

I did the dressing your truth program, which suggests colour, contrast, style etc for you based on your natural energy, rather than your colouring. The premise of course being that your natural colouring does match your energy... so it makes sense, just approached from the other side. However what it also means is that it takes away the wrong clothing colour directions you can head into if your hair is coloured the wrong colour. Which I think mine was... it's very hard to get your hair cool and ashy, so I had warmth that wasn't necessarily the best for me. So I started wearing colours that were better on me, then decided to stop colouring my hair, and the colors only got better. I'd always felt very at home in black, but now it makes me shine, in part because my hair takes care of the "high contrast" part of my colouring/look/style, when previously I needed to add white somewhere to get that.

I do think my hair change also went hand in hand with a confidence shift that also made me bolder and more interested in finding a style that suited me better. As someone said above, classic, which was always safe, all of a sudden does nothing for me. And I'm SLOWLY doing something about that

And of course YLF had a HUGE part to play in the style and confidence side of all this. You, Suz, doing more to nudge me along my path than you'll probably ever know.

I'm so happy you are loving your silvers!

Elizabeth, your transformation has been one of the most instructive and inspirational on YLF for me! You look like a different woman, so much more beautiful and confident and yes, YOUTHFUL, than when you joined -- it's just amazing!

Suz, I was going to say the same about Elizabeth. It was a sea change, really. She looks so fab. I mean you look so fab, Elizabeth!

Oh gosh, thank you Suz and JAileen

Thank you Suz for this amazing thread. I've been colouring my hair since last 8 yrs and am planning to slowly phase out.. I'm darkest brown, currently salt and pepper if not coloured and the phasing out will require a lot of courage. I'm very warm toned other wise. I may switch to lighter Browns before going natural. Till then please, please keep inspiring. I an not envy you all enough. *looking wistful*

P. S. thank you for the Una thread link. I'll check it out. Have read Angie one already.

I had an interesting experience with a relative (cousin's wife) this week - she is the first person who has asked me whether I really intended to have grey or had forgotten to color it. I know very few women from India who have let their grey hair grow in.

Una, Nishaa, thank you. A lot of this really is community dependent, isn't it. It's harder to go grey in certain jobs or certain communities.

I was at a poetry reading the other day. The poet is Renee Saklikar; she is of Indian heritage, a lawyer, (lives in BC) and has written a powerful book about the Air India disaster, in which her uncle and aunt were killed.

Anyway. She has steel grey hair cut in a funky style, and I get the impression she wears it in a spirit of rebellion and resistance.

Una, we went to the Republic of Georgia a few years ago. I may have been the only woman in the entire country with grey hair. There were a lot of elderly ladies with jet black hair. Not a good look, IMO.

OMG, love her hair, glasses and blazer. Role model!

Leaving aside places where dye would not be readily available, are there cultures where greying is acceptable or even looked on positively for women?

That's a great question, Una -- should we start a thread? Seems like it might get lost here.

I honestly do not know the answer.

Una, that's funny, I generally think of Indian culture (in India, not among Indian women in the US) as being more friendly towards older women than younger women--perhaps it's because I am more used to traditional families where the older women hold a lot of sway and the younger women hold almost none. Even though that's changed some, I don't feel the same glorification of youth among my relatives in India that I do in the US...

This old-time Indian actress (Waheeda Rehman) has a lovely head of grey hair, the color is just stunning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.....Rehman.jpg