Does Everyone Go Grey?

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I used to think YES of course. But now I'm not so sure....?

My 86 year old Papa has a grey beard, but the hair on his head is blonde.

My 52 year old brother is a dark blonde, and not one grey hair.

My late Mama was 59 when she passed away, and not one grey hair. Her hair was a mouse-y light brown.

I'm 48 and haven't seen a grey hair yet. Am I going to go grey? I hope I do. I want short white hair at some point.

6 years ago

General

55 replies

Latest reply was from

Jane

Veteran

Angie, I don’t think so - I’m thinking of a lovely older Japanese friend who is yet to go grey...I will read the thread with interest...

6 years ago

Murph11

Veteran

My once red-headed older sisters have turned light, light blonde. I now color my hair to keep it red, and have discussed the process of going natural with my colorist— when I’m ready.

6 years ago

cloud9

Veteran

For me, I think I’ll color my hair or go completely white. 50-50 black and white hair would not be a good look for me..

6 years ago

anchie

Veteran

I don’t think so. I know few older people that I thought they color because they don’t have any grey, but apparently it’s their natural color. I don’t think you would go grey - if you do you would already started showing. Those who go grey like me I believe start very early. I had my first grey in early twenties and was similarly grey like now already in my mid thirties.

6 years ago

Diana

Veteran

I suspect that, like my mother and many other East Asian women I’ll go partially *white* and not grey at all. I do have a few stark white hairs already (and have a bad habit of pulling them out). The thing is that although they’re relatively few they are glaringly obvious against the black. I do dye my hair so it’s only obvious when it’s been too long since I’ve been to the hairstylist.

My mom is 73 and her hair is probably still only less than 25% white. It’s mixed in with the black and I have to admit I don’t love the look - it looks kind of messy and not sleek like all black or all white/grey does.

Edit: I can’t really say much about whether people of my ethnicity do or do not go white/grey though because I think that many, many Asian women dye their hair once it starts going even a little white. My mom used to, and only recently stopped because she didn’t want to bother. My 95 yo grandma still dyes hers. My other, late grandma used to dye hers 100% grey.

6 years ago

Anonymous

I always thought everybody got a little bit of white hair mixed in. But maybe some don’t get any! That’s amazing, and we should study that phenomenon! We might learn something about staying young (thereby delaying the bad things associated with old age).

6 years ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

My mom was 80 when she passed away and I don't think she was quite 50-50 yet. My hair is quite similar to hers (wavy/curly, dark brown, and started thick and coarse and is thinning and getting finer with age). I feel like I have more grey at my age than she did, but that may not be the case -- when I look at photos of her in her 50s, she clearly had some grey, but the overall impression of her hair was still definitely a brunette. My dad died at 65 and had some grey, but not much.

So it's highly unlikely I will ever go completely grey, maybe unless I live to be 100 (which I am aiming for!).

I know some people -- one of my friends who is of Greek descent for one -- who seem to have no grey at all even though they are approaching 60 and have never colored their hair. As someone who is not going grey prettily, I envy them!

PS. I think I saw my first grey hair in my early 30s. I used to pull them out until that got to be a losing battle.

6 years ago

Christina F.

Veteran

My dad was 57 when he passed, and he'd had a hard life, but his hair was dark except for a bit of his temples and mustache. OTOH, my mom started going grey in her 20's and is completely so now at age 63 (sans dye). I take after my dad on that one; I have some but not too many.

6 years ago

Sara L.

Veteran

My father-in-law is in his 80's and he has a full head of black hair with a few white hairs mixed in. There's noticeably more white the last couple years but it's still mostly black. DH went grey in his 20's, and mostly bald too.

So far I only have a few grey hairs although I think I'll eventually go grey.

My grandmother and great aunt (grandmother's sister) were both all grey - my grandmother a steel grey and my great aunt a silvery grey. My mom dyes her hair still but I think she's mostly grey. I'm hoping I get my great aunt's silvery grey.

6 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

My MIL passed away in October at 92. She had virtually no grey hair. My husband has quite a bit, but not has much as I have. My 94 YO mother’s hair is snow white, as was my father’s when he passed away at 79.

6 years ago

Runcarla

Veteran

What murph11 said about redheads. I kept a certain copper penny vibrancy until I turned 50, when I started to get shocks of what DH calls 'polar blonde'. I coloured for about 3 years, but red is the most fugitive dye, and upkeep was a chore that didn't work with my lifestyle. I stopped colouring in 2014, and the condition of my hair is better for it. What isn't red, is white. I see no grey, and don't see many ex-redheads featured in 'grey beauty' shots with the exception of the one I found below.

There are no other redheads in my family going back to grandparents. My mother and father (in their 80's) are white - though my mother colours her hair. My younger brothers are each greying differently with the brother closest to me in age hardly changed and the younger one dramatically streaked. My younger sister has coloured her hair since her 20's - so I'm not sure...

To answer the question - no, not everyone goes grey.

Pic #1 hair straightened after a recent haircut
Pic #2 from Pinterest

6 years ago

Niki Lea

Veteran

My grandfather's black hair was barely grey, except for a white streak at one temple, when he died in his 80s.

About a year ago I stopped colouring my hair thinking it would be greyer than it is. My grandma and aunts have the most beautiful white hair and I'm really, really hoping that's how mine will be eventually.

I will say though that I thought a couple of good friends of mine had yet to go grey at all - but they're just very religious about getting their roots done.

6 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

While there are some illnesses and vitamin deficiencies that can exacerbate the process of going grey, the rate and age at which it happens has mostly to do with genetics. It has to do with how much melanin you're producing. Light skinned people typically go grey earlier than people with darker skin. Pale blondes may not notice grey hairs because they blend well with the blonde.

https://www.health.harvard.edu.....7091812226

My parents did not grey "prematurely" (i.e. before their 50s). But they did grey very quickly in their 50s, and that has been exactly the pattern my brother and I experienced, too.

The longer we live, the more likely we are to go grey, of course!

6 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

ETA, to Carla's point -- redhead are supposedly the first to grey. It looks white because the loss of melanin is more extreme in redheads. The less melanin, the less colour (of any kind). Grey is the result of the shaft having lost some (but not all) melanin. DIfferent tones of grey are due to different levels of melanin (and different base hair colour.) Once the melanin is gone the hair is white. While there is still some there will be salt-n-pepper (where some strands have lost melanin and some haven't), merging to silver (like mine -- where most of the hair still has some melanin but some is white), and so on.

6 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Also, it doesn't mean you are "older" in any other way, i.e. it doesn't indicate that your body overall is aging faster.

6 years ago

taylor

Veteran

Not everyone goes grey, most go grey like one or both parents.
There are some outside factors such as illness, but heredity plays the largest roll.
My Mom is 80 , barley grey only at the temples. I’m 61 and have too few greys to mention , and only at the temples .
I have two brothers one older one younger with much more grey , they have greyed like my dad .
My husband is almost 70 and people think I color his hair because he has so little grey . His facial hair and chest , pure white ....funny

6 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Taylor, what you said about your DH and what Angie said about her Papa reminds me that for me, often beards and other hair will grey sooner than the hair on the head. It seems to be quite common.

I have a pale blonde friend around 60 who also is not going grey. Or barely grey. There are some greys or whites woven through -- it just generally looks like a "dulling" of her hair if she doesn't highlight. But no roots.

6 years ago

shiny

Veteran

According to my hairdresser, all grey hair is actually white. It only appears grey because of the darker hairs around it. This is why brunettes tend to look like they are greying until all the hair has turned and then their greys seem to turn white. It's also why blondes tend to seem to skip the greying step and go straight to silver.

You can see this on my own head right now-- the stuff growing in looks either obviously white or looks like blonde highlights, but they are not. They are picking up the yellow in the hairs around them. I take after my dad (similar hair coloring) and he seemingly went white overnight around age 65, skipping the grey step entirely.

Similarly my husband, a brunette, looks grey in the back where he still has some darker hair, but pure white at the forehead. His hair is very similar to my mom's hair and she was blue-grey for a long long time. Now in her late 70s she is full on white like a cloud.

6 years ago

taylor

Veteran

SUZ, you are correct body , facial hair often goes grey before the head hair .
Hair starts losing pigment long before one goes grey , often you will notice hair lacks luster, shine and just looks dull years leading up to going grey. Not all follicles lose pigment at the same time obviously . Some people go to different shades of grey , from black to silver mixed with grey . My family tends to go straight to silver .

6 years ago

Barbara Diane

Veteran

Interesting responses. I used to think everyone turned gray, and I considered the category of turning gray to include turning white.
Suz, thanks for the detailed information on this phenomena. As a formerly dark brunette with pale skin, it helped explain things.
I used to comment that I never expected to have my first gray hair before my first child. And, until I was older than I’d like to admi, I thought only quite old people went gray, as they were the only ones I saw who had gray or white hair.

6 years ago

jill58

Veteran

I'm sixty and only about 20% of my hair, if that, is coming in grey. That 20% is colored. If it was all grey I might feel different about coloring but for now, I'll continue to get what is technically just highlighting.

My mother, on the other hand, started going grey in her thirties.

6 years ago

Barbara Diane

Veteran

I also assumed I’d have the fabulous silver color that my dad’s mom did. I was quite disappointed.

6 years ago

Cardiff girl

Veteran

As with everything it’s an individual s gene mixed with their environment but you are right,some people dont t go grey.My daughter had her first grey hair at the age of eight.She was horrified “pull it out mummy”but she has had none since.

6 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

I want to as well. It seems fun. I can imagine many great looks. But when is the question? I guess my mum is finally grey at 80, but then I guess that means there’s a lot of black in there, because it’s grey not black. Uncles are the same.

And my dad! I guess at 70 he started getting some white. Salt and pepper tho... lots of black. Mostly black. Dad had good, thick hair.

Ohmigosh. At 60, dad got into a big BIG fight with one of my grand uncles over whether or not he dyed his hair. Ohmigosh dad was so mad. Fumed for days. Lolol.

6 years ago

Laura

(website)

Veteran

Not everyone! My mom is 76 with no gray hair. So far I am following in her footsteps, but who knows if this will last. Important to note: we are certainly not spared any other changes of aging, lol!

6 years ago

Dana

(website)

Veteran

Interesting thread! My stylist told me I'm about 75% grey (age 56.) Eek! I wouldn't mind white or silver, but I think right now it would be mousy, so I'm waiting...a long time! My grandfather had gorgeous, thick silver hair...hoping for that.

A friend of mine started getting grays at 17! She is early 40's with dark hair and is letting it gray-in her photos, she looks blonde (so I guess it's pretty white.)

One of my very good friends lost all of her blonde hair during chemo last year. It's growing back salt and pepper and curly--she's keeping it short, and looks adorable!

6 years ago

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Thanks Suz for the link. I realised only in the past few years that non-grey hair in people's 50s, 60s and maybe even beyond didn't necessarily mean they dyed. I had been assuming they must do and I feel bad about that now. But I have also read that about 80% of women do dye their hair. This seems to be borne out by the large number of couples I see walking about where he is very grey and she is not at all- where their faces often look of similar ages. I am projecting there however, I don't know for sure. Obviously in the case of you and Greg, Angie, the fact he is salt-and-pepper and you are not is natural. It looks kind of wrong to me, those older couples (70s??)- feel free to shout me down, but to me it's a sort of "Who do you think you're kidding?" look?!
This is partly my "Mean Girls" streak popping out and partly jealousy. Although I have "good" reasons for not dyeing my hair I also have "bad" ones- laziness! Cannot be bothered! I understand that it's not actually a moral question at all. More of a question of the pressure put on women in society- and as those pressures come onto men more and more we may see more of them dyeing as well. I've read that more men are seeking Botox etc lately.
Thanks for bringing it up Angie! Interesting thought!

6 years ago

nemosmom

Veteran

Another redhead here and no greys.... YET. I do find a random golden/blonde hair from time to time, but they are warm toned and not silver. I hope I don't turn grey - I'd have to rebuild my wardrobe (again!)

6 years ago

Style Fan

Veteran

My hair seems to be fading. I had strawberry blonde hair as a child, reddish blonde hair as a teenager, strawberry blonde hair in my twenties and then golden blonde hair for a long time. I am not sure what to call my hair now. Faded blonde perhaps. No one else in my family has my hair colour.
My father was still sandy brown when he died at 68 years (that seems so young now). Mr SF still has some brown hair and he is 70 years.

6 years ago

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