how many years it takes to go noticeably gray?

[P90]

I am 25 years old and a week ago i found a white hair on my head and it really scares me, I don't know how much time I have left with my natural(black) hair color.
how much time it usually takes from the time you find few white hairs on your head to the point where your hair color becomes noticeably gray? and what should I expect for the following years or the next decade? can I reach 35 without having noticeable amount of white hairs on my head?.

[akurah]

When did your parents become fully grey? Or did they?

[littlestarface]

its different for everyone but when I hit 36 I noticed so many many many white hairs on top and towards back and sides too. When I was 25 I only had like a couple but once 30s hit I was doomed.

[Jo Ann]

When I was about 17, I had a white streak--all three hairs of a white streak.

I didn't start noticeably going grey/white until about my mid-50's (to me, any way :p ). Now, I'm about 70%+ grey/white on top and about 30% grey/white in back.

Everybody's different, but race and genetics plays a huge part regarding how/when one turns grey.

[Corvana]

Depends on your genetics. So see what happened with your parents, like akurah mentioned.

I found a grey hair on my 18th birthday, and I'm 30 now and may or may not have some? I haven't seen them, and any that I might see in photos disappear if I change angles so it may just be my poor lighting causing my hairs to bleach out.

[cjk]

My left sideburns went totally white when I was 27. My right side burn waited until I was 37.

It depends on you. And on density...I have two white spots and no gray hairs elsewhere. Used to shave my sides into white walls, in fact.

Gray and white hair doesn't really matter by itself. It is the aesthetics of it that matters. A streak, for instance, can be a great look! Like Rogue in the X-Men.

In fact I tend to prefer a streak to diffuse graying.

[Jo Ann]

I've noticed that, too, CJK--my right side seems to get grey/white faster than the left side.

:shocked:

Are you left-handed, by any chance? I'm right-handed--maybe that's why my right side is greying/whiting faster than my left? :confused:

[lapushka]

I am 25 years old and a week ago i found a white hair on my head and it really scares me, I don't know how much time I have left with my natural(black) hair color.
how much time it usually takes from the time you find few white hairs on your head to the point where your hair color becomes noticeably gray? and what should I expect for the following years or the next decade? can I reach 35 without having noticeable amount of white hairs on my head?.

I found a white hair early 20s too. I am 46 now and 3% gray with white sprinklings throughout (like a salt shaker has been through). It can take *decades* from when you discover that first hair. Don't worry! You don't have to manically start dyeing your hair for one hair. ;)

[iforgotmylogin]

I had grey hairs as a teen, but in early 30's had a 'grey spurt' I guess you call it, where it went from being unnoticeable to totally noticeable. Now it seems to be back go greying gradually

[P90]

When did your parents become fully grey? Or did they?

my mom said once that she had white hairs in her 20s and she dye her hair now but she is 62 and I don't know how much time it took her to go grey. my dad on the other hand is 71 and still most of his head is black and he also barely lost hairs on his head and most of his white hairs are in his beard which is mostly white but big part of it is black. its hard to know what to expect when looking at my parents

[lapushka]

my mom said once that she had white hairs in her 20s and she dye her hair now but she is 62 and I don't know how much time it took her to go grey. my dad on the other hand is 71 and still most of his head is black and he also barely lost hairs on his head and most of his white hairs are in his beard which is mostly white but big part of it is black. its hard to know what to expect when looking at my parents

Well I wouldn't panic just from one hair, or even a few. I would not start dyeing hair because of that, at all. Look at my hair. I had one or a few white hairs in my early twenties too. I'm 46 (look at my signature), and 3% gray. Do you notice anything? ;)

[*Wednesday*]

I found my first gray in my early 30's. I'm 47 now and have a few on the sides and on the top. Sometimes premature greying can be from a zinc deficiency. However, you would find more than one hair.

Aging is not something we want to welcome but will inevetibly happen. People age at different rates. Just eat well, exercise and have good stress management throughout your life.

[MusicalSpoons]

I would be fascinated to find out whether there is any correlation between how early one find one's first grey/whole hair and how quickly the rest of the 'greying' happens. My parents both went grey in about 20 years, though they may have had the odd few sparkly greys here and there well before that; we can't really tell from the pictures we have. A well-known TV presenter in the UK went white very quickly and very young; it's almost a signature part of his persona. On the other hand, a well-known TV actor had a few sparklies in his 20s and now in his 50s is only maybe 30% grey, with the only noticeable patches around the edges of his hairline (the wonders of HDTV and cameras at sci-fi conventions :laugh: )

So ... yeah. It really is totally individual and pretty much dictated by genetics :shrug:

[GrowlingCupcake]

My partner started greying at eight. He's had a grey streak in his hair since then. He's in his mid 30s now, and the streak has widened, and he has a sprinkling of greys all over but his hair is still mostly black.

My sister started greying in her late teens/early 20s. She's had a sprinkling of grey ever since then. She's in her late 30s now, and while she has more grey, it's still mostly black.

I think I started noticing greys in my early 20s but it could've been earlier. I had a strand here and there. I am in my early 30s now, and I have about 20 grey strands. I think it's speeding up now but I'm not sure.

Greying has a lot of variance, even within the same family, so it's very much YMMV.

[lapushka]

Greying has a lot of variance, even within the same family, so it's very much YMMV.

Yes, my mom was pretty much half gray at age 40, and she has dyed it ever since. She is going to be 73 in December and still dyes her hair about 3 to 4 times a year.

My dad has gone gray with sprinklings throughout, more and more of them as he has aged. He still has no real streaks to speak of, and is about 70% gray now. I think it's pretty and I am going gray the same way, so far.

[cathair]

I've inherited hair from my Dad's side of the family. I got my first white hair when I was 15 and I'm bang on track to have snow white hair by 40. My Mum is in her mid fifties and only has a few white hairs and had much lighter and straighter hair to begin with.

I'd look at which parent or older family member your hair colour and texture most closely resembles at that age.

Mine looks completely grey or pure white in some lights and brown in others. Grey hair is a strange thing. It's not a constant colour it depends how much light is around it and what's reflecting in it.

[P90]

so usually it takes more than 5 years to get noticeable? and I can expect it to get noticeable somewhere in my mid thirties?

[cathair]

No one could say. Noticeable is subjective and it's down to genetics.

[P90]

No one could say. Noticeable is subjective and it's down to genetics.

I am just trying to get an idea for how it usually goes more or less. I can't get a better indication by looking at my family cause of the wide variation between my family members in gray hair.

[P90]

I want to know if usually from the time you see the first white hair on your head you grows more of them until it becomes very visible within few years

[akurah]

I want to know if usually from the time you see the first white hair on your head you grows more of them until it becomes very visible within few years

We can’t tell you that. If the variation between your parents is too wide, then there’s no way to know. Some people go grey very quickly and others do not, and it boils down to genetics predominantly.

[Jo Ann]

I want to know if usually from the time you see the first white hair on your head you grows more of them until it becomes very visible within few years

If you're in your teens or twenties, I wouldn't worry about it much. It was over almost 40 years before my greys/whites decided to take over (I'm 61 now).

There's so many variables--genetic pre-disposition, diet, life style, life events, severe illness, etc--that can speed up or slow down how/when your hair turns grey. For example, when my Daddy passed at 66, he was white at the temples and had sprinkles of grey and white throughout the rest of his hair; Mom, on the other hand, is in her early 80's and her hair is lightening rapidly now through grey and will probably be white in another few years. I started really turning grey/white in my mid-50's, after decades of sporadic whites showing up in my hair.

[MidnightMoon]

That's like asking... how long until you go noticeably fat, or something even less predictable.. how long until you die? :lol:
You can take a look at your parents, siblings, etc. You can make suppositions based on how many white hairs you have now. But you will never truly know. You can get your first grey at 15 and don't get any more, or not more than a couple here or there until you're 50. You can go progressively grey. You can get a streak and nothing else... the possibilities are endless. I don't see how strangers on the internet can give you the answer you're looking for. Even someone who saw you in person and knew your family couldn't give a completely accurate answer. You'll have to see for yourself.

[iforgotmylogin]

I've noticed that, too, CJK--my right side seems to get grey/white faster than the left side.

:shocked:

Are you left-handed, by any chance? I'm right-handed--maybe that's why my right side is greying/whiting faster than my left? :confused:

Maybe which side of your brain you exercise more (creative vs logic) has to do with it :0

[MidnightMoon]

Maybe which side of your brain you exercise more (creative vs logic) has to do with it :0

There is no such thing as a creative or logic side of the brain, though.

[iforgotmylogin]

Indeed. AFAIK there are differences from hemisphere to hemisphere , but the 'creative vs logic' myth is either completely bollocks, some kind of oversimplification, or a misunderstanding of some nugget of truth. I don't know the origins of it, just that modern neuroscience begs to differ

[P90]

It is really hard for me not to know what to expect, that why I tried to calm myself down with knowing how on average gray hair progress progress when It start in the twenties. I hope that not smoking(I found two studies which claims that there is significant correlation between smoking and hair graying) and with generally healthy life style increase my chances of graying slowly rather than fast. :rolleyes:

[nycelle]

I want to know if usually from the time you see the first white hair on your head you grows more of them until it becomes very visible within few years

For some yes, for others no. There's no definitive answer to your question.

[nycelle]

It is really hard for me not to know what to expect, that why I tried to calm myself down with knowing how on average gray hair progress progress when It start in the twenties. I hope that not smoking(I found two studies which claims that there is significant correlation between smoking and hair graying) and with generally healthy life style increase my chances of graying slowly rather than fast. :rolleyes:

Maybe? But I think genetics plays the biggest role.

[Crystawni]

It's just another colour to add to the mix, and can mix in with your colour in different ways (under canopy/canopy/temples/part-line, etc.). I got my first white hair at 26, and silvers more in my late 40s. I got blacks and dark browns in my 20s, too. Hair can change. It doesn't mean you're instantly old/had it, and/or dying as soon as it happens, nor does it have to age you. As for it looking grey, well, that depends on your original colour, too (your black hair will pale to a grey colour, but the whites and silvers can be very sparkly and deceptive). My mottling is mostly under my canopy, so I don't really look grey--just stripy thanks to my white temples. If you accept it and wear it without prejudice, others may even think you've coloured your hair that way deliberately (and expensively). :wink:

[lapushka]

OP, I wonder why you are so fearful it seems of going gray? If you can't stand it, then dye it, and if you want to leave it natural, then surely there's no problem; there is no problem either way. There is always a solution. :flower:

[P90]

OP, I wonder why you are so fearful it seems of going gray? If you can't stand it, then dye it, and if you want to leave it natural, then surely there's no problem; there is no problem either way. There is always a solution. :flower:

I don't fear from few white hairs like you have that cannot be seen unless you look much closer. I fear having noticeable amount of them cause it ages your appearance significantly and I will feel much better if I don't have to dye my hair in my twenties.
many people who find a white hair in a young age probably wonders how much time with their natural color have left for them and hope the gray hairs will come as slow as possible.

[cathair]

I don't fear from few white hairs like you have that cannot be seen unless you look much closer. I fear having noticeable amount of them cause it ages your appearance significantly and I will feel much better if I don't have to dye my hair in my twenties.
many people who find a white hair in a young age probably wonders how much time with their natural color have left for them and hope the gray hairs will come as slow as possible.

How you behave ages you more than any hair colour ever will. My hair got mistaken for bring purposefully dyed grey a little while ago, as seemed to be the trend with teenagers at the time. They were mortified when I informed them it was real and I was about ten years older than they guessed.

It's not worth getting hung up on our fearful about. Fear will give you away faster than any colour will.

Noticeable will always depend on your starting colour and your environment. Until you have it, it's hard to appreciate how much white hair changes colour depending on where you are.

If you noticed one does that count as noticeable? What if a friend notices one when they are right up close? How about if you have fifty but a stranger doesn't seem them? What if you have 200, people notice, but think you are going lighter blonde?

There's no fixed goal post or context. So how could anyone say?

[MusicalSpoons]

I don't fear from few white hairs like you have that cannot be seen unless you look much closer. I fear having noticeable amount of them cause it ages your appearance significantly and I will feel much better if I don't have to dye my hair in my twenties.
many people who find a white hair in a young age probably wonders how much time with their natural color have left for them and hope the gray hairs will come as slow as possible.

That does make sense - it's not how I feel but I can see that others might feel that way. For you personally, maybe hang out at the Salt and Pepper thread on here and see if that changes anything, or allays any fears?

There's also the trend for grey hair nowadays, I don't know how looking that will last (like all trends) but if you were to go noticeably grey reasonably quickly, people might just assume it's intentional :grin:

Honestly, of all the people I know with varying amounts of grey and white hair, their demeanour and personality play a much bigger role in how old or young they seem than their appearance. And if you have a youthful face - and I mean youthful regardless of any lines or wrinkles - the grey is less likely to age your appearance :)

[ravenskey]

I don't fear from few white hairs like you have that cannot be seen unless you look much closer. I fear having noticeable amount of them cause it ages your appearance significantly and I will feel much better if I don't have to dye my hair in my twenties.
many people who find a white hair in a young age probably wonders how much time with their natural color have left for them and hope the gray hairs will come as slow as possible.

Not 100% true - I've had a few white hairs since I was 14, they don't seem to have spread yet but I'm not worried about when they do.

[MusicalSpoons]

Didn't see this post before I started typing mine, but yes absolutely this! Especially the bolded part.


How you behave ages you more than any hair colour ever will. My hair got mistaken for bring purposefully dyed grey a little while ago, as seemed to be the trend with teenagers at the time. They were mortified when I informed them it was real and I was about ten years older than they guessed.

It's not worth getting hung up on our fearful about. Fear will give you away faster than any colour will.

[P90]

How you behave ages you more than any hair colour ever will. My hair got mistaken for bring purposefully dyed grey a little while ago, as seemed to be the trend with teenagers at the time. They were mortified when I informed them it was real and I was about ten years older than they guessed.

It's not worth getting hung up on our fearful about. Fear will give you away faster than any colour will.

Noticeable will always depend on your starting colour and your environment. Until you have it, it's hard to appreciate how much white hair changes colour depending on where you are.

If you noticed one does that count as noticeable? What if a friend notices one when they are right up close? How about if you have fifty but a stranger doesn't seem them? What if you have 200, people notice, but think you are going lighter blonde?

There's no fixed goal post or context. So how could anyone say?

when I say "noticeable" I mean that you simply can see there is some level of graying when you look at somebody. one or few white hairs don't affect how your hair looks(in most cases at least) but when there is enough of them it become noticeable in general and don't just cause you look really closely and there was a white hair right in front of your eyes by incident. I have black hair but I needed to actually search for it in order to find it and you really need to move the hair and look closely to see it.

I don't doubt that you look young and beautiful with white hair but you would probably look even better with other hair color as most other people. I will dye my hair as soon as it get noticeable in the mirror for me and there is no way I will ever embrace it before my face will look very old.

[P90]

. I have black hair but I needed to actually search for it in order to find it and you really need to move the hair and look closely to see it.
.

I meant that I have black hair but I needed to search for the one white hair I have in order to see it.

[ravenskey]

when I say "noticeable" I mean that you simply can see there is some level of graying when you look at somebody. one or few white hairs don't affect how your hair looks(in most cases at least) but when there is enough of them it become noticeable in general and don't just cause you look really closely and there was a white hair right in front of your eyes by incident. I have black hair but I needed to actually search for it in order to find it and you really need to move the hair and look closely to see it.

I don't doubt that you look young and beautiful with white hair but you would probably look even better with other hair color as most other people. I will dye my hair as soon as it get noticeable in the mirror for me and there is no way I will ever embrace it before my face will look very old.

I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that one of the recent trends was platinum or grey blonde hair - people literally paid hundreds to get white or grey hair. If you don't like it that's fine but IMHO white hair looks amazing.

[P90]

I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that one of the recent trends was platinum or grey blonde hair - people literally paid hundreds to get white or grey hair. If you don't like it that's fine but IMHO white hair looks amazing.
I also wouldn't like it if my hair will change color to platinum blond. I love my black hair and hope to have it naturally as much as possible and want to know more or less what to expect in term of hair graying progression. is that a bad thing?.

[ravenskey]

I also wouldn't like it if my hair will change color to platinum blond. I love my black hair and hope to have it naturally as much as possible and want to know more or less what to expect in term of hair graying progression. is that a bad thing?.

I was actually responding to your comment saying that someone with naturally white hair would look *better* with hair another colour - the way I saw it was like anyone saying that you should change yourself to suit others. Forgive me if you didn't mean that.

As I also say in the post you not wanting white/grey hair is also fine.

Again sorry if I jumped on you a bit.

[akurah]

People look at your face, not your hair, to gauge age, and they usually don’t look very closely. My hair isn’t full of white hairs but I have enough that you can see, but people don’t see them because they don’t care. I started getting one or two white hairs in my late 20s, I have enough now you can see some depending on how I wear my hair, and people still mistake me from anywhere from being a teenager to my early 20s because they not paying attention to the small signs of aging that i have.

[cathair]

when I say "noticeable" I mean that you simply can see there is some level of graying when you look at somebody. one or few white hairs don't affect how your hair looks(in most cases at least) but when there is enough of them it become noticeable in general and don't just cause you look really closely and there was a white hair right in front of your eyes by incident. I have black hair but I needed to actually search for it in order to find it and you really need to move the hair and look closely to see it.

I don't doubt that you look young and beautiful with white hair but you would probably look even better with other hair color as most other people. I will dye my hair as soon as it get noticeable in the mirror for me and there is no way I will ever embrace it before my face will look very old.

I wouldn't look better not being grey. When I greyed it's not just my hair that changed colour. My skin changed too. I used to have dark moles which have all faded to light pink or white. My complexion changed too.

I'd look bloody ridiculous with dark hair now :rollin: it's a common mistake people make. Dying it back often makes them just look haggered and ruddy. Even with colours that suited me once no longer do.

[nycelle]

Whether or not someone likes grey hair, or whether we think it ages them or not, is an opinion, and there's no right or wrong answer.

I know I've seen people who started greying in their 30's and I mistook them for being older. On the the hand, I've seen women with mostly grey in their 60's who I thought were younger. There's a lot more to it than just hair color I think.

I also know that I'm very close to coloring my own hair because I'm not fond of the way my greys are coming in, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Not everyone hopes, or wants to be all natural.

[P90]

People look at your face, not your hair, to gauge age, and they usually don’t look very closely. My hair isn’t full of white hairs but I have enough that you can see, but people don’t see them because they don’t care. I started getting one or two white hairs in my late 20s, I have enough now you can see some depending on how I wear my hair, and people still mistake me from anywhere from being a teenager to my early 20s because they not paying attention to the small signs of aging that i have.

my be your case is some kind of "borderline" between noticeable and unnoticeable but still as you said many people don't notice it and might even don't see it at all depending on how you wear your hair. if quarter or half of your hair was white people were obviously noticing it unless they have a serious eye sight problems. when I say "noticeable" I mean that everybody can see that the person have gray hair in most(if not all) normal situations.

[lapushka]

P90, there's this swell gal on YT. She is now 39 years old, but she went full gray in her 20s. These past years she has let her hair grow out. It's MrKongsMom on YT:
https://www.youtube.com/user/MrKongsMom

[akurah]

my be your case is some kind of "borderline" between noticeable and unnoticeable but still as you said many people don't notice it and might even don't see it at all depending on how you wear your hair. if quarter or half of your hair was white people were obviously noticing it unless they have a serious eye sight problems. when I say "noticeable" I mean that everybody can see that the person have gray hair in most(if not all) normal situations.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but you’re grossly overreacting, you found one hair.

[Jo Ann]

my be your case is some kind of "borderline" between noticeable and unnoticeable but still as you said many people don't notice it and might even don't see it at all depending on how you wear your hair. if quarter or half of your hair was white people were obviously noticing it unless they have a serious eye sight problems. when I say "noticeable" I mean that everybody can see that the person have gray hair in most(if not all) normal situations.


People look at your face, not your hair, to gauge age, and they usually don’t look very closely. My hair isn’t full of white hairs but I have enough that you can see, but people don’t see them because they don’t care. I started getting one or two white hairs in my late 20s, I have enough now you can see some depending on how I wear my hair, and people still mistake me from anywhere from being a teenager to my early 20s because they not paying attention to the small signs of aging that i have.

Akurah has the right of it--people look at one's face FIRST, THEN the hair.

I'm a cashier and must ask for ID if someone LOOKS younger than 40. I first look at the customer's face, then the hair, to gauge if they are older than 40. Youthful looking face with little or no grey hair, I ask for ID. Older looking face with "bad" dye job (by "bad" dye job, I mean the person is trying TOO hard to look younger), I ask for ID. In the first case, I'm protecting my job (even though the person LOOKS older than 21, I still have to protect my job and the company I work for); the second case, it flatters the customer's ego. If I'm guessing wrong in the first case, the customer is usually flattered that they look MUCH younger than their appearance dictates and they go away with a smile on their faces, especially when I comment that I could've been their babysitter :p In the second case, I compliment them on how youthful they look--and my "babysitter" comment still sits well with them.

What I'm getting at is this: It's not the hair that matters, it's the attitude of the person underneath the hair. You can either rock it or deny it.

[P90]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but you’re grossly overreacting, you found one hair.

I am overreacting cause its really hard for me to let go when I am worried about something. I try to comfort myself with the fact that in most of the cases of going gray I heard about it took years to grow more white hairs.

[lapushka]

I am overreacting cause its really hard for me to let go when I am worried about something. I try to comfort myself with the fact that in most of the cases of going gray I heard about it took years to grow more white hairs.

See that's need-to-know info, because we don't know you and the reactions to one white hair were a little... off to me.

I wouldn't worry about waking up with a head of gray tomorrow. I explained how slowly it goes, and you didn't even seem affected or comforted even though I even mentioned it twice. :flower:

[P90]

Akurah has the right of it--people look at one's face FIRST, THEN the hair.

I'm a cashier and must ask for ID if someone LOOKS younger than 40. I first look at the customer's face, then the hair, to gauge if they are older than 40. Youthful looking face with little or no grey hair, I ask for ID. Older looking face with "bad" dye job (by "bad" dye job, I mean the person is trying TOO hard to look younger), I ask for ID. In the first case, I'm protecting my job (even though the person LOOKS older than 21, I still have to protect my job and the company I work for); the second case, it flatters the customer's ego. If I'm guessing wrong in the first case, the customer is usually flattered that they look MUCH younger than their appearance dictates and they go away with a smile on their faces, especially when I comment that I could've been their babysitter :p In the second case, I compliment them on how youthful they look--and my "babysitter" comment still sits well with them.

What I'm getting at is this: It's not the hair that matters, it's the attitude of the person underneath the hair. You can either rock it or deny it.

if I will become noticeably gray I will dye it and there is no way I will just accept it. some people like gray hair but I am definitely not one of them.

[P90]

See that's need-to-know info, because we don't know you and the reactions to one white hair were a little... off to me.

I wouldn't worry about waking up with a head of gray tomorrow. I explained how slowly it goes, and you didn't even seem affected or comforted even though I even mentioned it twice. :flower:

It isn't about one white hair its about the next few years. You did comforted me by the way, I just got a little more scared from reading about how it is all genetic and how I can never know how much time it takes, it made feel as if I can go completely gray at any day shudder:

[lapushka]

It isn't about one white hair its about the next few years. You did comforted me by the way, I just got a little more scared from reading about how it is all genetic and how I can never know how much time it takes, it made feel as if I can go completely gray at any day shudder:

Like I said I wouldn't worry about it. Put those thoughts to the back of your mind. If you can't you have a different problem on your hands than just going gray. :flower:

[MusicalSpoons]

It isn't about one white hair its about the next few years. You did comforted me by the way, I just got a little more scared from reading about how it is all genetic and how I can never know how much time it takes, it made feel as if I can go completely gray at any day shudder:

Okay, well the good news is that barring any freak, impossibly miraculous event, that's not going to happen ;)

[akurah]

I have a suggestion, your mileage might vary:
Remind yourself that if you start getting more grey hairs, you already have a plan to fix: just dye it.

Sometimes having a plan for fixing a scenario that makes you anxious is enough to defuse the anxiety.

[Crystawni]

I may be a grandma of (almost) 5, and noticeably silver/white/tawny, with the tawnies waaaay outnumbered by all the light stuff, but I'm youthful to look at and ageless like many others who go with the flow. Yup, it took years for the whites to dominate, and I'm still morphing, but meh. It makes me unique. And honestly, the colours have grown on me, and the soft, feathery fluffies are so adorable. :p

Only time will tell how this goes for you, P90. Fashions, ideals and opinions change. You have your life. Enjoy it, and don't sweat the small stuff.

[cathair]

It isn't about one white hair its about the next few years. You did comforted me by the way, I just got a little more scared from reading about how it is all genetic and how I can never know how much time it takes, it made feel as if I can go completely gray at any day shudder:

Think about it this way. Even if all your hair immediately went white (it couldn't), it would still have to grow out from the root. Existing hair can't suddenly change colour. It has to grow out like dye or be shed out and replaced by a new hair. Each hair sheds every seven or so years.

So even if generic, it will take a while! That white hair you have has been there along time and you've only noticed it just now.

[cathair]

I may be a grandma of (almost) 5, and noticeably silver/white/tawny, with the tawnies waaaay outnumbered by all the light stuff, but I'm youthful to look at and ageless like many others who go with the flow. Yup, it took years for the whites to dominate, and I'm still morphing, but meh. It makes me unique. And honestly, the colours have grown on me, and the soft, feathery fluffies are so adorable. :p

Only time will tell how this goes for you, P90. Fashions, ideals and opinions change. You have your life. Enjoy it, and don't sweat the small stuff.

More importantly, this though ;)

[cathair]

Double post.

[Crystawni]

More importantly, this though ;)

Same with all of your posts in this thread. Spot. On. :grin:

***Disclaimer: I'm too lazy for the high maintenance of colouring, and hate the stench of colourants, and my hair is colour-resistant, so my path was laid for me early on.

The bonus that comes with all this is my hair is long, healthy, shiny and full of life, and I never have bad hair days. Not bad for a dead thing sprouting from mah head. :wethree:

[Crystawni]

And just in case you end up with white streaks (if your hair heads that way, and you have the patience), lookee (https://www.google.com.au/search?biw=1254&bih=611&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=oehoW4L9CNmHoATesoPgCQ&q=white+streak+hair&oq=white+streak+hair&gs_l=img.3..0l3j0i30k1j0i5i30k1j0i8i30k1l5.27474.3 0899.0.33094.17.14.0.0.0.0.485.2487.2-3j1j3.7.0....0...1c.1.64.img..10.7.2482...35i39k1j 0i67k1.0.6KlOKHg1xm4).

**that link is also proof getting whites is soooo not ageing. And lookit those little bubsters! How cool are those white splats!

But you'll never, never know if you never, never grow.

[*Wednesday*]

Oh yes. I love this. ❤


I may be a grandma of (almost) 5, and noticeably silver/white/tawny, with the tawnies waaaay outnumbered by all the light stuff, but I'm youthful to look at and ageless like many others who go with the flow. Yup, it took years for the whites to dominate, and I'm still morphing, but meh. It makes me unique. And honestly, the colours have grown on me, and the soft, feathery fluffies are so adorable. :p

Only time will tell how this goes for you, P90. Fashions, ideals and opinions change. You have your life. Enjoy it, and don't sweat the small stuff.

[littlestarface]

I was worried too especially when I found my first white hair when I was 11, I was so scared I was gonna go white in a couple of years but it didnt it took years for it to start being the majority.

On me white hair looks atrocious cuz it doesn't grow in looking cool like some peoples do. I wanna dye mine so bad but I don't have the money to do that yet :boohoo: Now when I look at my hair length it is so thin and all I see is those white strands just becoming more n more.

But actually now my greatest fear is losing my hair. I saw pictures of me in early 2000s and OMG my hair line has receded so much :wail: I can hold all my length with 2 fingers its a god danged greek tragedy :wail:

[daisy rei]

I feel like I'm the only person on the planet that's ridiculously excited for my hair to start graying.

I'm obsessed with white hair - what could possibly be more gorgeous than long white hair?! However, neither of my parents are particularly gray/white, and my mom tries to claim my 72 year old grandmother has never had a gray hair in her life (she totally dyes it and lies about it) so I'm thinking I'm only going to have streaks of gray at best? Or salt and pepper, which is still stunning on long hair in my opinion. I just really hope/pray for pure white hair, some day in the future - I am willing to wait fifty years. :pray:

My boyfriend is only 30 and he's already maybe 30% gray but he hasn't actually gotten any grayer in the past six years. It is really strange.... I'm pretty sure stress/lifestyle/diet must be huge contributors, maybe even more so than genetics.

[ExpectoPatronum]

It's weird...I want my hair to be gray but I also don't? lol

I found my first gray a couple years ago. I plucked it, and it hasn't returned. I was going through a lot of stress and wasn't taking care of myself back then, so that might have been the cause.

My dad, for instance, is in his 50s and isn't completely gray. My mom worked an extremely stressful job and was almost full gray despite being younger. I want to say she's noticed a decrease now that her life is more suited to her needs, but I could also be dreaming that :P

In any case, it seems like with my genetics, the gray really starts to come forward the more stressed out you are!

[MusicalSpoons]

I feel like I'm the only person on the planet that's ridiculously excited for my hair to start graying.

I'm obsessed with white hair - what could possibly be more gorgeous than long white hair?! However, neither of my parents are particularly gray/white, and my mom tries to claim my 72 year old grandmother has never had a gray hair in her life (she totally dyes it and lies about it) so I'm thinking I'm only going to have streaks of gray at best? Or salt and pepper, which is still stunning on long hair in my opinion. I just really hope/pray for pure white hair, some day in the future - I am willing to wait fifty years. :pray:

My boyfriend is only 30 and he's already maybe 30% gray but he hasn't actually gotten any grayer in the past six years. It is really strange.... I'm pretty sure stress/lifestyle/diet must be huge contributors, maybe even more so than genetics.

I understand that feeling! I think sparkly grey and white hairs are beautiful - my Mum is kind of salt-and-pepper with light silver through to dark grey, and her lightest hairs shine like spun silver in favorable lights. I think silver and grey on men can be quite attractive, and I'm also not averse to hearing wrinkles and lines as I get older (the ones that I'll get naturally from life, I'm not trying to encourage them!) As a blonde, if I do go grey/silver/white I don't think it will be a stark contrast so yeah, I think I'll be pretty excited whenever I get my first distinguished hair ;) :o

[GrowlingCupcake]

I feel like I'm the only person on the planet that's ridiculously excited for my hair to start graying.

I'm obsessed with white hair - what could possibly be more gorgeous than long white hair?! However, neither of my parents are particularly gray/white, and my mom tries to claim my 72 year old grandmother has never had a gray hair in her life (she totally dyes it and lies about it) so I'm thinking I'm only going to have streaks of gray at best? Or salt and pepper, which is still stunning on long hair in my opinion. I just really hope/pray for pure white hair, some day in the future - I am willing to wait fifty years. :pray:

My boyfriend is only 30 and he's already maybe 30% gray but he hasn't actually gotten any grayer in the past six years. It is really strange.... I'm pretty sure stress/lifestyle/diet must be huge contributors, maybe even more so than genetics.

I want to go grey so badly. I think white/grey/silver is just gorgeous. I seem to slowly be getting more greys but by more I mean like 20 strands versus 5. So, yeah.

I'm probably going to end up salt and pepper as well, sadly.

[lunalocks]

It varies for everyone. Some go gray early and fast, some take longer. I found my first in my early 30s' I'm 61 now and most people don't think I have any as they can be hard to see. I have a streak in my bangs and some at my temples and just a few that are creeping down. Pics of me from the side (temples) from 8 years ago look no different from now. Sometimes it's just genetics. My grandmother died at age 96 and still had more dark hair than gray.

My DH LOVES gray hair and occasionally says he can't wait for mine to be all gray or white. I think he's going to be disappointed.

[Starchild494]

I started to go grey at a very young age(8 I think is when I remember my mom mentioning it and pulling it out to show me). My father's brother and sister both turned grey before their 30s. I remember my uncle Mac Telling me about how he turn paper white, bc I was upset about it.

I have come to love and appreciate my silver and white hair. Its different and natural. Everyone around me is dying like crazy. I could not be bother to dye it (soon much effort and funds) my DH likes it just the way it is. And i am proud to say that I have cause two of my friends to stop dying their hair all together! :hifive:

[olivetime]

Grey/white/silver hair is awesome. I used to think my mom was crazy for dying her hair when I was a kid...and now she still dyes her hair every 4 weeks and here I am, 32 years old with a lovely sprinkling of silver hairs.

OP...no need to stress about it. It's a perfectly normal thing. Dye it, or don't! And I hear "you're way too young to have so much grey hair" ALL THE TIME. People think I am waayyyyy younger than I actually am, despite the obvious greys in my dark hair.

[Longlegs]

I first noticed a grey hair in my late 20's. Almost 20 years later I would say about 10% of my hair is grey. Most noticeably around my temples. I wish it would hurry up and go all grey. I don't like the 'salt and pepper' look.
But all grey hair is beautiful. Lorraine Massey the author of curly girl has just written a book about going grey. I enjoyed reading it.