It Doesn't Bother Me

Updated on October 10, 2012
J.S. asks from Green Cove Springs, FL
43 answers

My best friend came to visit for a few days. As I was taking her back to the airport she says, "I wished I could have stayed a couple extra days, then we could have dyed your hair." I just laughed.

A couple weeks later, I was getting my hair cut. The woman looks at me, and sits me down. She took my hair, wrapped around and pinned it to my head. Then she stops dead, leans over and looks me in the face. Suddenly she blurts out, "How old are you?"
I laughed again because I knew where this was going, "I'm 32, I know I have a lot of white hair."
"Oh, ok. I thought you were like in your mid 20's (Thank you hair dresser lady!), but with all this white hair I thought you had to be older. (ok...maybe not so much of a thank you lol). Either that or you had a couple of really rough years."

After she cut my hair she says, "Would you like to talk about dye options?"

Ummmm...no?

Is it really so hard to believe that I don't mind, and actually LIKE, the white in my hair? I have curly hair, I do actually love the way the white wraps in my curls. I think it bothers other people a heck of a lot more than it bothers me! Am, I the only person alive who doesn't mind the white/silver/grey strands?

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

Featured Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I also do not find grey hair flattering on younger women. To be honest I think its a bit unkempt, frumpy and sloppy looking. MAybe its because I don't see it very often and those I do see it on are not well groomed. IMO very few women can pull off grey hair.
For the first 15 or so years that I dyed my hair I used a semi permanent color and it was not at all harsh on my hair. Now I need a bit more coverage but I still don't find a problem with my hair condition because of it. I do think that it matters what brand is used.

6 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

P.K.

answers from New York on

Some people can wear it some cannot. At 35 I was 75% white and it looked terrible. And so my coloring began. However aim now 62 and people do not know I color my hair! Have a great guy who has been doing it for years and years.

6 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

I.G.

answers from Seattle on

I am in my mid-thirties and just yesterday noticed how gray I have gotten... honestly - I don't care. I used to dye my hair as a teenager and it was a bother, so I am not keen on doing it again (and there is no way I am spending $100's at the hairdresser to get it done).

4 moms found this helpful

More Answers

J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

It didn't really bother me until it bothered me. :)

8 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.H.

answers from Abilene on

Good for you J.!

You are comfortable in your own skin! Good for you!

I am 49 and have grey coming in. It bothers my mom who is in her 70's and my sister who's 5 years older than me more than it does me. I figure it's a natural process and I have two choices. Accept it or fight it. I choose to accept it.

Blessings to you!
L.

7 moms found this helpful

S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

ha! good for you!
i dyed my hair until i hit 50. i dyed it very close to my pre-grey color and it looked great.
but oh, wow, what a revelation when i left it alone! it's GORGEOUS! and an almost pure-white streak at the temples that makes me look like a glam bride of frankenstein. everyone thinks i have it professionally done.
heh. even when i WAS dyeing it i was too cheap for that!
go silver, babe!
:) khairete
S.

6 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.V.

answers from Los Angeles on

Nothing against your choice, but I'm gonna go against the majority here and say that I don't find gray or white hair flattering at all. Especially on a young person. I associate it with elderly people as i'm sure a lot of people do. I'm 31 and thankfully don't have more than a strand or 2 of random grays here and there. But nothing I'd need to cover up. If that makes me vain so be it;)

5 moms found this helpful

M.L.

answers from Houston on

I am a hairstylist. I don't mind white hair in young women, my aunt was completely silver by the time she was 20. I do think it looks better if it has some tonal gloss to it that blends nicely, as gray hair often has a dull and wiry look that can look unkempt. One thing we do for people in your shoes, who enjoy their new color, is we blend it with a semi-sheer semi-permanent color. It lightly blends the gray without it covering it all the way and still gives a nice sheen and a balanced look.

4 moms found this helpful

L.B.

answers from Biloxi on

I am older than you (47) but I refuse to cover my incoming gray. I have dark auburn hair, thick and wavy, and my gray hairs are coming in and a few are just wild, kinky, crazy. I love them.

I plan to let it all stay natural. I actually look forward to a head of crazy gray hair. LOL

4 moms found this helpful

V.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

Just turned 44 and have had a few strands of silver creep into my hair over the last 10 years or so...

A lot more have appeared in probably the last 2 years. Actually, it's probably just their location that makes them more noticeable. Rather than being deep in the layers or just a few across the part line, there are more near the crown/front, and so they are more visible.

I mentioned something a year or so to my husband about it. That I was thinking about maybe trying a wash or something to color those strands... he said: "Why?"

Indeed.

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

V.P.

answers from Columbus on

It didn't bother me until my 40s -- I'm 43 now and started dying it last winter. But now, ever six weeks, I end up having to do it again. My hair is very dried out, and I hate the color it fades to. So I'm going to try to hold out and go back to my silver strands. This dying stuff is for the birds!

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.B.

answers from Redding on

I'm blonde so I welcome my white hairs. Thank goodness! They're coming in fairly rapidly. The gals at work asked me where I've been getting my hair highlighted. There are a couple of them that pay a LOT of money to have highlights. Mine? All natural.

I like it.

If you like your hair, who cares what anyone else says?

Best wishes.

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.K.

answers from Phoenix on

.

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D..

answers from Charlotte on

I begged my mom to color her hair when she had a 5 year old and was turning gray. I didn't want people to think that she was a grandmother.

I have had to color my hair for a long time now, and I'll color it until I'm 70, I am quite sure.

Different strokes for different folks!

Dawn

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R.J.

answers from Seattle on

I'd have LOVED white at 20. (My family has a recessive gene for Snow White hair between 15-25... Takes about 2 years to go Snow White.

Sniff!

Didn't get it!

So, yep. The few ones I get bug me.

I've been every color in the rainbow... But all naturale for 10 years. Due is great. I like my brown , though, so I sharpie color individual white hairs. (I DID get the 'white not grey' gene.

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.B.

answers from Tulsa on

People are telling me the same thing though I am older and can't imagine how they even see them.

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.B.

answers from Houston on

I am going gray, not white. Mine is not beautiful. Mine is wirey, ugly color. So, I am a red head! I will color my hair until they put me in the ground. =)

If mine were beautiful white, then I would probably let it go natural. Maybe!

3 moms found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

My color is dark brown, so when grey began showing up it was really noticeable and it made me feel so old.
I henna it now about once every 8 weeks.
The brown turns auburn and the grey comes out like coppery highlights - it's silky, shiney and I don't have a split hair on my head.
I LOVE my hair hennaed!

3 moms found this helpful

J.S.

answers from Hartford on

My mom is 60-something and has never dyed her hair. It's still black with only about 8 strands of white. She has no plans to dye it, ever.

Most of my friends and all of my husband's sisters have gray. They all color their hair and have been since they were in their 20's when the grays started. I think I'm the only one who doesn't have any gray, and I'm closing in on 40. When I've colored it's just been to freshen up the color, not cover something up.

As for whether or not I'll color over gray or white, it'll depend on how it looks. If it's a nice, pretty white or gray that doesn't look grungy and dull then I'll proudly wear it.

3 moms found this helpful

J.A.

answers from Indianapolis on

I've always said I'd love to have white hair someday. :)

Good for you for not being bothered by silly things. People who constantly dye their hair annoy me. There's nothing wrong with natural.

3 moms found this helpful

E.D.

answers from Seattle on

On of my best girlfriends (36) has thick, long, black hair. She had ,many silver hairs by thirty. Now, her hair is streaked with it. We can't wait for it to become totally white, because it will be so beautiful.

When my mom gets her hair highlighted, she has them leave silver bits untouched. Says she doesn't like when it's totally covered. Again, I think she looks absolutely beautiful.

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

I have a friend who is about your age who is also embracing her gray. She started to go gray in her early 20s and dyed it for years but said what the heck and stopped. She said, "If Stacy London can have a white streak, so can I."

My DH says he's too vain to cover his gray. What he really means is that he's not annoyed enough to do maintenance.

2 moms found this helpful

S.G.

answers from Grand Forks on

My mother-in-law and my minister both have beautiful white hair. They are both very fashionable ladies with young faces I'm 42 and have some strands of grey, but not enough to bother trying to hide. I hope I can pull off the grey/white hair, because I cannot imagine going to the trouble or expense of colouring my hair!

I sort of equate a woman colouring her hair to cover her grey to a man having a comb-over to hide his bald spot. It is just so much better that he shaves his head, rather than spending his life tilting his head in the wind so his comb over won't blow away! I don't want to constantly be trying to hide grey roots!

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.B.

answers from Fargo on

Im there with you....im 38 and have some grey, it a lot. I have embraced it. It bothers my mom though.... she colors her and i want nothing to do with that.

2 moms found this helpful

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

My aunt was totally gray at the age of 21. She dyed her hair sooo much that it damaged it (consider she is now 76 years old and the "dye" she had to work with then).

She finally stopped doing it at 30, I think she said - she didn't care what other people thought. She was tired of trying to keep up with the image that, even then, people THOUGHT she had to be.

This is YOU. This is YOUR life. If you like it - tell other people to pound sand. It's YOUR hair. Not theirs. If you you don't care about it - why should everyone else?

Personally? I would do what I could to make myself look younger. But that's ME. MY CHOICE.

2 moms found this helpful

K.I.

answers from Los Angeles on

My husband's family, on his Father's side goes white really, really early! My FIL was completely white by 35y/o and my husband has 2 female cousins who started going white in their 20's...neither of then are bothered by it either...it is what it is.

I say good for you and just keep on keeping on, like you are!!

~My husband is 42y/o now and his incoming white has *really* started to show in the last 5 years or so....I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and am so glad he does too!

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

P.R.

answers from Cleveland on

I don't have an issue with it or anything but I'm not sure I've ever seen someone who I think looks better with grey hair... A friends mom let hers go all white. She's in her 60's and very pretty. Neither her daughter or I have gotten used to it and think it looks good. She just doesnt look as pretty somehow. Maybe salt and pepper hair can look good on a woman but I've never seen it. All that matters is you're happy though. I'm mid 40's with no grey bc my family greys crazy late.

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R.K.

answers from Appleton on

I don't have grey hair but I do have silver highlights :-)) .

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.R.

answers from El Paso on

I've never been big on the idea of dying your hair. It's more money, more upkeep, and more hassle in general, and who really wants that? :)

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

T.V.

answers from San Francisco on

If you love it...just do like James Brown and let everyone know your not quite ready for the cain:

I'll say it loud, I'm GRAY and I'm proud!

2 moms found this helpful

E.S.

answers from Asheville on

I love my "darkest brown" hair (everyone calls it black though). I have been graying since my early 20's and am 43 now. I have almost solid silver hair from my crown, forward to my ears. The back is still almost all brown/black. I hate that it looks like some kind of sectioning experiment. If it were all brown/black (I dye it), I am happy. If it were 100% silver/white I would grow it out and embrace it! I saw a woman once one vacation. She looked to be about 30 and had long silver/grey hair. It was thick, smooth and beautiful. Wish mine went all at once or at least evenly all over my head. I have even had hairdressers comment on how my grey is only in that triangular area and how they had never seen anything like it. Up until about two years ago, my mom was the same way. Her hair is quite short and I was helping her dye it to make sure she had gotten all of the back covered. She had about an inch of grow out, but the back of her head was still solid black!

1 mom found this helpful

R.A.

answers from Boston on

I didn't mind it, until now.

Do to this reason alone :

When I take a picture of myself, the grey tends to make my hair seem shimmery and shiny and it stands out against the auburn. It drives me nuts to be honest. It also makes me look older. In pictures anyways..So, alas, I dye.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R.S.

answers from Tampa on

I am with you. My aunt looked at me and said, "Wow, you have a lot of gray coming in, when are you going to start dyeing your hair?" I said I had not intentions of doing so! My mom never said anything, but I know she was thinking it! What is wrong with gray? Isn't it just a color in and of itself? I also kind of like how it mixes in with my bangs!

1 mom found this helpful

R.H.

answers from Houston on

I am on both sides of this. If you are comfortable, do it. I find salt and pepper on people over 40 to be very sexy. I cannot STAND gray hair on my head because it tends to be more unruly than not.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R.P.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I noticed my first grey/white hairs when I was 17. I did color it for a while. I decided that it was too much hassle and too much money, so I stopped. That was at least 10 years ago. I have lots of white hair now, I'm 40 It isn't unkempt or dull. If fact, I like my hair the way it is and will probably like it more when it's all white which I expect to happen by the time I hit 50! Go us!

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

All the relatives in my mom's family had gray in their hair by 30. They all wore glasses too but I didn't mind not having those. I would do a heavy frost on my hair because I just loved the look of the stripes of lighter color in my hair.

So when I actually started getting them in my 40's I was happy. I like my hair too but I am 53 now and still have a lot of dark hair mixed in with it.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.B.

answers from Boston on

I always said that I would grow old gracefully. Then last year I discovered - gasp! - 8 whole strands of gray hair and had an immediate panic attack LOL. I'm 37 so I suppose it's to be expected but having a baby face, really thick dark hair and not needing glasses yet are my vanity points. The strands were all on the underside and I haven't seen any since (yes I check obsessively) so I'm probably good for a while but I'm not ready today to accept signs of aging. I would guess that where you're so young people assume it's a premature graying thing and if you can rock that look, more power to you! One of the hottest guys I've ever met had totally gray hair in college and it was gorgeous. The look was so striking that he was a model who had no problem finding work, silver hair and all.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

N.K.

answers from Miami on

I think it's a very personal choice. Unfortunately, there IS a double standard when it comes to greying, and that is that men who have salt and pepper hair are seen as "sophisticated", "elegant", "sexy", and "worldly", such as George Clooney. Women who try that are seen as "unkempt", "matronly", or "neglected". My dad had salt and pepper hair when my mom met him and she loved it. He looked like Paul Newman, and he had many women after him...more than he did when his whole head was dark brown. Speaking of salt and pepper, I have seen earlier pictures of George Clooney where he was younger and had dark hair, and he didn't look that great. He looks so much more attractive and sexy with his silver streaks! I do wish this double standard as to who is "allowed" to grey would end though!

I remember seeing a celebrity whose wife was beautiful, she had the face of a model, but had some silver streaks in her hair. They were at the Grammys. Unfortunately, I cannot remember her name, or I would mention her. Anyway, she was in a picture slideshow about outfits worn to the Grammys, but 97% of the comments were off-topic and from men who were saying "She is in her 30s? That ugly grey hair makes her look like a grandma" "Lady, dye your hair, you're aging yourself with that hair" or "Gosh, she looks perfect from the neck down, and then there is that grey hair. Not sexy". I don't know how old the commentators were, but it seems most men don't enjoy grey hair on the first impression. Mind you, this woman had no flaws in her face (no wrinkles, no crow's feet) and had a youthful face, she just has some silver streaks in her black hair, but that alone was enough to make people think she was older.

I do dye my hair, as I have a baby face and no wrinkles, so the grey hair would throw people off (I get it on my sideburns, and the under layers on my hair so it'd be visible if I did a ponytail or a half-up half-down style, and I have thick streaks on the middle upper layer of the crown, especially when parted down the middle, whereas the rest of my hair is dark, maybe I wouldn't mind if it had spread more evenly). I don't like the color of my hair anyway (dull, mousy brown), so it's not an inconvenience, plus I have been dying my hair since I was about 15 or 16, although now I wear a color more similar to my own (dark cherry brown).

I dye it at home, once every 3 months or so, or when my greys are about 1-2 inches long, I am not obsessive like my co-workers who dye their hair every 2-3 weeks. This is an economical option for me, and it is easy and quick, the whole thing takes less than an hour, which is less time than it takes in the salon. It goes on like a glaze. Actually, a clear glossy glaze might be good for you, it will make your hair shine, or so I have been told, and won't change the color. My greys come in wild and frizzy, and rather dull, but I don't know how yours are.

I do like grey hair on men and it actually causes me to turn my head to look when one walks by, more than I would for a non-greying man, and I do find some women look attractive with streaks, but on me, I don't think it looks good, even though I have light eyes and thick, dark eyebrows. Maybe it's because I feel it washes me out and I am already quite pale. I do like that my dye catches an eggplant like color on my greys whereas the rest looks auburn, so it gives me some free, edgy rocker-chic highlights with the rest of my dyed hair. Saves me from spending $100+ on highlights, so I can't wait to get more of those greys so they will look like eggplant purple highlights without making a hole in my pocket.

Do whatever makes you happy, as long as you're comfortable, you will exude confidence and that, my friend, is sexier than any hair dye or other "anti-aging" solution/product :)

1 mom found this helpful

C.W.

answers from Orlando on

My hair started turning silver in my early 20's. Of course no one knows this b/c I cant seem to stop getting chunky highlights and having my hair cut long enough to showcase it but Im looking forward to the day when I can go Au Naturale lol. Kudos to you for loving who you are!

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.C.

answers from Orlando on

That is weird. Me and all my cousins on my dad side of the family have had white hair since we were in high school. I used to be teased and called old so I stopped parting my hair down the middle. I still have a few now at 36 that 'won't' even dye so I assumed that it was a blessing but it is weird that I have less now then when I was younger. Maybe cause they possibly fell out but you embrace yourself for who you are so regardless of what anyone thinks..if it does not bother you then you are good because we are our own biggest critic

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.C.

answers from Savannah on

My husband's hair is not gray or grayish white, but shiny "shock" white, and has been since his mid-20s. I think it really looks great on him, and I'm glad he's confident and happy with it too. I remember sitting on my grandma's lap and just touching her hair, thinking it was the most beautiful, magical color in the world (silver). I was also proud of my mom when she got empowered one day and just said "hey---I'm not fighting my age, I'm a survivor and I'm proud!" and she stopped coloring it.
Me: I always had lovely blond hair with strands of gold, almost red, interspersed in it but in my late 20s, my hair started going darker. I didn't like that because it didn't feel like "me". My hair dresser called it "mousey brown", not just brown that's pretty. What the heck happened, I dunno. So yeah......I do highlights AND lowlights. When I'm a little older and it's an actual color (gray or something), maybe I'll feel differently. But then I also need glasses (I knew this nearly 3 years ago) but haven't bought those yet either.....It's not bad yet, so why start already? Yeah....I'm nobody to model or follow when it comes to this. But I will say kudos to you for being proud of yourself and happy with your hair. I really really hate how "society" wants to cover up anything they consider to be a sign of age. Like we're supposed to stay 16 forever? Please! I promise you this: even if I'm weird about my "mouse hair" and won't wear glasses yet, those are just MY issues about MYSELF and I totally, totally DO NOT judge anyone negatively for refusing to hide behind chemicals to comply with "society". I don't give a second thought to grays (or any other colors), unless they are just unusually pretty and then I'll stop to compliment.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.M.

answers from San Francisco on

I just started welcoming my grey hair last year, rather than continually fighting roots. I'm very happy with my choice.

And I've found that the grey is a wonderful palette if I want to play with those fun, bright, semi-permanent colors. As a dark brunette, I would have had to bleach my hair in order to use those before. Now I can have a purple streak for a week or two, then let it go natural as it fades.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R.A.

answers from Boca Raton on

You are setting a wonderful example for your children, to love the skin they are in. Society is very centered on looks and women aren't allowed to grow old and be considered beautiful at whatever age they are. We get old, we get wrinkles and our hair turns grey!!! I like to dye my hair fun colors so it's a different subject all together... But for what you are talking about, I think it's awesome!
You love yourself and so few do.
I can be in your face with people but for a friend to say that without knowing your feelings isn't nice. But you laughed it off. I knew a girl who stopped dying her hair and let the grey grow out in her early 30's and her mother was horrified and berated her at a family function for it. What????
Keep up what you're doing!

1 mom found this helpful
For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions