I found my first gray hair when I was 28 and I will be 60 next month. I gave up my highlights, low lights and coloring a year ago this time. The abundance of gray, add a few more wrinkles, definitely looking older. Ugh!
The time spent in the chair every 5 weeks, the big bucks every 5 weeks got old in itself.

Funny story: I'm 49, and I have fabulous hair genes. My maternal grandmother was well into her 80s before she was fully gray and my mother is 73, and has just a few strands of gray hair. My paternal grandmother was gray, but dyed her hair a stark, jet black, and it looked really unnatural. When I was younger, I decided that when my hair went gray, I was going to leave it - I had delusions of well-earned battle scars and rites of passage, and other such nonsense floating through my head.

One day, about 16 years ago, I was sitting in my friend's kitchen with her. She was also the woman who cut my hair, so she was "attuned." We were chatting when, all of the sudden, she squinted and leaned closer to me. She reached her hand out, grabbed a hair by my temple, and pulled. My hair is curly, but the hair she pulled out was wiry. I swear it was 4 inches long, completely gray, and like a corkscrew.

Where did it come from? How does a hair go from nothing to 4 inches long in an hour? Had it been hiding? And, if so, where? In the midst of these questions, all my delusions went right out the window. In the next instant, I was wondering if I should buy boxed hair dye or get it done professionally. Battle scars, be damned.

I was lucky and it was an isolated incident - I still have naturally brown hair. But it makes me laugh how quickly my resolve to not dye my hair dissolved. Gone. When the time comes, Miss Clairol will be my best friend.

That's the best advice. Do what makes you happy.

I started coloring my hair at 18 -- my natural hair was the color of day old dirty dish water with a green cast and I could not deal with it so I went light blonde. I am 67 and I know it is grey/white, but I throw light blonde color every 6-8 weeks. I don't think it looks too bad -- the roots blend so I can stretch the time between colors.

Thanks for the tip Sally. Unfortunately, the cousins are busy people so will have to just do it at some point. :)

I colored my hair when I started getting some gray in my thirties until I was 55. I was so tired of the he roots showing so quickly so I quit coloring it. I was pleasantly surprised at how soft and healthy it is. I get a lot of compliments on it.

It was funny when my Sister didn't know people could start getting gray in different areas of their heads. Men sometimes get a spot of gray on top or back. some on the temples, etc everyone is different. . .

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*** I have been white since I was 35.
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*** After my divorce, like an idiot I dyed it.
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*** Now have been back to white since 2010.
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*** Hope the (1st pic - Dyed 2009) & Natural White 2nd pic - 2011) come through.
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*** Now I am 69 and love the white.
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***OOooPPppS! entered to quickly & do not know how to remove.