How To Transition To Gray Hair

A decision to transition to gray hair is a personal one. Especially if you are in your 50s like me. How to transition to gray hair?

It’s a tough decision to go gray. I grew up with both of my grandmother’s coloring their hair. One has blonde hair and the other coal black. It was always my plan to be a gray hair Nana. However, I was not quite ready yet.

My mother made the transition about four years ago. When I told my mother that I was going to go gray, she said you won’t last. LOL

What is the best way to transition to gray? I believe for each of us it is a personal decision on what works best for you. There are various approaches that women take to transition to gray hair. Here are some of them:

1. Never color their hair and let the gray come in naturally;
2. Stop coloring their hair all together and let the gray come in (you have to very patient);
3. Highlight the hair on the top and let the gray come in underneath;
4. Transition to gray hair with lowlights. It is when the hair is sectioned of hair dyed a few shades darker than your natural base. The stylist will add scattered lowlights, blending the natural gray into the darker shade;
5. You can have your hair stylist blend your grays with the your dyed hair color;
6. You can do a color correction. Your stylish instead of correcting your natural or dyed color, she/he would correct it to be more like the gray shade growing in. This process is very expensive and would require monthly hair appointments.
7. Strip all the color out. Then color it a shade of gray. This approach can damage the hair; or
8. Cut it all off in a short Pixie or buzz. Then let your hair grow in naturally.

What choice did I make for my transition?

Well let’s go back to March of 2020. The pandemic was beginning to spread and everything shut down on or about March 19th in our area of Maryland. I began working from home full-time.

Below is a photo with my hair still dark. My hair color was an auburn brown.

In April 2020, the on our HOA page we found out that a photographer was coming through the neighborhood to take porch photos on a certain date. She stood at the end of the street and took the photos. Our sample photos were sent to us via email with the option to purchase them. What I way to lift our spirits!

The last trip to the salon was in early March just before the shut down. The gray had made it’s debut and I used mascara on the top of my head for this photo.

Going gray was always in the plans when the color no longer held in my hair. It is something that my Stylist, Sabrina and I had discussions on for the past couple of years. I had been going in every 4 weeks for color yet my hair was only holding it for about 3 weeks.

With the Covid-19 Shutdown, we were not going to get our hair cut or color. The gray began to come in naturally. You can see from the photos below I started transitioning to gray from the dark hair.

You can see from the photos how quickly the gray came in. I started getting gray hairs in my 20s. This photo is at the beginning of May. Just a few weeks after the photo on the porch was done.

I made an executive decision to just do it! The shut down was the perfect time to begin the transition to gray. What I was having a hard time with the line of demarcation. It was driving me crazy!

Letting it come in naturally with this demarcation line was not for me. I had it cut short. And, my friend/stylist (lives in the same neighborhood) cut my hair into a short Pixie in May. I mean it was short!

Honestly, I do not think it was more than 1/4 of inch long. Thankfully, my hair grows very fast. No worries at all.

Within a month, it had already began growing.

By the end of the summer, I had more of a style and some length to the hair.

This photo was in September for the launch of my website in October.

Again, the gray is coming in nicely. One of my favorite photos with the little love of my life, Piper my French Bulldog (7 months old here).

Here I am just a few months later in December. You can see how quick the sides grew out. I would take the scissors to the top to give it some texture (my mother was a hair stylish may years ago). I have my own profession hair scissors at home.

Finally, here is a photo from today. This Tuesday, I actually got my hair cut into a new style. It’s one of those asymmetrical cuts. If you have been following me on IG, you probably saw my hair was longer. I just happen to like it short for the summer. I just love my new style. It’s so easy!

In closing, I have absolutely no regrets going gray at all. In fact, I have been get lots of compliments on it. A funny story, my little grandson Anakin believe that I saw a ghost at the lighthouse in Point Lookout. He said to me “Nana did you go to the lighthouse? Because you must have seen a ghost and it made your hair go white”. Out of the mouth of babies! Too cute!

If you missed my post this week on Adding Solar Deck Lights, you can read it here. It is such a easy project to do in a matter of minutes.

Did you see my new patio project? Check it out here.

Hope you have a wonderful day, sweet friends. Make it a great day!