I want to just cry.

[OnTheBrink]

This morning, I woke up to gray hair! At both temples and in my bangs. I swear it wasn't there yesterday. I plucked it out (took an hour to do that) but I'm not ready for this! What can I do about this? Is there an herb, mineral, remedy, anything that doesn't require using chemical dyes?

I'M TOO YOUNG TO BE OLD! :eek::mad:

[Tonia]

I feel for ya! I've just discovered the joy of gray hairs - I just pulled one today that was sticking straight out from the top of my head. :mad: I really don't want to start coloring my hair. For now, I still yank 'em when I see 'em.

[Deece in MN]

I have learned to embrace my gray hair :)
Seriously, I started getting gray hair in my early 20s and it is getting to a point of being at least 1/4 gray (maybe 1/3). If I tried plucking I would be bald :)
I know I am not helping, but think of it this way: gray hair doesn't mean you are old, it means you are sophisticated ;)

[JennifersLost]

I don't notice them as much.

Actually, now that my bangs are pushed to the side rather than straight across my forehead, my gray hairs aren't as noticeable.

I'm resisting dye-ing them, but I haven't actually figured out a way to reverse them.

The thing that kills me is the new little creases at the sides of my mouth that didn't used to be there.

[OnTheBrink]

I have learned to embrace my gray hair :)
Seriously, I started getting gray hair in my early 20s and it is getting to a point of being at least 1/4 gray (maybe 1/3). If I tried plucking I would be bald :)
I know I am not helping, but think of it this way: gray hair doesn't mean you are old, it means you are sophisticated ;)

Does this mean I may land a sophisticated man? Hmm, this might not be too bad then. Maybe. LOL

[Karen in CO]

This morning, I woke up to gray hair! At both temples and in my bangs. I swear it wasn't there yesterday. I plucked it out (took an hour to do that)

Oh dear - if I did that I would be bald. Now I would really cry about that. I have been going gray since I was 16. I guess it is easier to take if it isn't related to age.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Oh my goodness, don't be sad. Embrace your gray.

[WTMCassandra]

No advice, just hugs here.

[Crissy]

Oh my goodness, don't be sad. Embrace your gray.


Yes!! They are the first outward signs of the wisdom you've gained over the years. :D

[Gigi]

Someone in my family (who will remain nameless) noticed gray hairs in her eyebrows and decided to just pluck them out. Well what she forgot was that the older she became the more gray hairs she would have and the thinner her eyebrows would soon become :p

[Daisy]

I love having gray. It makes me feel grown up. LOL. I guess at 34, I ought to feel grown up, finally.

[Patty Joanna]

No one takes you seriously until you have gray hair. (Or until you lose it, ask me how I know.) (Or don't.)

My dh got gray temples the day he married me. True story.

Age gracefully my dear. My dear son says this: So many women who are pretty 40-50 year olds worry too much about looking young. If they would just look their age, they would be pretty. But they are pretty scraggy looking 25 year olds. (Meaning, a lot of women are pretty if they take care to look good for your age. But they are seriously wrong if they think they can look 25 again.)

[Needleroozer]

My dear son says this: So many women who are pretty 40-50 year olds worry too much about looking young. If they would just look their age, they would be pretty. But they are pretty scraggy looking 25 year olds. (Meaning, a lot of women are pretty if they take care to look good for your age. But they are seriously wrong if they think they can look 25 again.)

That BoyBob of yours is smart beyond his young years.

[Jenileigh]

I color. (and the message has to be at least 10 characters long to post) Wowzas!

[Tammy in Germany]

I totally understand what you mean. :eek: I've decided I'll just embrace them as a part of growing older. I feel lately I've earned everyone of them. ;)

[naturalmom]

and I've been a bit discouraged lately, because although I just turned 40 this year, most people I know think I'm a good deal older than that because of the gray.

I made a decision to not color anymore about 8 years ago, before I had too much gray. I had an aunt who colored her hair, and then when she stopped - she was ALL gray! I remember the shock of seeing her go from black to gray. I decided then I wouldn't ever do that. At that point, it would be so much money and time to keep the gray from peeking out, that imho it wouldn't be worth it.

OTOH, I only know a few women who don't color their hair. And I do find it disheartening when I look older than someone who is actually younger than I am - mostly due to the hair color.

I once read about someone who went to Africa and was concerned about still being able to color her hair - until she got there, and realized that many, many people don't live long enough for gray hair to be an issue.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

I am 45 now and I started turning grey at 25. I am about 50% grey at this point and recently decided to color my hair a dark brown. My natural color was a light brown. Well.... the grey parts turned out a dark red UGH!!!! But dh loves it and so does my son.

[DB in NJ]

Let me tell ya....if I plucked all my grays, I'd be BALD. They're *everywhere*

I'll be 44 in March. Bleh.

I dye mine, so I don't have an answer to your question. Just empathy.

:)

[Amy in NH]

I don't mind the gray so much, it's the fact that they seem to have a different, wiry texture! I don't want wiry hair!

And what's up with those tiny wrinkles that are appearing around my eyes?

Edited to add:

I decided long ago that I will never color my hair. I want to age gracefully (if possible).

Patty Joanna - You're son is very wise! It is amazing how those cute clothes I used to love when I was 20 look quite ridiculous on me now. :(

Along those same lines - I tell my sons that when they get old enough to choose a mate they should look at a young woman's personality above her looks; Someday the external beauty will fade, but internal ugliness will always be there!

[OnTheBrink]

No one takes you seriously until you have gray hair. (Or until you lose it, ask me how I know.) (Or don't.)

My dh got gray temples the day he married me. True story.

Age gracefully my dear. My dear son says this: So many women who are pretty 40-50 year olds worry too much about looking young. If they would just look their age, they would be pretty. But they are pretty scraggy looking 25 year olds. (Meaning, a lot of women are pretty if they take care to look good for your age. But they are seriously wrong if they think they can look 25 again.)

*sigh* I happen to agree with your son. I guess I just don't want to accept that I'm 41. I don't feel any different than when I was 30. Just Thursday my MK lady was complementing me on my youthful skin and how I have no lines or wrinkles and then the next day, gray hair! It's like a very unfunny cosmic joke or something.

I'll see how fast this progresses. If it's just the little bit at my temples, I'll leave it. I'm not sure I want to commit to coloring.

[Tammyla]

Now, don't do that. You'll just get more or worse yet, they wont grow back at all.:rolleyes: Embrace them or color them. But, sisters...Do not pluck them.

[cin]

I have a fair amout of gray hair. I like it, it has more texture than my otherwise LIMP hair! I've also decided to embrace it. I LOVE salt and pepper hair on men and women and I think white hair is beautiful. It may have something to do with 2 of my mentors, who are both VERY wise in many areas, have beautiful gray hair.

Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
it is attained by a righteous life Proverbs 16:31 ;)

[cin]

Forgot to tell you, when we were in Vietnam we saw 2 women on the street. We were a great distance away but one of them was picking at the head of the other one. We immediately thought OH GROSS!!! Lice!!!! (or some more exotic parasite). As we walked by we say that she was plucking the gray hair out of her head. I think the Asian hair is beautiful with Grey/white throughout it.

[Tonia]

I don't mind the gray so much, it's the fact that they seem to have a different, wiry texture! I don't want wiry hair!

That is my problem - the gray won't stay flat with the rest of my hair, but sticks out at odd angles and it's texture is different. Well, at least I can be thankful that I've only got about ten grays right now. :rolleyes:

[momtolgd]

I have a few gray hairs also...but don't want to start coloring my hair yet. What I find funny is that my hair is long (down my back) and I will find a long gray hair in the midst of a bunch of brown ones...how does one long hair turn gray like that?! It just looks funny to me and to dh.

Gray hair runs in my family...especially on my mom's side...she has been coloring her hair for years.

[OnTheBrink]

Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
it is attained by a righteous life Proverbs 16:31 ;)

Thank you for that. Now it doesn't seem so bad!