My natural hair colour is/was a mousy brown and over the years I have dyed my hair every colour imaginable. I've had blonde streaks but have never gone totally blonde as I really dislike having dark roots showing. My favourite colours are usually in the red range. However, as I have grown older, I have had to abandon colouring. When I was younger, I didn't have any problems with it but for some reason my grey hairs will not take up the dye. I quit colouring my hair a few years ago when I had it dyed red and the hair around my temples wouldn't take up the dye so I eneded up with red and grey hair - not a look I cared for. My grey hair is silvery so it doesn't look too bad, I think.

My husband is a foreman at a car dealership. He came home and told me the guys were talking about all the "Q-tips" that came in that day for car service. I had never heard that term before. Took me a little while until I realized what that meant!
I work for a non-profit dealing with older adults and the story here is "just cause there's snow on the roof, don't mean the pilot light is out."
Anyway, to keep to the subject, I cover the gray strands. Always will.

If my grey was actually "GREY" instead of white I'd have no problem with it. I actually began coloring my hair in my late 20's when it began changing color on top. When I was pregnant with my last child (in my late 30's) I decided to forgo the coloring during the pregnancy after reading an article on the dangers it could pose. My hair was fairly long, and boy, did I get a surprise. As the weeks progressed, I became aware of a wide white streak starting at the hairline above my forehead and going straight back like a skunk's stripe. The rest of my hair was predominantly dark brown, and it just looked ridiculous. As soon as my daughter was born, I went straight to the hair color aisle at the store! I've kept it colored ever since, though I have changed to a lighter, almost auburn shade since "experts" say you should go slightly lighter as you age. I wouldn't mind going natural if I knew that it was all somewhat the same color. Don't really want to experiment to find out!

I am with the Sally school of hair colouring... only have grey roots (or routes) at the front, but still the same dark brown at the back - so its alternate hairdresser root touch up when I have my hair trimmed and then with Boots best...
Not ready for the crop yet.

I hope I never go grey. lol. I probably will eventually. But not for a while, I hope. I'm only 18 years old now, but some people do go grey at about 24 to 25 years old. My cousin is starting to go grey and she is only 26 years old. I just hope I don't go completely grey until 40's. lol.

Scotty.

Yeah, forty sure doesn't look as old as it used to....

It would cost money I don't have to fuss around and dye my hair, so I started going grey in my 20s and now am black and silver.
I don't mind, I'm more bothered about my brain becoming stagnant and becoming so set in my ways that I forget to be curious.
I plan on having dark purple stripes in it when I've gone completely silver, my son is horrified.

I have a race going on- do I go grey first, before I go bald?

Are you referring to the beard there, oz?

Hee hee Ozz you made me think there. I always said I would only colour my hair if I go grey. Having blonde hair I am hoping that will never happen but after reading your posting I realized there is a bigger chance of me going bald than grey.

Oh the joys of getting old.

If you're talking beards I can grow a very good grey one in a few weeks but I doubt many would want it to stay...

My first grey hairs came in when I was 39. Neither of my parents had a single grey hair until my dad had a major heart attack in his 50's. I told my mother I was genetically disappointed.

Now I have salt & pepper temples, which look nicely distinguished, but they are countered by a white streak on my top right that makes me look like a badger.

'Genetically disappointed' - I like that.

I have a sister who is so close in age that she's closer to my twin. She's going grey and isn't hiding it but her lifestyle and not being in the more public eye is how she made this decision. She also hates the smell of hair stuff.

On the other hand, I'm still being interviewed etc for jobs, and I tend to wish to minimize the damages and hair is the first thing they see. I get it done because the home stuff doesn't last that long.

If I had my druthers, I'd let it go grey and a long mass of curls as that's my natural hairstyle.

My hair is white and has been since my mid thirties

Before that is was golden blonde. when it was changing colour people thought it had highlights even a hairdresser asked me where I had got my perfect highlights with no roots showing done.

Some people ask me why I don't get it coloured but I can't as it is so porous.

A Far bigger problem is that it is so fine and not hair style seems to work

I have to say, reading this thread has been fascinating for me. I'm only 23, but because of my situation in life at the moment, my friends, coworkers, and classmates are all varying degrees of older than me. I haven't worried too much about going grey, and I'm not sure I will even when it happens (I know, famous last words . . . actually, I rather think starting to grey early would have its advantages - when you grey at 26, it's not that you're getting "old," you just have "bad" genes! ), but it seems that the time may be closer than I imagined! But I am really surprised to read about some of the age perceptions that have been mentioned. Although I have heard the idea that women of a "certain age" should keep their hair short, I had no idea that some felt that age was 30! Again, maybe its my environment (my best friends probably average 30-31 years in age, to say nothing of the lovely ladies around FT ), or maybe it's just that 30 is getting closer and closer all the time, but I would never dream of describing a 30-year-old woman as a "of a certain age"!

You know you're going grey when your baby brother takes a look at you and says, "You're beginning to look like Santa Claus."

Never mind that I haven't hit 40 yet. My beard is greying, as are the hairs on the top of my head. That is, what's left on top of my head, because I'm also going bald.

And not to be left out, my nose hairs have also decided to change colors for the late summer/early autumn of my life.

I got a good patch of hair going grey at front. I'm blaming my son -it wasn't there before he came along Not worried about it at all though. It is what it is.

My new hairdresser was having a close inspection of what he had to work with
(Middle aged woman,thick curly hair about 80 % grey if not coloured) I was telling him what I was hoping for from the cut and colour and he replied "Darling I'm not a plastic surgeon" Says it all really. He did go on to say that the grey is "crystal grey' whatever that maybe ! I'm still going to him as at least I thought he was honest and the cut turned out OK !

sal, that makes me laugh, as I'm getting just the slightest suggestion of a 'lady' beard myself....

I don't think it suits me, but as beards go grey independently from hair mine is 30 years ahead and would be curious to see what it looked like. I'd need a month to know and probably get so many rude remarks after a week I'd give up and get rid of it.

Mu beard has started to go grey - but if I keep it trimmed it is less noticeable if I keep it trimmed. I've also got some streaks in my hair.

It shouldn't be a problem though - the way I'm going I'll be bald before all my hair goes white!

Agony, I had one of those moments at work the other day.

November is 'Movember' - there was a memo round asking the male staff to grow a moustache for charity, specifically men's health charities. I offered to sponsor the three 20 something lads on our team. One replied that he couldn't grow a moustache, and I had to tell him that if I can, so can he!

The sad thing is, mine would probably be the best after a month!