This coming March will mark the 3 years since I stopped coloring my hair and I never looked back. Best decision ever, total freedom and I am even letting it grow longer at 66. I love it!
The things I noticed on my silver journey are: you get called ma'am a lot, you get side eye from some friends and family, some people treat you like you are your grandmother and take you a lot less seriously as if you lost your intelligence with your hair color ("can you use a QR code or do you need a paper menu?"). So "steel yourself" (sorry for the pun) and go for it. Smile and enjoy your life and your hair no matter what others think or say. It's not really about you.
Great video! I love the comment of how going gray pushes you to accept who you are now instead of chasing who you used to be. So true. I too was motivated to make other positive changes in my life. I would say what surprised me was how much I love it. In some ways it was like finding myself again. I love the color, dimension and health of my hair and never expected it to be so soft. Discovering my original brown underneath was sort of like revisiting my youth as I had forgotten what it looked like. Another positive was how supportive my family, friends & hair stylist were. I have read many experience negativity but I did not and I am thankful for that.
That's wonderful! I'm so glad you had a great experience. And I love that you love that comment - I think it IS so true and I thought my reader was so insightful for coming up with that.
Another thing that sometimes changes is your coloring. For example, while you were dying your hair, you might have considered yourself to have a “Summer” (brownish) coloring. But once you go gray, your color may change to a “Winter” coloring. When that happens, you may need to change the color of your clothing and makeup. What looked good on you while you were dying your hair, may not look good on you as you go gray.
I also lost so much hair once I started dying every 5 to 6 weeks. I‘m transitioning to gray right now, generally I love it although there are days when it‘s hard. I was surprised just how much stress the silver roots gave me before, it is such a relief not to have to worry about them showing anymore.
I'm so glad that you are enjoying not worrying about those pesky roots anymore :-). It's normal to have ups and downs but hopefully the good days will outweigh the bad.
My next hair appt is in 5 days. I’m 50, brunette & have been researching on how to go gray. I’m nervous but hope to at least try for a few months, maybe with the strip dye technique. Thank you for your inspiration & encouragement. You are beautiful & your hair is stunning!
As you said, the moment you decided going grey was such a relief, I can totally agree. It's only 3 days now for me and it hit me unexpected as I saw some fotos of women with full grey/silver hair. I dyed my hair for 16 years now and I HATED seeing grey roots coming through. But suddenly I realized, how beautiful it looks and how I was clinging to a social construct. I am looking forward how my process will be and what it means for my hair regarding structure. I have exactly the hair you had but never thought it is maybe because of dying??? 😆
I’m so glad you could relate to this! It’s true - we’ve been told for so long that gray roots are ugly but if you actually look at them, they’re beautiful !
It had taken me several years (over a decade) to transition. I have been riddled with indecision at different times, cutting my hair off, then getting frustrated with the results and getting lowlights and later highlights - then regretting it - and starting the grow-out phase AGAIN. I think my reasons have matched many of the reasons you discuss on your channel. I love the gray/white/silver I see growing in - I just wish I had the patience earlier in the process to wait for it to grow out, so I didn't waste so many years with hair I was frustrated with.
I am going through the same thing. I transitioned to gray hair 10 years ago and loved my natural hair! I had a relatively easy grow out of less than a year because it got a pixie cut. Then, two years ago, I made the (bad) decision to start dyeing my hair again AND getting Brazilian blowout treatments done every few months. All these chemicals ruined my scalp health, PLUS I was really missing my gray hair! So I am now going through transition #2, having had my last dye done 7 weeks ago. I have a chin-length bob, and I don't feel like getting a pixie cut this time, so it's going to be a long 2 years of growing it out. I have so much regret and sadness because I went back to the dye, and I wish I hadn't done it. But I look forward to the future and regaining my silver hair. I hope you have a peaceful gray hair journey too! 😊
I am 18 months in!!! I have had such fun on all these social media platforms connecting with all the new silversisters!!! Yea, the pluses out way the fears for sure!!!!
I have been getting breast cysts. I wonder if it’s because of me coloring my hair. I don’t want my health affected as I get older. I have colored my hair for 34 years! There’s a couple of thousand chemicals in hair dye. I have also lost a ton of hair. My hair dresser had me check my thyroid because of it. My thyroid and all blood work was fine. I hope my hair gets thicker, and less frizzy. I dreaded having to color my hair. I don’t want to do it any more. I got my last hair color on 2/23/23. I’m so done with driving to the salon, sitting there for 90 minutes, driving home and paying $90 every two weeks because my hair is dark. I’m ok with who I am as a 62 year young woman. I will dress classy at work and do up my make up and that will make me feel really pretty at work. I am so glad I have found your channel and others who are doing this or who have fully transitioned. Isn’t it funny how women do this but most men just go gray and are okay with it. We need to get that power within. Your hair is gorgeous and so nice and long. It’s beautiful.
Thank you, Joan! You should check out the book True Roots - it’s all about the effect of hair dye on people. There’s so little regulation that it’s astounding! I hope that you find that your hair stops falling out now that your ditched the dye ♥️
Your videos are OUTSTANDING. I want to thank you so much for being so real and relatable. The last five years I’ve had so much hair loss and dullness. I’ve been so unhappy with my hair so I figure any things got to be an improvement. I am in my third month sporting the skunk strip with burnt orangey brown ends! Luckily I’m pretty good at laughing at myself while I’m trying to embrace this transition.
What a fun video Katie! I actually found you after looking at some videos more focused on the physical process & tips, but you really delve into the emotional aspects of this journey. I'm still not dealing with many greys and love my full head of dyed hair, but you've given me the foundation info to prepare me when I do! Thanks!🌺🙏❤
You really are glowing!!!!! You have given me the incentive to carry on growing out my grey hair I’m only on month 2 so a newbie but I have to say I’m enjoying it as it’s not looking quite as bad as I thought. Infact it’s looking like highlights and I wear my hair up anyway and just adjust it so it looks better as it’s growing out. But anyway you look amazing!!! You really do and a true inspiration ❤
Oh my gosh! I'm having a fabulous time checking out all the links to your list of silver sister essentials. Thank you for posting them! ❤ I wish there were pics of women who have applied the gray eyebrow pencils because choosing makeup sight unseen sucks. I'm gonna do a search and hopefully I'll find some. Thank you Katie for sharing your knowledge and support to your silver sisters! ❤
I'm so glad you found it helpful! I HIGHLY recommend Eye Embrace eyebrow pencils - they are relatively inexpensive, too, so if you buy the wrong shade, it's not as big of a problem as with some other brands. I'll be doing a video about them soon. I think the link for their products is in my video description box? Best of luck to you and THANKS!
YESSS!!! My hair was like straw when I was dyeing it, and now it’s back to my childhood texture and shine. I get compliments on the color too, and I’m also an Angeleno. I chickened out the first time I tried to go gray a decade ago. My color is the same as yours, silver with dark underneath. I love it, and I feel so free not having to worry about my dreaded roots showing. I went cold turkey during Covid lockdown. Best decision ever!!!
Wow! What a joyful video! You’ve made going grey something to look forward to. I was surprised when you said you were prone to anxiety. You seem so chilled ❤️. Thank you for your inspiring message. You’ve given me a shot of courage to help me come closer to taking that step myself. ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks Katie for your video! I will be 50 this year and I recently finished going through my grey hair transition which took me 27 months and 4 haircuts to accomplish. It is a liberating feeling...Have a great weekend!
The fact that my natural hair is most flattering to my skin tone. My dark brown dye always faded orange which clashed badly against my skin, brows & clothes
I loved this video, very inspiring! I also decided at 47 to stop with dyes, i am still half way through but I am very happy about this choice! My frizzy horrible hair has definitely improved in texture and manageability, it is still a bit tough as they are not all fully gray but it will come!
What surprised me about going grey was that everything I thought about how it would look or how to do it was *wrong*. Katie is very correct that no one can predict your silver pattern. For me, the contrast between my dyed hair and the natural growth looked like I was coming in pure silver, which scared me from making the change sooner, which wasted valuable transition time and hundreds of dollars on dye I eventually gave away for free. However, this is just an optical illusion due to color theory: in fact, my hair is all over salt and pepper with dimensional silvery or dark streaks, and looks more ash brown. Also, I made a mistake in using box dye silver formulas instead of sticking to non-permanent, no-mix, simple direct dyes that are no lift and deposit-only. That would have prevented "breaking my base" with unknown peroxide content in box dye.
Kate is great!! Anyone who is thinking about letting go with their natural gray hair will not regret it! I started around the same year as Kate. It took me 3 years to let my hair grow out naturally after years of bleaching… No Regrets!😊I get more compliments now, more than ever!❤️😊You can do it!😊
Hi Katie, I am very happy with my gray hair. At 68 it is a much better color than the dyed dark brown color, and it brightens up my face. I had your coloring -hair skin and eyes. I feel free and not burden and worried about using hair dye. My hair is so much healthier and shinier and I, too, enjoy have some sections of dark tones. Thanks again for all your advice which has helped me so much in my gray hair journey. I’ve been fully gray for a year. Love the eyebrow pencil you recommended Eye Embrace. I use Warm Betty and Isla. Take care! Eileen
I am 3 and a half months into my transition to gray. I can already tell that i will have a lot of darker color underneath (parts where the grow out is brunette rather than gray but my entire top layer is gray/white - so i think it'll be gorgeous when it's all grown out). Things that surprised me so far - just in this short time, 1: that "skunk line" doesn't bother me anymore, in fact seeing it grow bigger and wider has been amazing i know to others it probably looks funny or even awful but not to me and my opinion is really the only one that matters here. 2: a massive (i mean huge) decrease in hair loss. i used to lose large amounts every shower (20 plus strands every shower) now i might lose 1 or 2 strands (seriously) but that's it. 3: my hair is already so much healthier, it's fuller, smoother and feels healthier now that i'm not putting chemicals on it ever 3 weeks. This has all been enough to propel me forward, to keep at it. I'm committed to growing it all out though admit that once it (the gray) all gets chin length (i've a long way to go) i might go get a bob and just be done with it LOL.
I went through/going through at 16 months dye free, similar things. I haven't changed any social media pictures because my hair is half white and half dark right now but I'm really not uncomfortable with the demarcation line in person. I pin my hair up or half up with bobby pins and cut in a bob. I decided to stop coloring too after a transition of depression in 2018 when I had a car accident and became disabled. It took me 2 years in a outpatient traumatic brain injury clinic to speak well again and learn my new normal. Mostly now it's my short term memory and chronic fatigue after, my speech is mostly normal with occasional stuttering. I had a lot of allergy to hair dye and just got tired of taking benadryl the week I colored it and in Oct 2021 was my last dye. I don't regret it at all. After 4 months, I had incredible decrease in hair loss and my hair thickened. I have alot of new growth still and my grays are coarser though and stand straight up sometimes.😆 But yes, I don't regret it a bit. I should be fully grown out by Christmas and I can't wait!
Jennifer, I wish you continued recovery from the car accident. It sounds like you’re doing well and I bet you’ll love your full head of gray hair! Like Katie said, you can’t really tell what your hair will look like until it’s all grown out-so, so true! I wish you all the best! Eileen
Wow, Jennifer - I’m so sorry to hear about your car accident. I’m so glad however, that you like your gray hair and are enjoying some of the fantastic benefits, too! I’m so glad that you’re almost done too! That’s exciting ❤️
This has been very helpful for me. I want to let my natural hair color grow out but I’m afraid. I’m 63 and my face looks older than my hair when it is colored. Plus, I lose so much hair, it breaks and is so dry and frizzy. I thought it was because of the grey but maybe it isn’t. Thank you for the motivation. Hopefully, I don’t break down and color. I only use Non-permanent hair box products. I thought they were keeping it shiny. Your hair is beautiful! Love this video.
Thank you! Not trying to sway you to gray, but if you do, you might find that the hair loss and frizziness stops like it did for me. Crossing my fingers for you!
Katie, I think that the reason you look so good with your silver hair is because you appear to have a cool, pink skin tone. I have a fair but warm skin tone, and the gray in my hair just makes me look dead and sickly especially with my dark under eye circles. Would you be able to do a makeup tutorial for women like me with this issue? I enjoy your videos, thank you.
Hi Carolyn! I wish I knew more about make up so I could help you. I’ll talk to some of the people I know and see if anybody willing to do a video with me. ❤️
Thanks! My point was just that Los Angeles has a youth & beauty culture so walking around with transitioning hair can feel awkward at first ❤️ Thank you!
Right now I'm growing out my bottle red. It's faded but everybody now thinks I'm blond so my almost 2 inches of gray is sort of blending in. It's a weird process.
@@KatieGoesPlatinum, it def. helps me on those days I want to just cut all the dyed part off and I forget that my goal is, yes, virgin healthy hair but also length! I'm not going gray AND short!
Hi Katie you were one of the people who helped me to stop dying my hair dark. Congratulations on the three year anniversary! So thank you 😊 it’s a very light blonde now ash blonde and I just have it done about twice a year my hair is pretty much uniform in lightness not quite able to go quite grey yet. I’m wondering though if are you a bright winter in colouring as I’ve been reminded of this recently by a kind friend who noticed I was wearing beiges and the wrong colours. I think you and I have similar colouring. Just wondered as I can see that your lipsticks being bright/ cool tones and high chroma really suit you in the contrast to skin tone and eyes God bless.
Hi, Eve! I'm so glad I could be of help! I always told I was a cool winter but I wonder if I'm a bright winter like you? I wonder if I should get my colors done again - it has been a while!
@@KatieGoesPlatinum Hi Katie since writing that I think I might be a cool winter as I never had my colours done properly just as part of a meeting where the colour me beautiful lady spent about a minute with us each but she said I was a winter. I could be a cool winter too so don’t redo your colours just because of what I said 😉, I’ve just guessed what sort of winter I could be.
