My 4 1/2 Month Gray Hair Transition Progress Report

One of my favorite things to do while I’m going through the transition to gray hair is to see other people’s progress, so I’m going to start posting mine on a regular basis.

Since this is my first time posting my gray hair transition progress, I’ll start at the beginning.

Please note that this article may contain affiliate links.  You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.

The Start of My Gray Hair Transition

Over the past 3 years, I’ve had to be on a tighter budget than normal. But I suck at home-dyeing, so I compromised by getting my hair colored or touched up at the salon every 5 or 6 weeks, instead of every 4 weeks. 

If I was a wealthy woman, I probably would’ve had my roots touched up every 2 weeks, as that’s how soon the silver “skunk” line started appearing!

In December 2017, I got my hair colored at the salon.  The salon owner is an expert colorist, and I was always happy with the results. 

But it started really getting to me how much time I was wasting at the salon.  I wanted to be with my family or friends, not stuck in a salon chair for hours. 

Also, the dye made my head SO itchy.  I had read studies showing that darker hair dyes are less safe. 

I started worrying about the health effects of all these chemicals on my head.  So, I waited and let the silver roots grow.

After about 8 weeks, I caved and dyed my hair. I didn’t want to look old (the horror!)

So, I bought a box of L’Oreal hair dye in February and dyed my hair at home.  When I say I suck at dyeing hair, I mean it – it’s so tedious that I rush through it, and my hair ends up dyed on top and barely dyed underneath.

This is me in February 2018, after I colored my hair at home:

Time went by.  I bought another box of hair dye.  And I let it sit on my counter for two months.

I started resenting the heck out of that box of hair dye.  I just couldn’t bring myself to use it.

Finally, in April 2018, I just said “Screw it!” 

And I posted this picture of myself on my Facebook page, stating my intention to let the roots keep growing:

And that’s when I found out one of my friends was also letting her hair go gray. 

She introduced me to the wonderful online community of gray-hair-transition ladies.  And they gave me the courage to go through this process myself!

I have never felt more liberated or more feminist than I did at the moment that I decided to not only stop adhering to societal norms, but also to accept my age.

Why was so afraid to be MY age? What was I trying to hide? I’m still trying to figure out why I bought into the idea that it is bad to get older, when in fact it’s a gift!

Anyway, RANT over!

Here is my 4 month gray hair transition progress:

Disclaimer: My hair grows very quickly, my silvers are very resistant to dye, AND since I suck at home-dyeing, my silvers started showing A LOT by month 2.  Your progress may look different.

April 2018 (2 Months Dye Free):

Already a ton of silvers showing underneath.

May 2018 (3 Months Dye Free):

Hair is turning “calico” – i.e., lots of different colors.  You can see where the professional dye leaves off and the home-dye begins. 

I know it looks crazy, but I like it!

June 2018 (4 Months Dye Free):

This is when I especially started loving the transition.  Free natural highlights!  Who can beat that?

Here I am with my hair up to show off the silver:

And here it is down, so you can see the nutty colors better:

July 5, 2018 (19 Weeks Dye Free):

I decided to part it differently to show off my silver roots.  That created some straggly long bits at the end.  Getting it cut tomorrow, so she can fix it to work with the new part.

As you can see, when you stop dyeing brunette hair, the faded bits turn really brassy, or “blorange”. 

I am going to try some new products soon to see if they help, and I will post reviews here.

I figure it will be a long while before I grow out all the dye.  In the meantime, I’m really enjoying the progress I’ve made so far in this transition!

What about your transition? I’d love to see your pix, too!

Please do me a favor and share this post to social media, as it helps me grow my audience and spread the word about our Silver Revolution!  And remember to subscribe to my YouTube Channel and Pinterest Feed for more gray hair tips and product recommendations. Thanks!

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Related Posts:

Celebrating 6 Months of No Dye!

My 7 Month Progress Report

My 8 Month Gray Hair Transition Report

9 Month Gray Hair Progress Report