Seeing gray hairs proliferate all over our head is one of those changes in our appearance that makes it hard to ignore the passage of time.  What to do?  Going from frequent color to gray or silver is a big decision.  How do we know when it's time? 

To gray or not to gray, that is the question.  Some of us swear we will be coloring our hair to the very end.  And some will happily and proudly let nature take its course and naturally transition to a lovely head of silver hair.  What are some things to think about when considering whether it's time to let nature take its course with our hair?

 
If you are coloring, are you getting the ‘feel good’ payoff for the time and expense you spend?

If it bothers you that your roots start to show after only a few weeks, but you can only get color every 6 weeks, it may be time to consider switching over.  Why spend the time and money and be unhappy 4 weeks out of 6?

Are you ready to ‘look your age’?

If you’re sensitive to stereotypes about gray hair and age, perhaps think twice before going gray.  Not everyone holds that stereotype, however, some of my clients who decide to go gray report experiencing different treatment after making the change.
    
Do you have pretty white or silver hair?

Sometimes, a woman’s natural color is prettier than any color I can put on it.  It makes no sense to spend the money and time on color if your lovely white or silver hair 'outshines' any brown color I can devise.  Have your stylist help you decide whether this is the case.

Are you used to having a ‘fashion’ look?

If you are, and your gray hair is evenly dispersed rather than more dramatically distributed (it grows light around the face but darker elsewhere for example, or tends to show up in streaks), you might be unhappy with going gray.  It isn’t going to provide as much ‘drama’ as you are accustomed to.

Are you accustomed to a lot of variety through use of color in your hair?

If you like to change highlights from blonde to red to plum and back again just for a change of pace, going gray may not provide as many opportunities for the variety you enjoy.

Are you a stylish person?

Gray hair can be a definite ‘look’ that a stylish person can carry off beautifully.

Are you ready to ‘be in transition’ with your hair for at least a year?

Hair grows on average a half inch per month.  Do the math.  Even if you blend your roots in 75, 50, and 25 percentages to soften the demarcation line it's still nearly impossible to grow out the gray line on longer hair.  So, going gray probably means going for a shorter hair cut at some point and for some period of time.

If you have light hair and are considering going gray, either go gray all the way or color all the way.  

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