chewybrian 

Well, I'm a bit closer to 40 than 50, so I hope you'll forgive me jumping in for non-bike advice.

I'm getting too much gray up top, and my beard is weird. I want to color up, but I dread being 'that guy' who shows up to work one day with a shoe polish job. I've never used any hair dyes, and I'm a bit nervous about trying. Yet, the gray is making me look much older than I would look without it.

Is there an effective way to slowly blend in some color? If you dye, and you think it worked well, what did you use? thanks.

XR2

Had greys since I was in my mid-20's. Still do. No pharmacy can deny the passage of time. Age gracefully.

NOS88

I've earned every one of the gray hairs on the top of my head and in my beard. I'm not hiding them for anyone. Any money spent on cosmetic cover-ups takes away from what I can spend on bike stuff. A man's got to have priorities.

Neil_B

I've been going gray since high school. I tried coloring my hair once, and came out with an odd shade of brown that fooled no one.

I've experimented with a buzz cut:



But lately I've let in grow in.

Ali_Pine

Sounds like you need professional help....

Which Kind?

Barber?
Hair Salon?
Painter?
Shrink?
Madame Rue
You know that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth
She's got a pad down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine
Sellin' little bottles of Love Potion Number Nine


For twenty years I wasn't allowed to grow hair. Now I can't.

doctor j

I don't color my hair. The beard is a salt and pepper affair, and the hair on the head is brown with some gray showing on the temple. One of my brothers accuses me of coloring my hair.

I've got enough concerns right now that I don't worry about the color of my hair.

I'd let your hair color do whatever it's going to do. There will be a greater psychological effect on the souls you crush as you pass them by as a gray-haired dude. Go get 'em!

gtragitt

I earned my grey hair. I am lucky I have hair because my head probably doesn't have a shape that would look good bald. If I become bald I will not wear a toupe. The only toupe I want is my Specialiaed Toupe saddle.

The Weak Link

Flesh tones. I dye my hair flesh tones.

And I do my nails. Moscow Midnight. It's a lovely color.

Don't make me report you to Dr. Hartman:

Metric Man

No. Get a haircut.

DX-MAN

THIS.

I couldn't care less what someone else thinks of gray on my head/face (although I have decided to stop experimenting with the facial hair, and never go beyond stubble anymore), because I only know a SMALL handful of people (count 'em on my fingers, no thumbs) who can whup my ass on a bike.

CAVEAT: I don't belong to the local cycling club, so I don't know the middle-aged roadies who would likely multiply that number.... BUT, I don't see any of them when I'm riding this time of year, either. (Come Jan. 1, when the local 'Chilly Challenge' takes place again, I'll see a TON of 'em! Looking forward to that, though!)

Dan Burkhart 

I didn't fret when my hair started falling out, and I care even less that it's turning grey.

Digital Gee

Gray is a color.

DnvrFox

I can't resist

What hair?

But, I will admit that many, many years ago I tried some of the stuff from the drugstore. Not for long, and it looked really phony, I am sure. In retrospect, I wouldn't do it again, but we learn late what we didn't learn early.

Siu Blue Wind

Natural gray is beautiful.

But other than that, why don't you try Natural Instincts? It's a temporary color that covers gray and then fades out slowly so you don't get that gray root thing going on. It doesn't harm the hair as much as permanent dye either because there's no ammonia. And the cool part about it is, since the grays are harder to color than your non grays, Natual Instincts will turn those gray into highlights.

But still, natural gray is much more better. Because it's who you are.

BluesDawg

az_cyclist

I am forturnate.. I only have a little gray around the ears. sideburns (only mid-ear lenght.. no muttonchops) and facial hair are a different story. I have not colored them yet.. and probably wont. I am 58.

BlazingPedals

If your beard bothers you, there's an easier solution than dying it. Daily maintenance is just a minute or so with the electric razor.

Hermes

Pay no attention to these fossils... Siu Blue Wind excepted.

I colored my hair for about 7 years - not the beard. I find that I am shaving more surface area and higher as I get older and elite cyclists shave their legs.

I went to Cristoph's Salon in Washington DC and later the one in Beverly Hills, CA. I used the colorist that did a number of the politicians.

Coloring men's hair is a lot more tricky than women's due to the fact that men do not want anyone to know that they do it. Read comments above.

I started by having her take out some of the grey but leaving a little in. Then I had the whole head done. I takes off several years of age which can be a competitive advantage in business.

The challenge is keeping it up. Grey hair grows out and the color usually turns slightly orange over time. Arnold Schwarzenegger colors his hair and on occasion has that peculiar Arnold orange that the media sometimes reports.

Forget about doing it yourself unless you want to look like the guy you mentioned in your post. Find the best colorist that has a track record coloring men's hair and then pay whatever the going rate is.

I stopped doing it about 5 years ago mainly due to the time involved and expense. I think about it on occasion but do not want to incur the added cost and time at the salon. Although hanging out at Cristophe's Beverly Hills with the starlets was inspiring. But one never knows when I may do it again.

Hermes

Or color lots.

jdon

Shave the beard. That will knock 5 years off right there.

My barber keeps offering to "touch up" some of the grey but I have yet to take her up on it. If you feel better doing it, colour away. There are products at the salons that can be done gradually.

stapfam

Did that once for a charity event--My kids ran away screaming.

I feel lucky-Most of the family on my maternal side went WHITE around 30 years of age. I started going grey when I was fifty. Looks distinguished but at least its not WHITE.

Hermes

Cristophe's colorist used a similar product on me but the salon version. Typically, the products rely on chemicals, heat or both to activate. The non permanent really needs heat to work and last which means you have to sit under the hair dryer at the salon.

scottogo

pink
bubblegum

az_cyclist

Not to hijack the thread, but how many of you guys have beards, or van ****s? I have a mustache (which I have had since 1971). Shaved the van **** in May to please the mrs (but may get a tatt in compensation).

CbadRider

Female here, with 15 years of hair coloring experience. If my gray hair was a pretty silver color, I'd be happy to let it stay. But it's a mousy dishwater gray so I color it.

If you're going to do it yourself, I also recommend a semi-permanent (temporary) hair dye. Find something that is close to your natural color, or maybe a shade or two lighter. If you're nervous about how it will look, you can just do sections of your hair. Leave the dye on for the bare minimum amount of time. If you don't like it when it's done, wash your hair a couple of times. Semi-permanents last for about 20 washings, so it will fade. I have used Natural Instincts and had good results with it.