Guys who have tried dying their hair and/or beard, would you reccomend it?

[qwerty3656]

I'm considering it and want to know if people concluded it's too much of a hassle, does it potentially look fake, etc? Also, did you use a straight dye or one of the dye shampoos? Did you keep some grey or go full color?

 

[Amethyst]

I dunno but it must be a hassle. Most men over 55 who have any hair left, seem content to leave it gray or white.

 

[Koolau]

I used to use "Just For Men" for beards. It works pretty well. It lasts quite a while. I think you're supposed to use one package for one treatment, but I could seal the two tubes and make them work at least 3 times though by the third time, it didn't work as well. What I liked best was that the color "tamed" my beard which, without coloring, goes every which way. I think the box cost about $8 or $9. Not too bad - but smells kinda like chemicals. YMMV

These days I just let it go.

 

[KCGeezer]

I told my DD my beard wasn’t turning white, it was sun bleached.

 

[CardsFan]

Never tried it. Never had the desire to try it.

Maybe a younger guy just starting to get some grey can get away with it. But if you are 65 with a jet black beard that appeared out of nowhere , we all know you dye it.

Personally, it took me a long time to be come one of the "grey beards" at work, and I was proud of it.

In retirement, hey I "earned this".

JMHO

 

[MissMolly]

I don't have any recommendations other than to say make sure this doesn't happen

 

[braumeister]

I allowed it to turn naturally platinum blonde.

 

[aja8888]

I have a full head of hair at 78. According to my DW (and barber), it's a whitish gray and looks fine. My DW would wring my neck if I tried to change the natural color.

But at one time, I did use Just for Men and it worked pretty good (light brown color). No beard so no recommendation.

 

[Dtail]

I shave 2x weekly, so no issue there.
Have the majority of a full head of hair and am thankful for that, so no dyeing.

 

[MichaelB]

For a time during my work life I had a mustache, and it was a different color than my hair. One of the reasons I shaved it was the endless questions about whether I dyed my hair. I grew a beard shortly after quitting my job but shaved it off for the same reason.

I did dye my hair green on New Year Eve ‘00. So did my brother and daughter. Mine lasted much longer than hers.

At work, among friends, and just out and about, I was surprised at all the questions and comments.

 

[mystang52]

I dyed my hair at age 52 or so, solely for business reasons. If I found myself out of work I didn't want to be overt that I was "mature." At 58, I knew that if I became unemployed I would retire, so let it go back to gray. It was a bit of a hassle: that stuff stains anything, so you have to be careful not to splatter. The directions said to leave it in for a certain amount of minutes before rinsing it off; I would do it a little less than their suggested time as I thought that would make the color look more natural.

 

[Aerides]

don't do it, unless you are going to a pro, and even then...

Most women who color their hair in a way that you can't tell do a double process, a mix of base and highlights, that produces a more natural look (no one's hair is all one color all over). And most women wear their hair longer than men, so there's a growing out that also helps - the longer ends will change over time, and touch ups will focus on the roots vs. all over, lending again to that difference in each strand and getting closer to natural looking. Plus more women do it than men.

And...George Clooney. I mean if there was ever a case for embracing salt and pepper, imagine how stupid he'd look if he dyed it black ala ER.

It's unfortunately so easy to spot when a man has dyed his hair. If you are super tempted, get one of those washes out in a few shampoos types, and do it on a weekend, and ask the person you know won't mind telling you "nope, bad idea" to have a look. Then jump back in the shower and lather, rinse, repeat.

 

[Montecfo]

My hair is ash blonde. I understand the youngs dye their hair to get this coveted color.

My beard and facial hair is a bit darker and seems to darken more since retirement.

I could never see dying it when in business as I felt it inappropriate for my role.

And now, just seems like too much work and too little payoff.

 

[eytonxav]

I did dye my hair green on New Year Eve ‘00. So did my brother and daughter. Mine lasted much longer than hers.

Was this a Y2K thing?

 

[jollystomper]

When I first grew my goatee in my late 40s, after shaven it off after graduating from college, it grew in white, while my hair and mustache were still black. I had a "two-tone" look that I did not like. But DW loved it (she always thought I should have kept my goatee as I had one when we first met). Her friends liked it as well (of course DW could have put them up to it ). I thought about dyeing it but it just seemed too much of a hassle.

When the Great Recession hit, had I lost my job I would have been tempted to dye it dark. But several of my friends who did lose their jobs dyed their hair to look younger, and they really did not... I cannot blame them, you gotta do what you gotta do to find a job. But that also led me to not consider dyeing it.

Now my hair and mustache are definitely gray, but my goatee is still whiter than those areas. But at this point, folks have known me so long with it natural that it does not make sense to dye it, everyone would know. SO I am happy with it as it is. Besides, DS and DIL say our grandkids recognize me because of it, as when they see other darked-skinned men with gray hair and whitish goatees on the telly they start asking "Gamba?" So for their sake I will leave it as is .

 

[Earl E Retyre]

I'm considering it and want to know if people concluded it's too much of a hassle, does it potentially look fake, etc? Also, did you use a straight dye or one of the dye shampoos? Did you keep some grey or go full color?

I use Just For Men full color and recommend it. It lasts about 4-6 weeks and is about $8. Ever since Covid started, I no longer pay to get my haircut (dw does it). So I can easily justify the hair color cost. I do not think it looks fake.

 

[Car-Guy]

I tried "Just for Men" on my beard.... It worked okay and was easy enough to use but it only lasted a week or two at a time... Problem for me was it made my face feel like it was itching all the time. So I'll just keep the natural gray.

 

[street]

I think it would be much of a hassle. I'm gray so I see reason to change to much work.

 

[razztazz]

I dyed my hair and 'stache for a few years in my 50's. I felt young. Everybody told me I looked younger than I was so I thought, why not shoot the works?

As it happened I was seeing an old GF from the '80's during that time and asked her if she thought it was phony or thought I was being vain or silly. She said, no. If it makes you feel good why not? She, was also touching up what I figured had to be at least salt and pepper hair.

Then one day I looked in the mirror and said: "Ya know, that does sort of look fake." I think there's a window of time when it does in fact look natural and maybe make you look younger but eventually the rest of your face and "every day's a new one" hairline start to outrun it eventually making it look fake, vain, etc.

I never found it to be too much work though

 

[W2R]

Frank has brilliantly white hair, and I love the way it looks! He is also partly balding which goes nicely with his hair color. The white hair makes his green eyes sparkle, especially when the sun shines on it.

Overall, I think he is about as handsome as any man could possibly be, so I'm glad he doesn't dye it. This also saves him some time and hassle, I would imagine.

 

[easysurfer]

Not for me. When I'm Paul McCartney's or Mick Jagger's age, who am I fooling?


But I guess a personal choice.

 

[38Chevy454]

Not for me either. I say it all the time "whether it turns grey or falls out, that's the way God made my genes". It's mostly grey now, and receding more as the years go on. No trying to disguise it for me.

 

[txtig]

During my working years, I used to tell my wife I was gonna grow a pony tail when I retired. Well, I’m retired now and not nearly enough hair left to grow a pony tail. So, when it gets to be about 3/4” long, I go get it buzzed back. What’s left is pretty much all white and the thought of dyeing it seems pretty stupid to me.

 

[RobbieB]

I don't even go out for haircuts anymore thanks to covid. Bought one of those clippers and do it with a mirror on the back patio.

 

[txtig]

I don't even go out for haircuts anymore thanks to covid. Bought one of those clippers and do it with a mirror on the back patio.

This was me two years ago, but it was my wife cutting my hair on the patio, not me. I’ve gotten over the Covid fear now and visit the girls at the Sports Clip place every three weeks to get shorn.