Signs It's Time To Stop The Root Touchups And Embrace Your Gray

Gray hair is anything but straightforward. When you can expect to go gray differs from person to person. It can appear in young people in their early twenties or it can be barely noticeable in somebody in their fifties. In men, gray hair can be an attractive quality and a power boost but in women, it can be frowned upon in certain circles, from family and friends to the workplace (via The Economic Times). It can grow in a definite pattern or appear scattered throughout the head.

Consequently, many people dye their hair at the first sign of gray but after many years, eventually, begin to wonder what their hair would look like if they grew it out. They ponder whether they'd look or feel better saying goodbye to dye for good.

Yet, whether we like it or not, going gray has implications. Even if you are fully ready to embrace it yourself, people around you will have their own opinions and comments, good and bad, so you have to be ready before you decide to do it. You'll know it's time when you notice a few key signs.

Going gray is rarely done on a whim. For starters, it takes a long time to grow in so you have some time to decide if it's right for you.

If you dread going to the salon for your regular root touch-ups or put off dyeing your roots at home because you're sick of doing it, that can be a sign (via 40+ Style). Many women report that keeping up with the ever-growing demarcation line can be a lesson in endurance. Additionally, a big reason why many choose to go au natural is that they don't want to keep putting chemicals on their head.

The next sign is that even if you don't dread the time it takes to get the job done every few weeks, you definitely can't stand how much it costs. You may not even be able to afford it or want to set aside money for it anymore. For some, the practice of regular root touch-ups just becomes a maintenance activity they are no longer willing to do.

Often when you've been dyeing your hair a long time, you can lose sight of your natural skin tone. After a while, boxed dyes can become too harsh, making you look washed out, as per Ultimate Looks. Natural gray can boost your complexion.

Another sign that gray may be the way to go is that your hair is in bad shape. Repeated dye jobs can leave hair fragile, breakable, frizzy, and generally unhealthy. If your hair is thinning or constantly breaking or falling out, it can benefit from no longer being exposed to dye on a regular basis.

If you find a sparkle here and there and get a boost out of how it looks, you may want to grow it out a bit and see how you'll like it. If you've been dyeing your hair for years, you may not even know what the gray pattern will be like. It could be very gray at the top and not so much on the sides or the gray can be all over, or lighter or darker than you imagine. In the end, if you crave to have your own natural hair color back and love the grays that are growing in, that may be the biggest sign of all.