Graying at 19.

Solomon Pleasant

Hi guys,

I'll get straight to the point. I'm 19 years old, male and I'm starting to go grey. Over the last month or two I've started to notice the odd grey hair or two and now there's a few - it's clear that they're increasing. It's something I'm already fairly self-conscious about even though it's in very early stages yet.

Anyway, has anyone come across any successful techniques for reducing the graying hair or reversing the effects? At 19 I feel this is a very young age for this to be happening and it's feels pretty unfair if I' honest. I didn't think I'd have to worry about this until I was at least 30 and by that age it wouldn't bother me at much as it would be much more common among men by then.

Would anyone recommend dying it? At the moment I've just been cutting the grey hairs back, but that's not going to work forever unfortunately. I'd really appreciate any advice anyone has and feel free to share if you've been in a similar situation yourself, or know someone else who has. Thanks!

Passenger

At 19 be thankful that it's greying and not balding. It's easily fixed. Some Just For Men should rectify it.

dev100

I'm a lot older and bald .... wouldn't worry about it . I had a recording hair line in my late teens early 20 s I got ribbed about it but who cares. You can't change genetics or body changes they will happen whether you like it or not. 30 isn't a magical number that things go south either.

Some women like the silver foxes  sticking some just got men in your hair, problem with that is you have to keep doing it . Shave it off cheaper and cleaner.

I had a mate who in his late teens was grey and it didn't stop him pulling the women either

endacl

I started going grey at 16. Now 43 and full silver since I was in my 20s. I'd have spent the price of a feckin' Ferrari if I'd started that just for men shyte.

Don't bother.

Alun

endacl wrote: »

I started going grey at 16. Now 43 and full silver since I was in my 20s. I'd have spent the price of a feckin' Ferrari if I'd started that just for men shyte.

Don't bother.

I agree. I started showing signs of grey streaks at 18/19, pretty much all grey by mid 20's, and since about mid-40's white. I'm 60 now, but I do have a full head of hair, unlike my father who was bald by his mid 20's, which I'm very grateful for.

BloodBath

I started getting my first greys at 16 as well. At 35 now I have a lot more but still mainly black. It's been a very gradual process. Went through a phase in my 20's of using just for men but now I don't care. It's just a genetic thing. I wouldn't worry about it.

milli milli

Solomon Pleasant wrote: »

At 19 I feel this is a very young age for this to be happening and it's feels pretty unfair if I' honest

I was 18 when I started getting greys and I'm a woman! It's a pain and I've been covering it up for 20 odd years! But as others have said, many would prefer the greys than losing their hair. So do take some consolation from that.

Controversial-
Ok I'm going to say it and this is a woman's perspective. But if guys are going to stick with nature and not cover up the greys, then at least get a tan (I'm talking about a lot of greys, not first greys).
Grey hair on a youngish man with an Irish complexion looks very washed out.
The reason George Clooney and all those silver foxes are rocking that look is because they have a tan.
Otherwise I'd look at Just for Men.

Feel free to ignore my advice but just speaking from a woman's perspective.
I'd say the same to women letting nature take its course. At least with women we can wear bright makeup to offset the grey.

milli milli

OP there is a link to greying and Vitamin B12 deficiency, so your diet could be the cause?
I turned vegetarian at 14. I only found out last year about the link, so I may have been the cause of my own greying.

Take a look - http://www.livestrong.com/article/397583-vitamin-b12-deficiency-symptoms-gray-hair/

Sin City

Embrace the grey
Women love it

H3llR4iser

Don't worry too much, I started graying up a bit arount 16-17, but it went on very, very gradually; Turning 37 this year and only some graying areas are starting to be visible without having to do an "inspection". In my case,

I noticed that keeping the hair short helps making the grey be less noticeable, might be worth a shot.

It's normally a genetic factor anyway, my granddad was totally gray in his wedding day pictures - and he was 31 at the time!

milli milli wrote: »

Controversial-
Ok I'm going to say it and this is a woman's perspective. But if guys are going to stick with nature and not cover up the greys, then at least get a tan (I'm talking about a lot of greys, not first greys).
Grey hair on a youngish man with an Irish complexion looks very washed out.
The reason George Clooney and all those silver foxes are rocking that look is because they have a tan.
Otherwise I'd look at Just for Men.

Feel free to ignore my advice but just speaking from a woman's perspective.
I'd say the same to women letting nature take its course. At least with women we can wear bright makeup to offset the grey.

Nah, not controversial at all honestly - appreciate the genuine insight!

Agent Smith

I started greying at 17ish,


You could dye it... But often it'll look ridiculous.

Embrace it!

pumpkin4life

I know it's easy for me to say, but from what I've seen:

Lads who grey prematurely do fine.

Lads who bald prematurely do terribly.

Wouldn't worry about it tbh.

If you're really concerned about it, maybe cut it shorter or dye it?

Or lift weights/good diet to give yourself confidence/make up for it/slow it down?

cruizer101

milli milli wrote: »

Controversial-
Ok I'm going to say it and this is a woman's perspective. But if guys are going to stick with nature and not cover up the greys, then at least get a tan (I'm talking about a lot of greys, not first greys).

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with this, how do you want him to get a tan?
I'm guessing your not talking about a fake tan so are you are advising to go for some sunbed sessions which it is widely accepted are bad for your health, potentially leading to skin cancer or at best premature skin aging, because of grey hair.

OP I would say accept and embrace it, many men start to get greys in their 20's

milli milli

cruizer101 wrote: »

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with this, how do you want him to get a tan?
I'm guessing your not talking about a fake tan so are you are advising to go for some sunbed sessions which it is widely accepted are bad for your health, potentially leading to skin cancer or at best premature skin aging, because of grey hair.

OP I would say accept and embrace it, many men start to get greys in their 20's

You can disagree with me if you like, but it does look washed out.

And no I don't advocate sunbeds at all, so there's no need to lecture on skin cancer. There's nothing wrong with a bit of fake tan. But generally if you're outdoorsy at all, you get a healthy 'colour' (safely of course, using SPF).

P.S. before I get attacked for mentioning 'fake tan', the tan can be as light as this.

cruizer101

milli milli wrote: »

You can disagree with me if you like, but it does look washed out.

And no I don't advocate sunbeds at all, so there's no need to lecture on skin cancer. There's nothing wrong with a bit of fake tan. But generally if you're outdoorsy at all, you get a healthy 'colour' (safely of course, using SPF).

P.S. before I get attacked for mentioning 'fake tan', the tan can be as light as this.

Fair enough if you think it looks washed out I wasn't really disagreeing with that its just a personal preference.

I was more disagreeing with the suggestion of getting a tan by which I assumed you meant using a sunbed as opposed to using a fake tan product which I wouldn't of really called getting a tan.

Wouldn't be bothered with fake tan myself and can't imagine too many guys would, seems a lot of effort to go to just because of grey hair. If I was going to go down the road of using any product I'd go with the hair dye would seem far more practical.

Brego888

Op don't listen to this tan nonsense. I think it's terrible advice to tell someone who's already self conscious at 19 that they now need a tan to compensate for a natural gradual change of hair colour. Embrace your grey hair. I started going grey around your age and now at 33 I'm a mixture of grey and brown. Women have always been into it. And my skin is pasty white!

Over the years you'll get the stock comment:
"Wow you're getting pretty grey there aren't you"
To which you respond:
"Yeah it's great, I'm going for the whole silver fox look!"

Be confident with it. I love my grey hair.

Pat Mustard

milli milli wrote: »

There's nothing wrong with a bit of fake tan.

I'm going to disagree with you as well.

First, I would think that many Irish women would be a bit put off if they found out that a man used fake tan. It's a bit effeminate and it can come across as a bit affected. Ryan Reynolds might get away with that because he's a Hollywood actor and he comes across as somewhat effeminate.

Secondly, a natural tan can look good. But what does not look good is the weatherbeaten look that can come with it. If people can manage to maintain a natural tan without the additional aging of the skin, fair play but I doubt that many who have a pale Irish complexion will get away with it for long.

Men's self dye jobs can look appalling but I wonder if those are men who do it themselves. If anyone recalls when Bertie Ahern first ditched the anorak about twenty years ago, he got a professional hair dye job done as well which still had some grey. It suited him well.

Personally, I'd just get over it because of a personal preference for fewer unnecessary grooming products.

TerrorFirmer

Note that almost everyone is repsonding along the lines of "I'm thirty something now and it's grand"! The OP is 19. Think back to when you were 19. Obviously grey hair is going to be a concern for most young men of that age, it's not the norm. If you're unhappy with it, just dye your hair - at this point, nobody other than yourself or someone who spends an awful lot of time with you has even noticed the grey's creeping in! And most definitely, going grey is far, far less stressful then losing your hair!

Corvo

I was pretty grey (sides only) at 19, a lot more than you have now I can assure you. It's stayed pretty much the same bar a small increase in volume and I'm 28 now, but I do keep my hair short (its still quite noticeable) and once I let it grow more than two weeks, its even more so. I too thought about dying it as I was subject to the usual slagging by mates, but it never really annoyed me that much and it never hampered me with regards the opposite sex - other things are more important when it comes to that, believe me.

Simply put, I don't think it will have any real effects on your life. If you feel like dying it, do so, but beware that it can look a tad stupid and that it will need constant care / dying over time. Speak to your barber, try a few different styles perhaps and embrace it. You'll be fine.

endacl

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Note that almost everyone is repsonding along the lines of "I'm thirty something now and it's grand"! The OP is 19. Think back to when you were 19. Obviously grey hair is going to be a concern for most young men of that age, it's not the norm. If you're unhappy with it, just dye your hair - at this point, nobody other than yourself or someone who spends an awful lot of time with you has even noticed the grey's creeping in! And most definitely, going grey is far, far less stressful then losing your hair!

I honestly didn't give a polite shyte at 19 either.

Brego888

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Note that almost everyone is repsonding along the lines of "I'm thirty something now and it's grand"! The OP is 19. Think back to when you were 19. Obviously grey hair is going to be a concern for most young men of that age, it's not the norm. If you're unhappy with it, just dye your hair - at this point, nobody other than yourself or someone who spends an awful lot of time with you has even noticed the grey's creeping in! And most definitely, going grey is far, far less stressful then losing your hair!

If you read the thread properly most of us have. And I didn't give a shyte at 19 either!

SarahMollie

Hi OP,

Honestly I think you should dye it if it bothers you. Just for Men or similar should do fine, but a quick tip when choosing the colour, err on the side of a lighter colour. If you inadvertently dye it darker, it can look very false/obvious. Much easier to start lighter and then go a shade darker the next time if you need it.

One of my best friends husbands has been doing this since around your age - sure its a bit of a chore but he feels its worth it for his confidence.