Popped into Boots in Broomhill this morning. Apart from yet another set of dummies for my youngest daughter, I picked up some Just For Men. 'Who for?' I hear you cry. Well, for me actually.

And that's just it. I have come to the point where the grey in my hair is beginning to play on my concience and that I feel it is time to try and hide it. Yet, should I feel nature is hurrying along at too quick a pace - I've only just turned 36! - or is it a case of 'tough luck, old charmer'?

The opposite sex is far more used to this kind of behaviour. Behaviour? It's DENILE! And I'm now a member of the Deny-the-fact-that-I'm-Not-Getting-Any-Younger Elite.

Pah, it's enough to turn me to drink. (Okay, I turned in that direction way back.) This is stuff your father, NAY, your grandfather used to buy. You'd rummage round your grandparents' bathroom cabinet and there it was: Grecian 2000. It sure sounded futuristic, a date that was not yet on the horizon to a seven year old in the mid-nineteen seventies!

So fellow Forumers, I ask, as a male, mainly to the fairer sex, but also to you blokes honest enough to admit to doing the same kind of thing (denial, fellas, it's denial) - am I vain, or merely trying to redress the age-old problem of what is an age-old problem?

"Just for Men" is quite good, the problem is that if your hair grows quick you get gray roots in a week, which look even worse than grey hair in the first place.

Putting a bit of effort in and wanting to look as good as you can is not vanity.

I think women prefer men that have grey hair to men that pretend that they don't, generally speaking. But women wouldn't be seen DEAD with grey hair.

Men can look distinguished and handsome with grey hair and it's perfectly acceptable. But women seem to be pressured more on a daily basis to keep up the eternally youthful look I think.

Originally posted by nick2
"Just for Men" is quite good, the problem is that if your hair grows quick you get gray roots in a week, which look even worse than grey hair in the first place.

Yeh, but that'd be good wouldn't it? Haven't you noticed the Aussie cricket team (that's the one that wins) seem to have a couple of players sporting the mousey look that became fashionable in the mid-to-late eighties? I even had streaks done myself in 1988!

So, I'd be a fashionable dad? Albeit with a mixture of Just For Men Natural Black and 36 y.o. grey!

(It's okay, I fully understand the moans I can hear already.)

Grey hair does suit some men, but it does make other just look old.

Sounds like a mild case of mid life crisis, you may start thinking of career changes and getting a motorbike soon.
Don't go into denial, roll with it and treat it as a rite of passage.
Mind you i went from 'puppy fat' to 'middle age spread' over night, now thats denial!

Ps.... Check out Motorcycle News for some good bargains

At least you lasted until 36 before you started going grey, my beard started going grey whan i was about 25, then a couple of years later my hair started falling out.

Hey I'm 36 and sat here right now with hair dye on my hair to cover up my grey! I've been going grey for years but now has got to the point where it is extrmely noticeable. I now have approximately 60% at the sides and 50% on top. I even had one of the kids at the school where I work asking me why I coloured the top of my hair white?!

I don't really care about going grey but it does look a bit of a mess as my natural hair colour is very dark. It's not an even distribution of grey either. It's sort of in patches all over.

All hail to hair dye I say!!

id rather see grey on a guy, than see roots coming through where hes obviously tried to colour it, personaly i find going grey quite sexy if its kept tidy, so just go grey naturaly .

I think grey generally suits the person, it goes with skin tone which alters too. If you look at someone who obviously dyes their hair it's usually the fact that it doesn't match their skin tone that draws your attention to it. Particularly if they dye it a couple of shades too dark.

Attitude, posture and general demeanour have more to do with how old people perceive you to be.

Originally posted by nick2
Grey hair does suit some men, but it does make other just look old.

I agree completely with Nick2 here. Grey hair can look very distinguished on some men, but it just drains others and makes them look old and tired. Depends on such factors as your skin tone, etc.

Personally, I don't think it's vain to want to look your best - in fact, I'd go so far as to say making an effort with your appearance shows respect for yourself and the people around you.

I say: All Power to Hair Dye! Use it for as long as you can conceivably get away with it! :thumbsup:

StarSparkle :)

Grey hair? vanity?
no, never, i sorted that problem out years ago:heyhey: as a 35 year old man the problem of having gray hair has never bothered me, why? because as the grey got more and more, the shorter the hair got..... so now im as bold as a babys bum..:hihi:

my mate has gone well grey and has been like that from his mid 20's. I see no problem with using just for me 9and I know he does sometimes ;) ) and I think since George Clooney went grey its become a lot more acceptable and attractive than it was before.

If you want to use hair dye use it. What is the difference between that and dying your hair from brown to red?

Originally posted by sugarnspice
I But women wouldn't be seen DEAD with grey hair.


yes your grey hairs were covered well last time i saw you...only a couple were showing thru
;)

My hubby is fully grey and only 38 and has been for quite a few years.

He did try the just for men/ Grecian products but it just gave him a maroon halo.

I much prefer him grey, It's kind of sexy, shows that he's experienced.....He knows exactly what he's doing!!!lol

I had lots of grey and will be going back that way eventually. My daughter was allowed to experiment with blonde dye on my hair, and there after to put highlighter on top which left me with stripes like claw marks, but actually looks quite good.

Mid life crisis? Nah! Just something for a change. No point in trying to cover up your age cos people think you just look sad.

After my little experiment lots of people have commented on how good it looks and suggest I repeat it when the colour grows out. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. If I do then it will not be to hide my age, but because it feels good for me.

Dragon

why is it mid life crisis for men & trendy for women.
i used a similar product for some time that doesn't get rid of all the grey but just blends it in.
however since a change of hairstyle & a little bit of highlights to be added soon the need for it has diminished.
nothing like a bit of male vanity to keep you sane.

Men can look distinguished and handsome with grey hair

Thats what i always say anyway.....lol

I've copped for a double whammy though.....i'm bald n all!!!

Do bald people still worry about dandruff?

If not - does that mean its hair that is ultimately responsible? I was never that good at biology.

Dragon

Originally posted by Dragon
Do bald people still worry about dandruff?

If not - does that mean its hair that is ultimately responsible? I was never that good at biology.

Dragon

I still get dandruff soemtimes when my head is shaved, it's the dead scalp cells that cause it not the hair.

Thanks for that one. I have seen lots of bald men around but never one with dandruff. However - everyone I know who has hair either has dandruff or uses medicated shampoo every day or so.

Dragon

I wrote this piece about Grecian 2000 for a consumer site some time ago. Its rather long, but the message is simple: don't touch Grecian 2000 with a bargepole.


'I grow old, I grow old,
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled'

You may be familiar with these lines, taken from T.S.Eliot's famous poem entitled 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'. To be honest, I have never quite understood the second line about rolled trousers. But as every line of Eliot is supposed to have some deep symbolic significance, presumably it has something to do with conveying the idea of adapting to change as one grows older. Or perhaps Eliot could not think of a suitably apt word to rhyme with 'old' - 'cold'?; 'fold'? - even literary geniuses presumably have their off days.

However, the first, line has a 'moment of truth' power all of its own. I had one of those anguished 'Aaargh, I'm growing old' moments recently, when I looked in a mirror and saw streaks of silvery grey in my hair, made all the more noticeable by the cruel glow of flourescent lighting. OK, I know how the greying process is rationalised, about how a little salt and pepper can supposedly add seasoning to one's locks, or how a little steel grey can make one look wise and distinguished. But I don't want to look distinguished or be an eminence grise. I want to look like me - and my self image is a person with brown hair.

The sight of grey in my hair made me think of how much we can be defined by others by our hair colour, particularly if it is grey or white. The words 'old and 'grey' are often juxtaposed. The easiest way for cartoonists to depict old people is to add a splash of white or grey to their hair. I remember being amused some years ago when I visited an old people's home and discovered that the nurses referred to their white haired residents as 'Q Tips'. Recently, I was on a crowded bus, with several people standing in the aisles. A woman who I would guess to have been in her mid forties, but with greying hair, got on and a teenager offered her his seat. She looked mortified by this kind offer, but I suppose any greying, forty-something person looks ancient to a teenager.

My 'Aaargh' moment also caused me to consider a choice between two alternatives: whether to follow the path of acceptance, or of resistance. Acceptance would mean acknowledging to myself and indeed the world that I am going grey , inevitably and indisputably, whether I like or or not (and I don't) .

This is of course the more realistic option. None of us can resist nature's process of entropy, by which all living things decline and decay. This years' beautiful rose will soon wither, fade and die. Unlike roses, however, we do have some control over the pace of our decline, if not over the end result. Today's fit young man could be tomorrow's grey, balding, paunchy couch potato, unless he takes action to correct it. Even Jennifer Lopez has to work out daily to keep her magnificent, thirty-two year old rear from sagging southwards. Even the most beautiful flower child of the sixties could now be a wizened, witch-like, raddled old hag, if she has let herself go. On the other hand, if she has looked after herself she could have matured into a woman who is still beautiful. It is certainly true that, if you are not happy with your appearance, you can change it (to some extent at least)!

After some thought, therefore, I decided on the strategy of resistance. So it was off to Boots, to locate a suitable hair colourant for a greying male. I discovered that there are two types of product on the market. 'Just for Men' promises an immediate solution: just wash it in and hey presto, all grey can be banished. This is the 'big bang' approach, where the problem is solved in one go. This sounds great. The 'before and after' examples also look great on the packaging. However, there is an immediate problem concerning which shade to choose. What I wanted was my hair restored to its natural colour. I am aware that in reality the 'after' can look a lot worse than the 'before'. Being of a rather cautious disposition, I checked out the Ciao website for reviews of this product. I discovered that one reviewer found that 'Just for Men' turned his hair orange. Mmm -this put me off. Orange hair may be an advantage on the Shankill road on 12th July, but I can't think of any other reason why one would want to risk it. And even if you don't end up with orange hair, you may find that the result is noticeably different from the 'before' stage.

The other factor to be taken into consideration is that there is still a certain stigma attached to men dying the grey out of their hair (not so bad as wearing a wig, or using a perma-tan, but a stigma nonetheless). Women can transform their hair colour overnight from peroxide blonde to henna red , without being thought of as weird (OK, guilty of a mistaken and unwise cosmetic decision perhaps, but not weird). If a man dyes his hair, a common assumption is that there's something not quite right about him, something phoney and even faintly ludicrous. For example, in Germany recently much newsprint was devoted to the allegation that Chancellor Shroeder died his hair (and allegation which he thought worthy of the trouble of strenuously denying).

The second type of product favours the more gradual approach. Boots actually sells three of these 'gradualist' products, namely 'Grecian 2000', 'Formula 16' and 'Restoria'. These products differ from 'Just for Men' in that they promise a gradual, controllable way to remove the grey. They also promise to restore your hair to its natural colour. They all supposedly work in more or less the same way: you massage a lotion or foam into your hair on a daily basis for about two weeks, and then once the grey has disappeared you top up the treatment again about once a week. This approach appealed to me a lot more than the 'Just for Men' technique, for two reasons: firstly, because I thought it would be less prone to a major tonsorial disaster (i.e. I would be less likely to end up with orange hair); and secondly, as the process was more gradual, the dye would probably be less obvious. So the next stage of my decision was to choose between the three 'gradualist' products. I finally decided on 'Grecian 2000', mainly because I had heard of this product before and thought that as it is produced by a big US company, it must be well tried and tested.

I bought the 'Grecian 2000' foam version, which is in an aerosol can. It also comes in lotion form, but the foam version promises to add body to one's hair. I studied the ingredients beforehand and noticed that the product includes lead acetate. Mmm - worrying. I looked also at the 'Restoria' and 'Formua 16' alternatives and they also contain lead acetate. In fact, this seems to be a key ingredient of this type of hair darkening treatment.

This caused me some anxiety, as I know that lead acetate is bad news as far as one's health is concerned. Until modern times, lead acetate was thought of as having some medicinal uses and was also used by the Romans to sweeten their wine. It is now thought of as having only harmful effects on human health: for example, it is thought to be possibly carcinogenic (based on laboratory tests on animals) . Apparently, unbeknownst to the Romans, it could also cause brain damage if ingested (no wonder there were so many crazy Roman emperors). We all know also about the effects of lead poisoning, for example of the kind which caused children's toys made from lead to be withdrawn from sale many years ago.

This caused me to pause before purchase, not least because I don't want to risk my health for purely cosmetic reasons. Men with greying hair may need more lead in their pencils, but they don't need any lead in their hair. However, I assumed that as the product has been approved for sale, it must be safe if used correctly. So took the plunge and bought 'Grecian 2000'.

According to the instructions, you apply it first in the form of three golf ball sized squirts of foam to your clean, dry hair, massaging it in. You then apply one golf ball sized squirt each day for two to three weeks. The instructions tell you to avoid getting any of the product into your eyes. You are also expected to wash your hands throughly after use. You are also advised not to ingest it. You are also advised to avoid bringing it into contact with any cuts or abrasions. Mmm - this is obviously dangerous stuff. In fact, I was soon to become aware of the potentially nasty side effects of this product.

The first thing I noticed when I squeezed it on my hands was its nasty smell, something between carbolic and a cheap hair lotion. When you put it on your hair, the smell seems to follow you around like a halo. The smell seems to abate after a while, but it never fully dissipates;

Secondly, you have to wash your hands really throughly in order to get rid of the greasy/oily/lotion smell from your hands. However, even when you do this, the moment you touch your hair, some of the smell rubs off on to your hands again Moreover, I can smell it on the pillows, so it is virtually impossible to avoid skin contact in some form or other;

Thirdly, however much one may try to prevent it, it seems almost inevitable at some point that some of the product will get into your eyes: in particular, if you touch your hair and then later, perhaps without realising it, you rub your eyes, you will transfer some particles to the latter. I soon realised this when, a few hours after applying the product, I experienced tingling, stinging sensations in my eyes. This got worse when I was lying in bed and in fact I had to get up twice to bathe my eyes. So one has to be very careful not to touch one's hair after the foam has been applied and just as careful not to rub one's eyes. This is easier said than done, as most of us probably do both on a frequent basis without even realising it.

The fourth thing I soon noticed about the product is that it seems to change the texture of your hair. After using the product for a few days, my hair seemed to acquire a kind of stringy texture to it - greasy string is the nearest analogy I can think of (I am not sure if the lotion has the same effect as the foam).

The fifth thing I didn't like about this product is that, in order for the results to take place fairly quickly, you are not supposed to wash your hair frequently (only about once a week). I live in a big city, so once a week is defintely not enough (I like to do it at least three or four times a week). With 'Grecian 2000' you are expected to live with unclean hair for several days a week, which for me is not really acceptable.

So the only possible reason for using this product is if the intended results outweight the adverse side effects. Do they? Well, for me the answer must be 'no'. 'Grecian 2000' will darken your hair, if the product is applied correctly. What I would dispute however is that it has the effect of restoring your hair to a natural colour. What I think you are likely to end up with (admittedly based only on my own experience) is a greasy looking dark brown, which some may prefer to natural grey.

For me, I think the adverse side effects outweigh the un-greying effect. As the other two products mentioned ('Restoria' and 'Formula 16') also contain lead acetate, I have no reason to believe that they would be any better than 'Grecian 2000'. I have not seen any other reviews of 'Grecian 2000' despite the fact that it is a well-known product: I therefore don't know if my experience is typical. I suppose one alternative for me would be to risk trying 'Just for Men' instead. However, I think on balance I would rather not bother and instead grow old greyfully.

Originally posted by Ousetunes
Popped into Boots in Broomhill this morning. Apart from yet another set of dummies for my youngest daughter, I picked up some Just For Men. 'Who for?' I hear you cry. Well, for me actually.

And that's just it. I have come to the point where the grey in my hair is beginning to play on my concience and that I feel it is time to try and hide it. Yet, should I feel nature is hurrying along at too quick a pace - I've only just turned 36! - or is it a case of 'tough luck, old charmer'?

The opposite sex is far more used to this kind of behaviour. Behaviour? It's DENILE! And I'm now a member of the Deny-the-fact-that-I'm-Not-Getting-Any-Younger Elite.

Pah, it's enough to turn me to drink. (Okay, I turned in that direction way back.) This is stuff your father, NAY, your grandfather used to buy. You'd rummage round your grandparents' bathroom cabinet and there it was: Grecian 2000. It sure sounded futuristic, a date that was not yet on the horizon to a seven year old in the mid-nineteen seventies!

So fellow Forumers, I ask, as a male, mainly to the fairer sex, but also to you blokes honest enough to admit to doing the same kind of thing (denial, fellas, it's denial) - am I vain, or merely trying to redress the age-old problem of what is an age-old problem?

Nothing vain about it for me.

I've started to notice more and more (though thankfully not too many) grey hairs creeping into my hair AT 24!!!

I'm going to go grey disgracefully though. Until I wimp out and shave it all off.

I still get dandruff soemtimes when my head is shaved

Yeah me too. I use one of them scrunchy scrub things to 'de-scale' then moisturise.

A class posting, Lord Chaverly - I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! Thank you - a sad tale of woe, but one that will surely provide fellow Forum members with much innocent merriment :thumbsup:

I hesitate to suggest this in case I inadvertently injure male pride (although I can't think why really - it seems a sensible solution to a problem to me) - if your lordship's greying locks are an irritation (and the available hair dyes even more so....), why not visit a unisex hairdressers and have them colour your hair professionally? There are a much wider range of products available to hairdressers than the general public, and they are (hopefully!) skilled in their application.

Just a thought :thumbsup:

StarSparkle

I think men should not worry about going grey - for some women it is VERY sexy - just think of Richard Gere and George Clooney - it is similar to men who are losing their hair - just cut it short, don't hide it, there is nothing worse than pretending.

Also, unless you get your hair professionally dyed by a hairdresser, it always looks flat and totally unnatural - VERY UNSEXY!

I think the best thing is to present yourself well - a man who is well groomed, well dressed and confident will always be attractive no matter if he has grey temples.

:wink:

Something funny going on here, - I didn't get any grey hairs until my mid-fifies. If I'd started going grey in my mid-thirties I'd have been a bit worried and probaly succumbed to the Grecian 2000 temptation. It must a bit unnervimg to look old before you're forty ;)

Now in my mid-sixties the hair is silver rather than grey and the beard a kind of gun-metal grey with silver streaks.

Originally posted by StarSparkle
A class posting, Lord Chaverly - I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! Thank you - a sad tale of woe, but one that will surely provide fellow Forum members with much innocent merriment :thumbsup:

I hesitate to suggest this in case I inadvertently injure male pride (although I can't think why really - it seems a sensible solution to a problem to me) - if your lordship's greying locks are an irritation (and the available hair dyes even more so....), why not visit a unisex hairdressers and have them colour your hair professionally? There are a much wider range of products available to hairdressers than the general public, and they are (hopefully!) skilled in their application.

Just a thought :thumbsup:

StarSparkle

Thank you for those kind words and advice Starsparkle, which are much appreciated. I think its an excellent suggestion. I have tried Just For Men subsequently, and although not perfect is a vast improvement on Grecian 2000, which in my view is one of the world's worst products ever.

It must a bit unnervimg to look old before you're forty

Just because you're going grey and/or bald it doesn't necessarily mean that you look old. I'm bald and greying but an awful lot of people are amazed when they find out actually how old i am.

My son has very black hair and is often accused of dying it.

He is quite grateful for the odd grey hair now as it's obvious he doesn't

hazel

PS I hate to see the 1/2" of grey when the man/womeny are late with the repeat dying of it.

Listen up, folks! I have come to a conclusion having read your posts, for which I'd like to thank you by way of a pint of cyber cider each.

Before I pull the winning card from the gold envelope, a couple of points:

Nick2 - I actually noticed grey hairs for the first time at the age of 25. It's taken another 11 years for me to come to the crossroads of decision;

LordCharverly - Thank you for a superb post and my decision is heavily influenced by what you have written.

Also, to the comments from The Forum's Fabulous Females (d' ya like that?) - again, many thanks. What you have written has led me to come to a ground-breaking decision.

Hush now. I am opening the gold envelope. I cast my eyes over my audience. I have the answer in my hand...... (feel the anticipation)......

And the winner is:

I AM GOING TO GO GREY GRACEFULLY AND AM NOT GOING TO PUT THAT POISON IN MY HAIR.

Thanks to all who contributed.:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

An excellent posting from the urbane and erudite Lord Chaverly there. Personally, I am rather lucky for a 44 year old in that I have only the tiniest smattering of grey hair, no bald patch, and a luxuriant head of hair. Sickening, isn't it? It is all down to a turn of the genetic dice. If I found my hair greying, as eventually I surely will, I would simply resign myself to my fate and sport a cropped hairstyle. I have no truck with Grecian 2000, or any other foppish fripperies.

Lord C, I think you will find that the line from Eliot's 'Prufrock' about wearing the bottoms of trousers 'rolled' refers to eccentricity in old age. That is how Terry Eagleton interprets it. Then again, he is a Marxist halfwit. Knowing Eliot's penchant for obscure references, it could equally refer to some custom in ancient Carthage.

Originally posted by timo
I would simply resign myself to my fate and sport a cropped hairstyle....

....I have no truck with...any foppish fripperies.

Indeed, some might say the antithesis of foppishness is to have a completely bald noggin.

Originally posted by Ousetunes
Listen up, folks! I have come to a conclusion having read your posts, for which I'd like to thank you by way of a pint of cyber cider each.

Before I pull the winning card from the gold envelope, a couple of points:

Nick2 - I actually noticed grey hairs for the first time at the age of 25. It's taken another 11 years for me to come to the crossroads of decision;

LordCharverly - Thank you for a superb post and my decision is heavily influenced by what you have written.

Also, to the comments from The Forum's Fabulous Females (d' ya like that?) - again, many thanks. What you have written has led me to come to a ground-breaking decision.

Hush now. I am opening the gold envelope. I cast my eyes over my audience. I have the answer in my hand...... (feel the anticipation)......

And the winner is:

I AM GOING TO GO GREY GRACEFULLY AND AM NOT GOING TO PUT THAT POISON IN MY HAIR.

Thanks to all who contributed.:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:



Good for you!!