I’m closing in on 65, and while my hair is thinner than it used to be, I have yet to sprout a gray hair. My dad was 72 when he died and his was still more dark than gray. Mom, on the other hand, started graying at 40. One of my sisters takes after her.
Personally, I have no issue with people dying their hair, altho it shouldn’t be screamingly obvious, because then it just seems pathetic. Not that anyone cares what I think. But I do reserve the right to think someone’s sad attempts at clinging to youth can be comical.
You’re very lucky to be an outlier. I already had a bald spot on the top of my head when I was 17.
I found hairpieces to be especially noticable back in the '70s. Watch episodes of Columbo or Mission: Impossible and you’ll see lots of male actors wearing ones that are painfully obvious (Ross Martin is one I can never get out of my mind).
Pay close attention to the close-ups of Don Adams in The Nude Bomb (1980). Not only is his hairpiece awful, you can see his sideburns are painted on.
Seriously though, if a dude wants to dye his hair, whatever. I typically think guys can “get away with it” (not dying) more than women can, but I don’t think it’s any more egregious than many things younger people do to “look better”.
I will say, there is absolutely nothing a person can do to themselves that will change their appearance more than changing your hair. I was watching The Americans and those wigs truly are really effective. Number 2 would be makeup, which even on young people is totally deceiving.
I’m 47, probably 5% gray. I’m thinking out a little on top, which started looking terrible when I had long swept back bangs. So now I have a short cropped Caesar. Not a super attractive haircut, but it almost completely hides the thinning and is “all natural”. Lots of people do things to hide the aging process, I don’t begrudge them of that. And I don’t usually look at old actors and go “nuh uh!”. My default assumption is everyone in hollywood is fake as hell no matter what the age and I don’t really think about it.
I think people should do whatever they want with their hair. Some guys with gray hair look distinguished. Some do not. If they want to dye it, why not? They spend their whole careers altering their appearance for one part or another, why not look the way you want to off screen?
Better dyed hair than some I see in the real world - older guys with long, stringy grey hair that they apparently never wash. If you’re gonna have long grey hair, letting it get stringy makes you look like you’re a witch.
But fer cripes sake, no pony tails, especially if you’re bald on top.
Most people think of obviously “unnatural” hair colors in a different category from “imitation-natural” dyeing. I know some older women with bright blue or purple colored hair, and they don’t get any more flack for it than younger women do (which is a non-zero amount in both cases, sadly).
Helen Mirren and Judy Dench look fabulous with their naturally grey hair BUT as someone who went grey at 24 (very dark brown hair) I wasn’t confident enough to embrace the grey and began dying it.
I’m now 43 and still dying but a much lighter brown as my own old dark brown is aging.
Many people see men who are grey as distinguished but women who are grey looking older than they actually are
Dying his hair? Hell, he’s often not even bothering to shave anymore! His hair changes these days depending on whether or not he’s in a movie (and for Terminator: Genisys he let it go his now-natural grey). Otherwise, he doesn’t seem to bother. If you’ve seen a recent picture of him with dyed hair someone probably paid him to do that.
Hell, the 20-somethings are now sporting grey hair.
It’s their hair, they can wear it (or not) the way they want to. Even if I think the effect is comical or sad I ain’t gonna say a word to the person who likes the 'do. Their hair, their decision, none of my business.
Laugh all you want. Looking like a 75-year-old hippie get me seats on buses, mobility privileges at airports, and comfortable seats on airplanes, along with being whisked through passport control at my destination.
In fairness to Ted Danson, I remember seeing him on talk shows once in a while back in the Cheers days, and he didn’t wear the toupe on his own time. It was just part of the costume for him.
. and said he looked like a little old soccer mom. Probably wearing a wig!