# Gents, what started greying first. Head hair or beard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 9, 2014, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749 "2014-12-09T10:33:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/1 "2014-12-09T10:33:12Z")
That is the question. Did you become silver haired or white beard first? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/2 "2014-12-09T11:10:13Z")
Beard by far. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/3 "2014-12-09T11:46:06Z")
Speaking for my spousal unit - his beard is almost completely white while what hair he has left is still mostly brown. He’s 58 FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/4 "2014-12-09T11:49:23Z")
Chest hair. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/5 "2014-12-09T11:49:23Z")
44 and my beard is graying faster than my head. I’ve got the odd grey head hair, but clumps in my beard, especially around my chin. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/6 "2014-12-09T12:01:16Z")
I’ve been finding the odd gray hair here and there in my head since I was a kid. They’re showing up more often now, but still not enough that you’d notice without a close-up look (the balding, on the other hand…). But I still haven’t found a gray facial hair. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/7 "2014-12-09T12:35:02Z")
Morals. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/8 "2014-12-09T13:01:15Z")
Back in high school I’d pull out a random grey hair here in there, very rarely. I’m 34 and between the time I was, say, 15 and now, I’ve probably pulled out 10 or 15 of them from my head. However, from my beard (I wear a full beard) I’m clearly getting a grey streak down one side of it. It’s not noticeable unless you’re standing next to me looking at it (and my beard is a bit long), it’s probably 10 or 20 hairs, but it’s there and considering my head has no grey hairs in it, I’m sure my beard will go grey long before my head. Too bad, I cut my hair really, really short and I’ve been working up the courage to bic it one of these days and do that bald head long beard thing and unless I do it this summer it’s probably not going to happen since I’d rather not do that with a grey beard. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/9 "2014-12-09T13:14:09Z")
Beard went completely grey long before any changes on my head (which is still only partial). I had two choices – dye it or shave it off. I’ve tried both. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/10 "2014-12-09T13:16:33Z")
Beard went gray first. I shaved it off in my early forties. A beard ages a guy 10 years even without the gray. That’s not good when you pass 40 and don’t want to look 50. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/11 "2014-12-09T13:39:11Z")
Head first at 18. Started going gray in the beard in my 30’s, and by now it’s almost all gray while there’s still some non-gray on my head. Technically, the beard’s on my head, too, but you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/12 "2014-12-09T13:57:24Z")
Temples (beard/hair interface) then cheeks, then chin. If I shaved all my grey face hair I’d be left with a handlebar 'stache. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/13 "2014-12-09T14:03:39Z")
My husband’s hair has far more gray than his beard… but he has inherited a gray “skunk stripe” across one side of his head, which is where most of the gray stays. He says that appeared when he was between 30 and 35, and his hair hasn’t changed much since (he’s early 40s now). So I don’t know if it counts. ---
**Author:** ![Silvorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Silvorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvorange)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/14 "2014-12-09T14:06:18Z")
I am not a man, but I am married to one. My husband, at 43, has white hairs in his red beard and the tiniest bit of grey/white around the temples. I haven’t seen any other grey hair. My dad has salt and pepper hair (mostly dark, though). [His most recent beard looked like this](http://i.imgur.com/mKMOoVC.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/15 "2014-12-09T14:29:03Z")
Moustache is almost entirely gray, but I am only graying at the temples. I never had a beard. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/16 "2014-12-09T14:32:11Z")
Beard by far. It looks awful if I don’t shave at least every two days. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/17 "2014-12-09T14:34:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Temples (beard/hair interface) then cheeks, then chin. If I shaved all my grey face hair I’d be left with a handlebar 'stache. I was similar. What is the cause of male pattern greyness? My temples went grey, then the back of the head, and then the whole head started going salt and pepper. In parallel, my cheeks went grey, and then under the chin, and finally for the longest time only my mustache and soul patch were dark, while all my other facial hair was grey, which made for an interesting look. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/18 "2014-12-09T15:00:10Z")
At 47 I only have a little of the Reed Richards thing going. But the beard has lots of grey. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/19 "2014-12-09T15:01:14Z")
My hair is still 100% brown, my beard is 50% gray. Age 51 ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/20 "2014-12-09T15:04:36Z")
My eyelashes on one side turned white along with a strip of my beard on the same side when I was about 21 or so. My beard is now almost completely white. Couldn’t give an accurate description of what hair I would have on my head, as I have kept that shaved since I was in my late 30s. I am 52. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749.md?page=2)