# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/41 "2014-12-09T18:39:37Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > 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. Same pattern, but I’m 20 years younger. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/42 "2014-12-09T19:21:17Z")
The beard started graying after my son was born. I blame the Boy. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/43 "2014-12-09T19:54:01Z")
In my late 30s I started to develop a grey patch on the right side of my chin, which has very slowly begun to grow. A couple years ago (I’m now in my mid-40s), I began to find a significant amount of grey starting to appear around my right temple in particular and my left temple to a lesser extent. Aside from the odd grey hair elsewhere, that’s about it so far. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/44 "2014-12-09T19:58:14Z")
Head by at least a decade. My beard isn’t “greying” so much as I just have a decent number of those rogue white hairs that seem to grow more quickly than its brothers. Meanwhile my temples have quite a bit more salt than pepper and the rest of my head is slowly following suit. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/45 "2014-12-10T14:57:53Z")
Over the last year and a half, gray’s been blooming in my beard seemingly exponentially. Hardly a gray hair elsewhere, though there’s a few now that are growing in the crop of hair over the ears. I’m 41. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/46 "2014-12-10T15:15:46Z")
Head. I got my first gray hair when I was 17, and by 30 was noticeably gray at the temples. Even today, where my hair is almost white, my beard still keeps a lot of the original black. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/47 "2014-12-10T22:58:30Z")
The hair on my head STARTED getting greyer first. But the beard turned mostly/entirely white sooner. I’ve never tried to grow a beard, but 7 years ago, when I was home with pneumonia for a week, I didn’t shave. And that’s when I learned that, IF I grew a beard, it would be nearly all white. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/48 "2014-12-11T01:21:57Z")
The hair started first, but at 50 it’s mostly its original color. My beard started later, but it’s been almost completely gray for a few years. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/49 "2014-12-11T01:29:02Z")
beard. If I have any gray hairs on my head, I haven’t seen them (haven’t looked, mind you.) grew out the beard for november, and the corners of my jaw were gray. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/50 "2014-12-11T14:52:19Z")
Approaching the mid century mark…got no gray hair on the head, beard, or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/51 "2014-12-11T15:17:16Z")
My beard is noticeably greying. My head, conversely, has so few grey hairs they’re hardly noticeable. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/52 "2014-12-11T15:55:54Z")
So, for most men, beard seems to go grey first judging by the responses so far. Any idea why? ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/53 "2014-12-12T18:50:10Z")
Beard; All kinds of weird white and grey there. Head has begun to acquire fine silver highlights, but not remotely on the same scale. Not even 40 yet. ---
**Author:** ![xythenz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a88e57/32.png) [@xythenz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xythenz)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/54 "2014-12-12T22:21:28Z")
My father’s body hair went grey first. Then he went bald. Then his beard went gray. Dunno if that’s a Dominican thing. My uncles also have a similar experience. ---
**Author:** ![RID905](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@RID905](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RID905)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/55 "2014-12-13T17:23:49Z")
Hair color: mousey-brown Beard color: brown, dark brown, black, red. ( yeah, a real dog’s breakfast of colors) - About age 45 chest hair started with grey - Quickly followed by nether regions going grey - then head hair got lighter and lighter, with a silver tint at certain angles and lighting, but mostly still mousey-brown - beard still mottled with all colors including grey. But I don’t grow a beard anyway. ( when I did, was frequently asked if I dyed my beard hair to get all the colors :smack: ) - Now 53, and grey slowly taking over, but beard is the last to go for me. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/56 "2014-12-13T19:16:04Z")
Beard, well before age 30. I was comfortably past 40 before I started getting noticeable grays on my dome. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/57 "2014-12-14T09:10:33Z")
Beard, but I only started letting my beard grow out about a couple of years ago - by which time male pattern baldness had made it pretty irrelevant whether the hair on my head was greying or not. Now I shave my head completely bare once a week and trim my beard to about 5mm. The beard has white streaks that are more or less symmetrical - when I first grew the beard, my colleagues suggested that it looked like I was trying to climb face-first out of a badger. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/58 "2014-12-14T10:33:57Z")
I had my first grey beardhair at 21. I’ve never had a single grey hair on my head. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/59 "2014-12-14T23:43:19Z")
Hair is blonde, beard is light ginger. Beard went first, where the tash goes below the corners of the mouth. So If I go the goatee, basically the whole beard part would be grey but everything else is a mix of ginger and silver. Temples are greying a little but the rest of the head, nothing obvious. Although a few greys mixed in the blonde would be hard to spot anyway. I’m rapidly approaching the half century. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749/60 "2014-12-14T23:55:53Z")
First ones on the back of the head, but the beard caught up and left them in the dust. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gents-what-started-greying-first-head-hair-or-beard/706749.md?page=4)