Hair changing colour with age?

[Sophie 378]

We have some debate as to whether hair gets darker or lighter with age. Everyone in my family was born blond; now my dad's hair is black, my mother's dark blond, mine brown and my sister is still blond. Every year since I was born my hair gets slightly darker.

IIRC, blonder hair is associated with youth <snip> As you get older, in general, your hair gets darker <snip>

Some other people, it seems, get blonder with age.

As you get older your hair gets lighter, until it's grey or white. <snip>

One poster went from green eyes and red hair as a child to both brown, and then several years later went back!

Up untill I was 4 I had <snip> red hair and light green eyes - then my eyes and hair slowly began to turn dark brown.
<snip> in the last six months my hair and eye color have been changing by a lot and are back to green eyes (allthou dark green) and red hair (dark red) <snip>

Some people don't seem to change until they start to go grey.

So, what are your experiences with pigmentation changes? Does anyone know what causes it?

 

[Ball Lightning]

My hair is darker then when i was a child and so was everyones elses in my family.

 

[scipian]

My hair is definitely darker. Mine was a very light shade of brown and is now a medium to medium-dark shade. Same with the others in my family and everyone I know. Of course, when you get old your hair gets white.

BTW- I'm 16, if you care to know.

 

[Rhymes]

I've been growing white hair since I was 17, so definitely lighter with age.

 

[Turner]

Poll added.

 

[Irish Caesar]

I assume with the poll in place, it's safe to reply?

I was born blond and my hair has since darkened considerably.

 

[Sophie 378]

Thank you, Turner! Everyone, please do reply and vote now; I've reverted to the original OP which didn't have all that stuff about how I messed up the poll. It'll be interesting to see what proportions we have.

 

[GinandTonic]

Light brown straight hair as a wee lad. With puberty it went black and curley, even the hair on my head. Now is it less curley, and just less.

Testosterone is some wird stuff.

EDIT - Not to mention the overnight-white people can get after a bad illness. Freaky, always thought it was an old wives tale untill I met a girl with white streak post (IIRC) maleria.

 

[Brighteye]

I was talking more about after childhood. I had blonde hair as a baby and now have dark brown hair.
However, I confidently expect it to remain dark brown until it turns white.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

When I was small it was fairly blondish, now it's a dark brown though I assume it'll get greyer as I get older. It's also gotten curlier as I've gotten older, which is alarming.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

I originally had blondish hair and since it has gone brown.

 

[Left]

My fair was very blonde, now it is darker.

It goes like this:

Light - Dark - White - Gone.

 

[Rhymes]

My fair was very blonde, now it is darker.

It goes like this:

Light - Dark - White - Gone.

You missed one
Gone - light - dark - white - gone

 

[GinandTonic]

Baby hair becomes childhood hair, then puberty stomps all over it. After that is changes less untill it either falls out or turns grey.

 

[Ball Lightning]

So no one has got lighter..

 

[GenMarshall]

I used to have pure blonde hair when I was younger, Now I just have dirty blond hair. My hair only gets lighter if exposed to the sun for long periods of time.

 

[GoodEnoughForMe]

Born pure blond, now it's a sandy brown and getting a little darker every year, like it has been since i was born.

 

[Grohan]

My hair was blonde when I was kid. Nowadays it's dark brown.

 

[Israelite9191]

My hairy was unnaturally light for a Jew when I was very young. By the time I was ten it was a medium brown, not at fifteen I have almost jet black hair. Judging by my family I will either never loose my color with no hair loss, go a dark silver gray and stop with no hair loss, or go pepper then all white with significant balding (the first two are one side (Hispanic Jewish) and the third is the other side (Irish and Hungarian)).

 

[JonnyB]

I've been very very slowly getting more and more gray hairs since my mid twenties. But as long as it doesn't fall out I don't mind.