President Donald Trump has made a rare and surprisingly visible concession to time: he has stopped dyeing his hair.
The shift, first noticed by aides and later confirmed in reporting, has appeared gradually over recent weeks. The familiar orange-blond has faded into something closer to gray, with streaks of white visible at the temples and crown. For a man whose public identity has long been built on defiance — of critics, norms, gravity, and age — the change landed louder than expected.
According to reporting by The Express, aides say Trump views the move as his “only concession to age” as he approaches 79. The decision was not announced. It simply… happened. Which, for Trump, is almost more striking than a proclamation.
They have to quit experimenting with his bronzer and makeup.
They’re making him look discolored while his hair gets whiter. pic.twitter.com/efDM6Ju8xH
— Anna Baxter 🇺🇸✌🏻 (@MsAnnaBaxter) January 22, 2026
For decades, Trump’s hair has been as much a political artifact as a personal one. It survived bankruptcies, impeachments, indictments, and a presidency. It became a punchline, a brand marker, and a visual shorthand for his refusal to yield. Letting it go gray, even partially, reads less like a makeover and more like a small surrender.
Online, the reaction was immediate and predictably unfiltered.
“I think Trump looks so much better without coloring his hair,” political commentator Susan Kronick wrote on X, adding, “He should ditch the bronzer, as well.” Others were less charitable, with users joking that while the hair may have cooled down, the face had not quite followed.
“Has someone noticed that Trump is not coloring his hair in orange anymore?!” one post read, punctuated with disbelief emojis. Another also offered their two cents on the president’s appearance, “They have to quit experimenting with his bronzer and makeup. They’re making him look discolored while his hair gets whiter.”
“He does seem like he’s walking gingerly, [it’s] hard to know what2make of that. But when you couple that with all these other signs of his cognitive performance, it makes one wonder what’s actually happening behind the scenes,” he said.https://t.co/s2dWG160y0
— Lise Latulippe @liselatulippe.bsky.social (@lise_latulippe) January 24, 2026
The jokes spread quickly, but beneath them sat a quieter observation. This is not how Trump usually operates.
Trump’s political persona has long rejected vulnerability. He does not frame himself as aging, slowing, or changing. Instead, he doubles down. He boasts. He attacks. He insists nothing has shifted, even when everything has.
That’s what makes the hair change notable. Not because gray hair is unusual, but because Trump has spent years insisting he is not unusual.
Aides told reporters that Trump still considers himself energetic and sharp, and that the hair decision should not be read as a broader pivot. There has been no corresponding change in tone, rhetoric, or schedule. The rallies remain long. The insults remain sharp. The bronzer, at least for now, remains firmly in place.
Has someone noticed that Trump is not colouring his hair in orange anymore ?!!
— moonbee (@BMoon_bee) January 22, 2026
Still, image matters in politics, and Trump understands that better than most. His brand has always been about dominance and permanence. Gray hair complicates that story. It introduces a human element to the man who portrays himself as immortal and infallible.
And that may be why the shift has drawn more attention than policy announcements or press releases. Trump did not tease the change. He did not claim it was intentional or strategic. He simply showed up looking different.
For supporters, the look has been framed as confidence — a man comfortable enough to stop pretending. For the rest, it has cracked the armor just enough for people to notice what’s underneath.
At 79, Donald Trump has not softened his language or narrowed his ambitions. But for the first time in a long while, the mirror appears to have won a small argument. And in Trump’s world, that may be the most radical concession of all.
