Colouring your hair

[shootingstar]

Just had my haircut yesterday. Quite short. Went to my hairstylist who gives me excellent cuts that look and grow out well for a few months. She pointed out the 1 grey strand of hair amongst my naturally black hair.

I genuinely have no interest in dyeing my hair because the amount of care required to keep coloured hair (based on what I hear first-hand from others) conditioned and healthy, then dealing with the colour fade / roots issues, etc. I'm 49.

I have 4 other sisters younger than I --with the youngest at 39. None of them have coloured their hair either. Yea, there maybe the odd silver strand if you look hard enough. But their hair is still black.

Do you /have you coloured your hair? And how long now and how often? What is your natural hair colour now and what is the dyed colour?

[wackyjacky1]

49 and only one grey strand? That's awesome. I'm 45 and I'd say my hair is about 10% grey, the rest medium brown.

I used to "search and destroy" any grey hairs that I spotted. Now I've kind of given up on yanking them out -- there's just too many of 'em. :p

When the greys first started showing up, I tried some of the home coloring products (Clairol, L'Oreal, etc.). Boxed hair coloring is fine the first time you use it, but then you have to deal with the roots that show up in a few weeks. Ugh, I hate when you can see the roots. In my experience, it's nearly impossible to color just the roots on subsequent applications, even with the kits that are designed specifically for that purpose. Also, no matter what color I tried, eventually the color turned kind of brassy on my hair. I didn't like that it looked so obviously fake.

I'm not willing to spend hundreds of dollars to get coloring done at a professional hair salon, so I don't know how much better that might work.

In the end, I decided against continuing with coloring my hair. It looked fake, and it was just too much trouble. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not happy with the fact that my hair is growing grey -- but I'd rather keep it natural.

[Possegal]

I have auburn hair, I know because it says so on the box. :)

When I was in grad school and about 26, a guy referred to me as the one with "salt and pepper hair", that was when I started to color it.

In my family, you aren't allowed to complain about the gray hair though, my mother first found gray hair when she was getting bangs cut into her hair and the entire row of bangs were gray. She was 11. She was totally gray at 16. So no one was allowed to complain around her.

My natural hair was reddish brown, not quite auburn, but the brown isn't quite right either, so I went redder - it suits my firey personality. :)

I'm in my mid 40s and just about totally gray now. I keep saying one of these days I'll cut it real short and let it go natural. But I'm not there yet. :p

[Triskeliongirl]

I went totally gray in my 30s, and once a month I have my sylist cut and color it. He just does the roots (although periodically pulls it through) and with good products my hair is quite healthy. I feel more attractive when my hair is colored. Its no different than purchasing attractive clothes, or exercising to maintain an attractive physique. I do it because it suits me, it gives me pleasure. Would I do it if it meant not having resources to educate my kids? No, but I can afford it and meet my obligations so I do.

[snapdragen]

I've been playing with my hair color since I was in my twenties. I've been blonde, red, auburn, strawberry, dark brown, light brown. About the only color I haven't tried is black. I have no idea what my real color is.:p

[wackyjacky1]

I do it because it suits me, it gives me pleasure.
Hope you did not take offense from my post (the part about my not being willing to spend the moolah to get it colored professionally). I freely and frankly admit that I'm a cheapskate when it comes to my hair. I'm so miserly that I even get it cut at Great Clips. :o :D

[Crankin]

I don't have any gray yet (at 54), but my hair went from golden blond to brown when I was about 32. Since then, I've had various types of coloring, but now I do highlights about 3-4 times a year. I don't feel myself with brown hair. I guess when I go gray, I will have to do 2 processes, color and then highlight.
Silver looks really bad on me, just totally washes out my coloring. I guess I could accept salt and pepper when I'm in my 70s, but as long as I can afford it, I will keep the blond highlights. My hair is really short and I have it cut every 4 weeks, which is worth every penny.

[Triskeliongirl]

Hope you did not take offense from my post (the part about my not being willing to spend the moolah to get it colored professionally). I freely and frankly admit that I'm a cheapskate when it comes to my hair. I'm so miserly that I even get it cut at Great Clips. :o :D

Not at all, I was just making the point that there is nothing wrong with either choice. I know some argue one should look their age, but I feel younger than my biological age, so I like my persona to reflect how I feel. But we all have to decide both how we want to appear on the outside, and how to spend our money. FYI, I noticed you are in San Antonio. I go to David, a co-owner of Shag the Salon near downtown. They are a great salon (David has been my stylist for years, even before he had his own place) and I think his prices are quite reasonable. It definitely doesn't cost hundreds of dollars, at least not for one session.

[Jen-Jen]

I find that I too am on the cheap side of my hair colour and I did do a wonderful do-it-at-home box colour. Only problem is that my hair grows very fast and super thick!!! I was on a 4 week hair cut schedule and the colour was about the too, because my roots showed so badly. Spent alot of $$ on my hair.

I just found three grays in mine several weeks ago. I haven't colored since. I think that I just might like gray!

[cyclechick2008]

My hair is dyed really blonde. I was really blond as a kid but as I get older and had kids it got much darker.

I have it professionally done about every 3months or so. I change the length of my hair regularly. I growing it out to a shoulder length bob right now from a really short layered cut.

Kim

[Bad JuJu]

My hair, "dirty" blond since my 20s, started showing lots of grey in my mid 40s, so I started having it colored--nothing drastic--just keeping it looking more gold than silver. A couple of years ago, when I was just past 50, I decided I wanted to spend that money and time on other things. No moral significance to that decision--just a change of mind. I feel much freer with my hair as it is, but that's just me.

I never had much trouble keeping my hair looking and feeling good when it was being colored--just ask the stylist for some recommendations about products that will be best for your type of hair.

[Jolt]

Hope you did not take offense from my post (the part about my not being willing to spend the moolah to get it colored professionally). I freely and frankly admit that I'm a cheapskate when it comes to my hair. I'm so miserly that I even get it cut at Great Clips. :o :D

Same here, only I'm even worse--when I need a trim, I usually have my mom do it when I go home!!

[Aggie_Ama]

I have been dying mine so long I am not sure what color it really is under there. When I started helping it with sun-in and highlights it was a dirty blonde with red natural highlights.

My hairdresser found my first grey at 19 and I was horrified! My father started going grey at 15, his natural black hair is now completely silver and gorgeous. I am very fair skinned and cannot believe I will look good grey. I now see quite a bit of grey when my dye grows out probably about 10%. Also I am 27 and unable to embrace being grey. I am cheap, have my husband grandma cut my hair (she will not let me pay) and dye it myself.

Ms. Clairol says it is medium golden blonde right now. :D

[singletrackmind]

It's original....brown on top and dark brown where the sun doesn't hit it. Some greys throughout with a bride of Frankenstein thing going on and slowly gaining momentum. I'm plain old me and I like it that way. :)

[KnottedYet]

Redhead going white and gunmetal-gray in patches.

I use mahogany henna about once a month. $3 worth (half of a $6 box) is good for one application on my thin baby-fine hair. Nice thing about the henna is that it leaves golden highlights where my white hair is, rich red highlights where my red hair is, and deep mahogany highlights where the gunmetal-gray is. So it doesn't really change the look of my hair, just the color tone. And it gradually washes out over the course of the month, so as my hair grows there really aren't any "roots" to speak of.

Tried letting it go natural a few times, and I looked like I had bald patches. My hair is just too thin. When my whole head is white or white-with-scattered-red-strands (like my Grandma's, our hair is similar) I'll let it be.

[emily_in_nc]

I have light ash brown hair that has gotten to be about 30-40% gray. I have been coloring it for years, since I found my first gray at 25 (I'm 47 now). I am too cheap not to do it myself, but I'd been unhappy with the damage from drugstore products like Clairol or L'Oreal. I recently found a hair coloring product I really like. It's a bit messy to apply because it is a powder that you mix with water, and is runnier than drugstore color, but the results are much more natural (no one who doesn't already know even believes I color my hair), and the damage much, much less. It's Robert Craig hair color and is available online. The color I use turns the gray into highlights (light golden blonde) and doesn't lighten the darker part (no ammonia or peroxide!) I love the Robert Craig shampoo and conditioner for colored hair too -- they make mine very soft and help with the frizzies. I have to touch it up (only the roots, except every couple of times) about every four weeks, but the roots seem to show less than with the drugstore products.

I do eventually intend to go naturally gray and cut my hair short, but like someone earlier on this thread said, "I'm not there yet". :D Once I am no longer in the corporate world, I might be ready. My DH wishes I'd just let it go natural now; he thinks hair coloring is silly, but he doesn't really understand -- the youth obsession definitely hits women harder in our society than it does men.

Emily

[tc1]

Started at 21. Been every color of the Rainbow from Billy Idol Blonde to purple. Only went black for 2 days; I looked like my mother. Now it's dark chestnut. I don't want to go all grey yet, its not a good look for me. If I let my hair get too patchy and raggedy I get mistaken for a man whenever I am in work clothes, which is most of the time.

[deedolce]

I swear, if I were blond, it would be a no-brainer for me to let it go silver/white. But I'm Asian, and it was dark brown/reddish highlights when I was young. I dyed it myself from mid-30's on, when the grey got to be more. Now that I can afford to 'splurge' I do, and go every 4 weeks for color and trim. She charges me $50, $58 with tip.

I'm probably 40-50% grey, still dark in back, all grey in front. That's what I can tell from the roots; it could really be scary! I'm 49. I tried letting it go grey years ago, and got depressed everytime I looked in the mirror, I looked so washed out. I just can't go natural yet!

I want to get to the point when I can cut it short, short and let it go grey! 70, maybe? :D:rolleyes: I'm a little self conscious too, since my fella is 10 years younger. :p

[Tokie]

My hair is dark brown at the ends and coming in more and more silvery at the top - I like it, and I hate beauty shop appointments, chemicals on my head, and ROOTS showing. It always amazes me to look around a roomful of my peers and wonder how/why they all have the hair color of 20 year olds. It's so unnatural. I kind of like it though when people experiment and go from dark blond to dark brown, or add highlights. I'm sure I would look perky-er with the color of hair I used to have - but it just looks a bit odd to me when people have old faces and such young hair color. And I think women who have gone grey like the actress Judi Dench are very cool. I also think that as your hair greys that you may look better in different color clothing , and if you wear it (I don't) makeup. Tokie

[lph]

I'm soon 39 with maybe 20-30% grey. I've dyed it at home for some years, at sporadic intervals, but it was such a mess and a hassle, I felt. Once I could afford to get it done professionally I was so pleased with the results and the compliments that I deicded to treat myself to it 4 times a year. That way it still grows out and I'm reminded what I really look like ;) but I get to feel real pretty at regular intervals :p

I'd prefer to have the grey show, but not just as a "helmet". I'm working on it - next time I'll try having it cut shorter and having greyish stripes.

[Duck on Wheels]

My hairdresser once talked me into getting a color "rinse". I guess it looked fine, but I was scared that I would never be able to let it go back to natural color again. Underneath the tinting it would be going greyer and greyer so the roots would look worse and worse as it grew out and I'd have to cave in and have it tinted again. I'm at sort of a dark pewter or oxydized silver now overall, given how much salt is mixed in with the pepper. Depending on your point of view (glass half full? glass half empty?) I guess my hair still looks kinda like the dark near-black brown it once was but with a silvery shine to it, or vice versa, pewter grey with a dark brown undertone. Sure, my hair looks my age (59), but I think the color as simply a color and not a symbol of age is quite nice. :)

A bigger problem is that it's thinning in front, or maybe thinned when I was flaring through an inflammatory disease and then never grew back. Anybody know of some hair regrowth treatments that work? I wouldn't care if it comes back greyer, but I would like to have more of it back.

[Zen]

I pull stands through the vents in my helmet then spritz with lemon juice.
Very natural effect.
And it also tends to make drivers slow down.

[Andrea]

I am a redhead who has been coloring my hair black for the last few years. Two nights ago, I went after it with a #3 guard on the clippers :eek:

Since my roots had grown out, I'm a redhead again! Not sure what to do now. I haven't colored it back yet, and I haven't decided if I'll keep it shaved- it feels awesome under my helmet, but I get pitiful looks from people who apparently think I'm recovering from cancer treatment.

[indysteel]

My hair is a very dark brown. About three years ago, it started to fade a bit and then more and more white (not grey) hair started to sprout, mostly around my hairline. I started coloring it to it's "natural" color at the lon. The salon I go to is an a Aveda salon, and the dyes they use are vegetable base. I get a lot of compliments about how shiny my hair is after I get it colored. I try to do it every 3 months or so, but I'd do it more often than that but for the expense. I get it highlighted about once a year, too. Nothing dramatic, just some subtle strands around my face. I have fine hair and I wear it long and one benefit of the coloring is that it plumps my hair, making it seem thicker.

[SouthernBelle]

I'm in the process of growing out my natural grey & white, well at least 80% of it is.

There are different shades of grey. My mother had a rather dishwater shade. My grandmother had lovely silver and white. Fortunately, it looks like I've gotten my Nanny's shade.

[indigoiis]

I pull stands through the vents in my helmet then spritz with lemon juice.
Very natural effect.
And it also tends to make drivers slow down.

This is an awesome idea and very silly, too. Just my style!

I am about 60% grey at age 40 and am weaning off hair dye. I went from winter (auburn) to spring (sandy brown) to let it grow out. In about a month I will get highlights and a shine coat applied, and then I'm on my own.

I like the lemon juice highlight idea though.

Anj

[evangundy]

I found my first grey hair at age 13 and when I showed my mom, she told me she had too at 13, and that's the first time I remember her coloring her hair (she said she had been doing it since her early 20's). I colored mine when I was 30, so I wouldn't look old next to my little sister in her wedding pics (I had about 30% white by then). Treated myself regularly for 10 years, changing colors and cuts frequently. Then decided to grow it all out at age 40 to see how it looked. Haven't colored it since. And I keep it quite short. I get lots of compliments on my hair, but really, I keep it short and natural because I'm lazy and don't want to mess with it anymore. Here's a picture from my birthday party last July.
Edna

[Tuckervill]

I colored my hair for the first time in January, before I went on a cruise with the Barenaked Ladies. I was feeling mousy and I wanted to feel beautiful. :) Especially if I was going to meet my idols, who are younger than me. ;)

It went bright brassy red on top instead of the chestnut brown it was supposed to be (don't ask me why) and I had to have my DIL fix it for me at her Aveda salon the day before we left. So, it grew out at the roots a few weeks later and I had to have it done again because it didn't look right. She did it in my natural color, but when I got a warning ticket for speeding the other day, the cop put my hair color as RED.

It looks almost like my natural color, to me, but I've always had red undertones. I'm about 30% gray, with it mostly in streaks at the temples. My grandmother was silvery, and my dad is bright white. If I thought my hair would be bright white like that, I'd do that. But--just yesterday on my ride I had two people who didn't believe I was old enough to have a son with a 3 year old child. Of course, both of these gentlemen were 62, and I'm 46. Perspective is everything.

I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to color it again when the roots grow out. :-/ Oprah said she doesn't believe in plastic surgery, but she BELIEVES in hair color! :)

Karen

[mimitabby]

brunette gone grey.
for some reason the front of my hair (over my face) is completely white and the back is mostly still brown.
so i dye it. i go from red to brown... I could never pay someone to do it, I am too cheap. And one of these days I'll stop coloring it; but not yet.

[mimitabby]

I pull stands through the vents in my helmet then spritz with lemon juice.
Very natural effect.
And it also tends to make drivers slow down.

rotfl!

[Possegal]

hmmm, edna, see my post above about my mother starting to go at 11 and being 100% gray at 15. her name was edna. coincidence? ;)

you look wonderful with the gray hair, i'm just not so sure i will, hence the coloring.

[Bad JuJu]

I keep it short and natural because I'm lazy and don't want to mess with it anymore. Here's a picture from my birthday party last July.
Edna
Great hair color! I wish mine would go that color. It's getting there, but not there yet. I'm with you on the short-and-natural-because-it's-easy approach--I've got better things to do with my time than fool with my hair.:)

[Muddyfox]

Just thought I'd add one more to the thread. I'm 41, brunette and very slowly going grey (well, white actually). Like a few of you on this thread my hair grows quickly so the thought of having to dye it every 4-6 weeks depresses me - got better things to do - like cycling! I also actually like my own natural colour which there is still a lot left of so I'm sticking with it and see what the outcome is. It doesn't bother me and because I don't make an issue of it friends and family don't tend to notice it either. Only one person has ever said to my face that I should dye it (a female colleague) and I congratulated her on her honesty but thought that it was a shame that it bothered her so much.

[shootingstar]

Evangundy, you look great in your hair. Lucky you. You also have a natural, glowing complexion that complements grey hair well.

It's been interesting reading the responses here..a world that I don't inhabit..hair colouring. In all honesty, I can't imagine conditioning my hair if I damaged it...it goes dead flat and dull 'cause my hair still has sufficient natural oil and is naturally straight. 'Course as a teenager eons ago, it was alot more.

I get a haircut every 3-5 months...yea, I try to make it stretch. But I appreciate a highly skilled, versatile hairstylist and will retain same one for years. So in terms of 'fashion' money that's what I do spend instead of pedicures, manicures, spas, etc.

But I hope that's all I will end up spending money and time in the future on my hair.

And when hair gets longer, I use a curling iron for touching up...that's the absolute limit of time for me...since I also wash my hair daily.

Personally I rather spend more time on my fitness..than on hair... I worry more about my teeth falling out when I get old, rather than my hair colour.

And I hope my father's genes help me...he doesn't have grey hair...at 79. But mother does.

[posagirl]

I had my hair colored for about 4 years. I decided to have my hair dyed back to my "roots" and when the final color was out, my hair was lots darker than it was 4 years ago! Funny thing is, a lady walked in the shop and said "I want her color, what is it?" LOL! I have a little bit of gray highlighting, but I am 50, I don't care and I earned it. I LOVE being free of coloring. I am now growing my hair out more so I'm not a slave to the hairdresser. I think I am heading into a "natural" phase. :)

[Tokie]

Hi Andrea! What inspired you to clip your hair off? Do you like it short? I'm always tempted to buzz mine, but I don't think it would look right. In fact, I just finished growing it out to cover my ears, which my dermatologist said were showing rough skin and signs of sun damage:eek:. Maybe I'd better just keep my longer greying hair. Tokie

[Andrea]

Hi Andrea! What inspired you to clip your hair off? Do you like it short? I'm always tempted to buzz mine, but I don't think it would look right. In fact, I just finished growing it out to cover my ears, which my dermatologist said were showing rough skin and signs of sun damage:eek:. Maybe I'd better just keep my longer greying hair. Tokie

Honestly, my hair was just annoyingly long (I keep it pretty short already) and it was going to be another week & a half before I could get an appointment to get it cut. So, while Mr. Andrea was cutting his hair, I stole the clippers and tried a #8 (1") guard on the blade... didn't look much different, so I went #5... then it was patchy red & black because my roots had grown out, so I wanted to see what it would look like shorter & red... so VIOLA... #3 shave!

Not a great picture of me, but you get the idea...
http://blog.brickhouseracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/cut1.jpg

[michelem]

My hair is very dark brown and I am getting close to the big 4-0 and just started to see the grays these past couple of weeks. For about a week it seemed I was finding one each day! :eek: My hairdresser told me NOT to pull them out. She said that by pulling them out at the root, it will cause them to grow out in a "sticking out" fashion. She said that instead, I should clip them very short with scissors. This way they will grow back in more naturally like the rest of my hair, rather than poking out like beacons. We'll see how that works . . . :confused:

[Possegal]

gray hair by nature has a different texture. i don't think your hairdresser's advice will make much difference. i've never pulled mine out, and when my hair started going gray, the gray ones had a mind of their own, sticking up in all sorts of directions. :)

[GLC1968]

I'm 40 and probably 65 - 70% grey. My natural hair color is a dark brown that easily bleaches out by the sun into highlights of red and gold. It was gorgeous while it lasted! I used to have strangers stopping to ask me who did my highlights when I was a teenager - it was always fun to say "mother nature". ;)

I've been dying my hair since I was 21. My hair is also super thick and grows very fast. If I had straight hair that laid flat, I'd have to color it every 3 weeks to keep the roots at bay. Since I started wearing it curly, I can get away with 4 weeks. I used to have it done professionally, but I've gone back to doing it myself because I can't bring myself to spend the money. My hair is in fantastic shape though - home color or not. I only shampoo my hair once a week or so but I condition it daily. It's super strong and healthy partly because I no longer use a hair dryer, too.

I am so looking forward to the day when I can comfortably go grey. I don't know if mine will be a nice color or not, but I think it will be fun to find out. I'm *almost* ready to do it...but not quite. I'll have to go back to a pixie cut again to make the transition because growing it out looks so incredibly bad (such a nasty contrast to the dark brown dye).

[tulip]

I'm 40 and the most greys I've been able to see at the same time is 6. Recently they seem to be hiding. I figure when it's time to go grey, I will do so gracefully, like Bonnie Rait or Emmylou Harris. We'll see how graceful I actually am when the time comes, however. Wrinkles--well that's another story entirely (I'm still fighting zits!! I thought I'd have at least a few years of post-zit pre-wrinkle skin, but it may not turn out that way).

BTW, great cut, Andrea!

[Tokie]

You have a pretty face and nicely shaped head - and you look a bit too healthy to be a girl on chemo! I like it! Maybe it's more aero too! Now everyone will want to run their fingers over your prickly head! Tokie

[Blueberry]

Andrea - I think it looks great! You can definitely pull it off!

GLC - I never would have guessed that your hair is colored at all.

CA

[evangundy]

[QUOTE=Possegal;326612]hmmm, edna, see my post above about my mother starting to go at 11 and being 100% gray at 15. her name was edna. coincidence? ;)QUOTE]

Well, my mother's name was Edna as was her mother, and they both started with white hair at a young age too ...... maybe you've got something there??????

I have a great sylist that I go to (for the past 3 years). I get it cut about every 4-6 weeks and I don't think I've gone with the same style twice in a row for the past 20 years. I'm always changing something about it, but still keep it short.

And Andrea, you have the right shape face and head to pull off such a short haircut. It looks great! And my DH said it looks great too.

Edna

[Andrea]

Thanks, everyone... I'm not sure what to do next :confused:

[snapdragen]

Thanks, everyone... I'm not sure what to do next :confused:

Pink?


:p:D:rolleyes:

[invsblwmn]

Although coloring one's hair can be fun and exciting, it can also be not as fun (except for your howling friends) but just as exciting. As you see below, allergy to the dye can change your whole look! :)

[Dogmama]

That's what my hairstylist says I have. After 4 weeks, the grey strands start to appear. I color my hair to make it thicker - it's very fine. It never looks damaged.

I'm 53 years old & about 5% grey. If I start going really grey, I'll let it go. I think grey roots are gross.

[Tuckervill]

Thanks, everyone... I'm not sure what to do next :confused:

Luckily, you don't have to decide right away. It grows whether you want it to or not! ;)

Karen

[jennrod12]

Oh don't get me started on dying hair! Oops, I already am. I got my first grey in college and now I'm 45 and maybe 20% grey? It seems to be more in front than in the back, especially one shock that has grown mostly grey. Even so, people are usually surprised at my age, thinking I am younger than I am. And if they didn't think that, what do I care? What does it matter how old something thinks I am? It doesn't change who I am in the least.

NO, I don't color it. I have better things to do with my money and my time than to fall prey to all the advertising BS about how we should "look younger", etc. Most women color their hair because other women color their hair and somehow they feel like they have to in order to "look younger". Ha! If everyone stopped coloring their hair, we would find out in a hurry that being grey is no impediment to being young and healthy and active.

Not only that, but for a lot of people who dye their hair - guess what - we already know you're going grey because we see the roots grow out or the unnatural color. When your color is different this month than it was last month, we KNOW you're dying your hair, which means there's a pretty good chance you're going grey.

Not even to mention all the chemicals being added to the environment....

Okay, now that I've apparently pissed off most of this forum, I'll say that that's my opinion in general. It doesn't mean that if I get to know you as a person that my perception of you will be all about whether or not you dye your hair.

Jenn

[lph]

Hey, I don't mind Jenn, I appreciate another POV and a (mild) kick in the butt. :p

[short cut sally]

I've been coloring my hair off and on, more on, for the past oh 25 years. First experiment was say 15 and a bottle of peroxide on a sunny day. Parent's were not pleased. I've had my hair highlighted for the last 10 or so prior to that I was an auburn blonde from the box. Last year I did the highlights of red and blonde on my natural dk. brown hair. Somewhere's along the line, I seemed to loose my natural dk. brown so last visit to the salon I said take me back to my natural color. I actually like my natural color after all these years, who would ever figure. However, here's the kicker. I won a gift certificate at work for a highlight at a salon. So I am going today to get some highlights, but not pulled thru a cap. I want the painted sporatic ones that will be suttle. I've learned from all these years what works well. If it doesn't, I am using Zens idea of helmet and lemon juice. :D

[Andrea]

Hehehe, I always say I'll STOP coloring my hair when it goes grey since my mom just turned 60 and has a head full of dark brown hair! Her mom, who is in her 80s, also has no grey...

I'm gonna show them both up :p

[malkin]

Just have fun, whatever you do!

[roadie gal]

I'm 49 and I've been going gray since my early 30's. In my family that's actually late. My original hair color was "dirty blond". I don't color my hair because basically I'm lazy. I just tell people that I match my dog... I'm Blue Merle. lol

[CATWOMAN]

I agree with the gal that said it is like exercising to stay fit. I debated for several months. For a long time my stylist foiled my hair, which meant I had some grays mixed in. That was good until I got about 50% gray in the front. Now I have her color it all. She touches up the roots (Which she said is really impossible to do at home by oneself), and occasionally pulls it through. I just figured, hey, I look too good right now to be aged by something that I can so easily change!!!

Go for it if it will make you feel better.

[emily_in_nc]

She touches up the roots (Which she said is really impossible to do at home by oneself)

Not so -- I do it every four weeks. It does take some practice. I use a big comb and comb and part my hair about every 1" as I go to get to different roots. The back is difficult, though. If DH helps, it's not too bad, but since he is usually not around, I just wing it the best I can. I can do a really good job on the roots on about 2/3 of my head, though, and I have much, much less gray in the back, so it works out just fine.

It's not loads of fun, to be sure, but only costs me $9.99, and the ole roots come out looking really good. :p

Emily

[PinkBike]

I just figured, hey, I look too good right now to be aged by something that I can so easily change!!!

Go for it if it will make you feel better.

i love this response. just went today for my roots touch up. i never really thought about coloring my hair til it got really long. i found a good program for keeping it healthy looking. now that it looks decent i want the color to look decent too.

i went to the local toni and guy academy so it's only $25, and she did a great job.

[Zen]

I've often considered experimenting with the Kool-Aid technique :rolleyes:

[jobob]

The most lovely hair I've ever seen is the really thick hair of a friend of mine. She has never colored it and she's going gray now and it's really gorgeous with all of the gray streaks.

Alas, my hair is really thin, bordering on anemic :p and it looks like crud with the gray. I've been coloring it myself for several years but it occurred to me a year or so ago that I could pay someone to do it for me (the joys of a long hours, moderately high-stress but reasonably high paying job :rolleyes:) so I found a excellent stylist who knows what I like. Thank gawd she'll be back from pregnacy leave soon!

What a huge luxury to have someone else color my hair for me! Best prezzink I can give myself :cool:

[malkin]

Growing up I loved my grannies and aunties, gray hair and all, which was good, since I started noticing gray hairs in junior high (fercryin'outloud).

Some time ago, reflecting on the Laws of Thermodynamics, I came up with:
The Laws of Primping, the first one being:

If you don't look better after primping than before primping, then the time spent primping was wasted.


Not to say that there's anything wrong with wasting time or with primping; I enjoy wasting time in a number of ways...but...hmm...my husband has just handed me the phone and the business card from the hair salon...

Is that a hint?

[dachshund]

OK, I keep seeing this thread, so I'll chime in on my personal choice for aging hair. I really like the salt-and-pepper look, especially on short, close-cropped hair. I like the texture. So I got brave a few years ago and had mine cut super short. I love it! It feels great. So the gray stays, it's now part of the design.

And after a bike ride I have Perfect helmet head.... :D

[malkin]

I should take a hat with me. After a ride, my hair could frighten small children.

[MsTerra]

I used to tint my hair auburn (it's naturally medium dark brown with natural highlights) just for kicks, then stopped because of the bother. A couple-few years ago the grays started to make their presence known, but I resisted the nagging of my in-laws (they're in the hairdressing business - my MIL is a colorist) who told me I should dye it because "You don't want to look older than your husband, do you?" Then last year, at the age of 40, I was job-hunting. Got loads of interviews that never seemed to go anywhere. Finally I caved and started dying again. I took this picture before I went the Clairol route:

http://home.earthlink.net/~terrafied/myspace/Terra_Hair-a.jpg

I liked that gray streak, but not long after I "washed it right outta my hair" I got a job. (It's an awesome job, too, totally worth it.) So now I just touch it up every month. My hair is very healthy and it takes the dye fine. My funds for personal grooming are not unlimited, so I choose to spend on the cut. Not that you can tell from the photo. I've since gone for a long layered cut that brings out the waves.

[dex]

I dyed my hair last night. It's fuschia. I love it.

I've been dying it various colors for the past five years, or so. Sometimes I wonder if I'm getting any gray hairs, but I never have the patience to wait long enough to find out before I grab another bottle of dye.

[salsabike]

I dyed my hair last night. It's fuschia. I love it.

I've been dying it various colors for the past five years, or so. Sometimes I wonder if I'm getting any gray hairs, but I never have the patience to wait long enough to find out before I grab another bottle of dye.

Go Dex! To me, hair color is just pure fun.

[Dogmama]

I dyed my hair last night. It's fuschia. I love it.

I've been dying it various colors for the past five years, or so. Sometimes I wonder if I'm getting any gray hairs, but I never have the patience to wait long enough to find out before I grab another bottle of dye.

PICTURE PICTURE PICTURE...please?

My niece put purple highlights in her black hair & it's gorgeous! It looks like a veil of deep purple.

[CATWOMAN]

Alas, my hair is really thin, bordering on anemic :p and it looks like crud with the gray.

When I was under 35 yrs. I had nice thick hair and wore it short. I always got compliments on my haircuts. I decided that when I got gray I would continue my short cuts and it would look spunky. However, as I got older my hair started to thin out in the front:eek:! The doctor told me to use Rogain for men (Even though the package says women shouldn't use it). "Alas" my hair is thickening up:o. I hate the thought of using it, but the reality that my hair was quickly becoming thinner than my husband's was even more troubling.

[dex]

PICTURE PICTURE PICTURE...please?

I'll try to snap one tomorrow. :)

[teigyr]

I'd say hair color is like makeup. It is FUN. I love the over the top stuff but despise the things to "enhance your natural beauty". Please. It is what it is and it's pretty shallow at that but I like it. If it all were meant to fool people, it doesn't. If it's meant to cover up insecurities, well, maybe it does. A bit. Other than that, it is a means to self-expression and creativity.

This coming from a girl who wore (blended, mind you) glittery blue eyeshadow to work.

and Dex, yes. Picture!! I used to get that color from red dye and purple mousse way back when...it was SUCH a fantastic color.

[dex]

So, it took me longer than I thought to (remember to) take a picture. I ended up taking two. Forgive the blown out quality, please. I took these on my phone.

[Andrea]

So, it took me longer than I thought to (remember to) take a picture. I ended up taking two. Forgive the blown out quality, please. I took these on my phone.

Woohoo!!! Awesome!

[snapdragen]

That looks great Dex. Makes my new reddish brown pale in comparison...:o:cool::D

[Raindrop]

I'm chiming in with a vote that color is for fun!. I've been having weird stuff done to my hair ever since I started bartering personal training for hair styling and color. My client/stylist is awesome when it comes to both. I just wish I had better hair (mine's pretty thin and fine). I've had it extremely short for the last eight years or so because of all the sweating I do when teaching spinning classes, personal training or riding. I've also had my hair with varying shades of purple, fushia, dark brown w/deep maroon highlights, and currently, bright wide blond highlights, with my natural darker brown underneath and a color called "chili" as the third color.

The other day, as I was leaving the gym after teaching a cycle class a woman passed me and said, "I love your hair. I just wish I was that bold!"

Believe me, if I wasn't bartering for this...I doubt I would put this much money into my hair. But...I'm having fun with it. (by the way, I know I have grey in the front. I don't think there's any in the back cause that's pretty short and is my natural hair...but I'm currently growing out my hair somewhat....going from a short cut to an asymetrical kind of bob thing. So, if I have more grey back there, I'll soon know.

[carpaltunnel]

My hair was white when I was a child and gradually turned brown as I became an adult. When it started graying in my early 40's I started getting highlights because you couldn't tell when there were roots and everything kind of blended together. I did that for about 18 years until I decided not to bother any more. Now my hair is nearly white and I keep getting it cut shorter and shorter.

But here's the mystery: all my life my hair has been super fine and very very straight. Now the back and top is kind of kinky curly and I can just mousse it a little, lift it with a brush a little, and let it air dry, then pick it out and it's good to go. What makes peoples hair suddenly decide to get curly?