To be or not to be - gray

[shootingstar]

As women get older (starting in our 50's and then 60's, 70's), I personally think they begin to look really strange if they continue to dye their hair a darkish color with no grey at all. It can look oddly fake and harsh when paired with an older face. Some unusual women can pull off that look, but most cannot (myself included).

Another reason why I'm not eager to keep my hair all-black into the decades ahead. Nor am I willing to turn it brown-auburn shades or whatever combos. My skin texture and tone has changed. So my hair over time must "blend" in with the times..

As for men not caring or really caring, the worried guys I've noticed tend to be ...those who are losing hair/balding in a wierd patchy way.

Nowadays the contemporary and temporary coverup INDOORS for some guys is a wool ski looking toque, jeans, ....kinda of hip like the young teens. But not healthy for the scalp at all. Any experienced hairdresser will tell you that.

[Tuckervill]

I've seen Jason Alexander on TV a couple of times recently, and his hair seems dyed unreasonably black. Then I saw him with a toupe on because of a show he's in, and I think that's why it's dyed black. But it really looked strange on the Jenny Craig commercial.

Karen

[dinabean]

37 here. Embraced the gray for a while, then got a bit sick of it. My next door neighbor happens to be a stylist/own a salon, and she recommended a semi permanent rinse. The nice thing about it is that it does not give me a line when it grows out -- it just fades after 6-8 weeks. So I just start going naturally gray again after a while if I forget/don't have time to go see her. Much better than a line. So far, so good. I am not disciplined enough to get in regularly enough to do a permanent color. I would be the dork with the skunk strip otherwise.

[Crankin]

Lisa, I think you're right about the black hair thing. You and I have the same blonde/blue eye coloring. I think it will be easier for me to blend the light brown/blonde highlights with gray, when and if I do that.
The huge color contrast between black hair and silver is really stark, which is why it looks funky when growing out.