To be or not to be - gray

[emily_in_nc]

The new growth actually looks more white than grey to me.

Actually, gray hair is not actually gray. It's white hairs mixed with darker hairs that just looks gray from a distance. I read this and surely found it to be true on my own head. And depending on the color(s) of the dark hairs, and the proportion of white to darker, gray hair has many "shades". Up close each hair is a different color. So you are mostly white, not really "gray".

The true salt-and-pepper steel gray look that many think of as "gray" hair is actually very dark brown or almost black hair mixed with white hairs. Because my own hair has blondes and various shades of brown plus white, it has a blonder gray look to it rather than that bluer steel gray. One of my co-workers is true steel gray, and I'd be willing to be that she had very dark hair when she was in her 20s, though I didn't know her then.

Have you considered a temporary or semi-permanent color as your hair grows out, if you don't like the "line"? That would give you a more consistent look until your hair is long enough to get all the permanently colored part cut off and just let the temporary color wash out.

[wnyrider]

...Have you considered a temporary or semi-permanent color as your hair grows out, if you don't like the "line"? That would give you a more consistent look until your hair is long enough to get all the permanently colored part cut off and just let the temporary color wash out.

Actually I hadn't considered that. Thanks! I'll check out the drug store later. What you've stated makes so much sense. Now, if only there was a solution for the age spots!

[emily_in_nc]

Actually I hadn't considered that. Thanks! I'll check out the drug store later. What you've stated makes so much sense. Now, if only there was a solution for the age spots!

I am with you on that!!! I thought about laser treatments, but they'd just come right back with summer riding and moving to Belize, no matter how much sunscreen I use, so it's not worth the cost or downtime. If I were an inside baby, I might do it (laser), but I'm not.

[malkin]

Gloves?

[wnyrider]

Gloves?

On my forehead?!

[Raindrop]

When I started going grey, it didn't happen gracefully but instead showed up in a big clump on the right side of my head.

So, I started getting it colored and was ok with that...then started to cut it shorter and shorter and added various colors to the palette, like fushia and purple for awhile. Got tired of that and now wear it shoulder length but still have it colored with highlights (my colorist uses three different shades), but I do this because I barter my hair care by training my hair stylist. I don't know if I'd go to the expense if I had to pay for it outright.

Going grey isn't in the cards for me right now. I'll never say "never", but it's one of the few things I indulge in. The other (also bartered for) is massages.

[malkin]

On my forehead?!

Oops, bangs?

[lph]

It feels a bit bizarre to be writing about my hair when Japan is devastated by earthquake and the world is waiting for a nuclear disaster, but then, life is composed of both big things and little things. So here goes, for one of lifes little things.

I went to go get my big scary haircut yesterday. I hadn't cut my hair for over 3 months, and was all psyched up after seeing all your photos of great, cute, smart, attractive grey hairstyles. I was gonna cut ALL of the dyed off and go Real Grey and Short! But then I started looking for tips on short curly hairstyles, and couldn't find anything shorter than I already had, that didn't look like a poodle. I've had longish loose curls for decades... Then my hairstylist - a lovely languid girl in her twenties with long glossy auburn hair and a perfect tan recently touched up in Bali, Thailand and Qatar, I'm not kidding - looked so distressed first at the thought of no dye and then at the thought of cutting off all my curls that I wimped out.

So she "just" took off a few inches, and I discovered that this is more a matter of going natural than going grey. I'm naturally a "cold" dark blond quite close to grey, but with light silver streaks. And now still with brownish streaks and tips, but hey, I'm getting there. NEXT haircut, I'll be all natural

Truth be told I'm not wild about the colour, dark blond is pretty blah, but I'm surprisingly happy about having my real, all natural colour there. It just feels, well, like me.

And I'm a little amazed that I can actually think this much about my hair.

[GLC1968]

Actually I hadn't considered that. Thanks! I'll check out the drug store later. What you've stated makes so much sense. Now, if only there was a solution for the age spots!

Take care with this. I tried this when I went gray. I bought a 7 day temp color to just do the roots around my face as I was growing out my white/grey as a temporary hold over. The problem is that it never truly washes out completely. When I got the brown cut off, I was left with my salt and pepper hair but with purple tinges on my bangs (the temp color after it faded). It looked pretty stupid until I was able to get it cut a second time!

It may work better if your natural color is lighter than mine though...