To be or not to be - gray

[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.

[emily_in_nc]

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.

+1

and

+1

Good going...and you didn't wimp out, you're just taking it in stages!

My hair stylist is clearly aghast about me no longer coloring. It's clear she doesn't like my natural look (and I always colored at home, so that's not from lost wages). She's a few years older than me and colors her hair blonde. Let's face it, all hair stylists color their hair and will probably do so until they die, so people like "us" are just plain strange to them.

Then again, she also finds my cycling and many other aspects of my lifestyle strange. Do I look like I care?

[shootingstar]

There are hair stylists who think it's a great thing if a customer chooses to have natural colour: better hair texture.

And it tends to be hair stylists who have had quite a number of years experience: they're tired of dealing with some of the hair chemicals. They become sensitive to the chemicals. (this should be a warning flag to us)

These are the hairstylists who enjoy trying a new, chic and quality haircuts on customers. I've had several hairstylists like this...over 20 yrs. experience.

[celticgarden]

Fun thread. I've been trying to pluck up the courage to stop coloring. For inspiration I check the stories of the lovely ladies here http://goinggraylookinggreat.com/great_grays/

Short cut with curly hair? Check out "Shira's story"

http://goinggraylookinggreat.com/ind..._shiras_story/

I'm definitely tired of the self analysis and soul searching that I've put myself through in trying to decide. Ultimately, I'm a natural girl and would like to contribute to the cause of changing beauty perceptions. And I'm a rebel. But I'm a vain Leo. I was amazed at how firmly some of my work colleagues felt about the idea of going grey. "Oh, it will definitely age you!"

So, the story is not yet written but I think this is it. My stylist herself has said that she will go grey in 2 years...and keep it funky. To be continued!

For those that seek alternative (less toxic) coloring products look in Ecocolors and Logona.

peace! I agree that it feels absurd to worry about hair color with the troubles in the world as they are. I'm trying to be on a path that is more authentic and truer to ME. We shall see.

[Catrin]

I color my hair a light auburn that I like and isn't too far from the color it used to be long ago. I have very fine hair and when it is mixed with gray - TO ME - my color looks all washed out and I just don't care for it. It really has nothing to do with how others see me - but about how I see myself. If I do put off re-coloring a little longer than I should sometime, it isn't as obvious as it would be if I had selected some other color.

At some point I may stop coloring it again, but not for now, I have had different opinions on this over the years. It costs me an entire $8.00 a month, takes an hour of my time, and I am happy with how I look. To me that is worth it

[Selkie]

In the spring, I decided that I had enough with coloring my hair and decided to go natural. My hair is probably about 35% white and almost all of it is on the crown of my head. My hair stylist came up with an idea to use a semi-permanent color in my natural light brown to cover the red so the transition would be easier. Swimming six days a week made this more challenging, but I was able to find a pigment-depositing shampoo/conditioner that kept the red from leaching through. In early August, we agreed that it was no longer necessary to do the semi-permanent color.

I am so glad that I did this. I probably have three to four inches of hair that has no color on it and it is gorgeous (even my hair stylist agrees). Among the good genes that I got from both parents is a gorgeous shade of silver that is pure white and sparkles. I haven't seen my natural color in more than 20 years and I keep thinking, why the hell did I color it so long?

The best thing of all is that I no longer have to spend 90 minutes in a salon every five/six weeks. Cutting my hair takes 20 minutes. In addition, I'm saving more than $120 a visit. :-) From the back, my hair is completely light brown.

I understand why people choose to color their hair. I had fun playing with hair color, highlights, etc.

My decision to let it go natural has a lot to do with embracing getting older, to include the changes it brings in my appearance. It's really a privilege to age, not everyone gets the chance.

[lph]

Way to go Selkie! I've been thinking about reposting to this thread myself recently. My hair is finally getting long enough for me to feel it looks pretty nice again.

It's been a learning experience. I really do want to have my natural hair colour, grey or not. It feels great to not have to tend to an illusion of what I look like. But I was surprised at how upset I was at cutting my hair short! I'm used to going out in public looking pretty darn frumpy, and I really didn't think I cared that much. But the short cut with the bizarre curls growing straight up or making Supermanlike cowlicks in my forehead made me feel downright ugly for a while, or like I was wearing somebody else's wig.

Like you I've been happy at finding out that the colour grey can be pretty, too I probably do look older. I am older, so why not. I get why people colour their hair. It does look good. But right now I'm finding out grey looks pretty good too, and has it's own advantages.

[Crankin]

Still haven't changed my mind.
I had my hair cut today; a couple of years go I stopped getting highlights because my hair is so short, they were gone in 2 weeks. I get an all over blonde color, 3-4 times a year. It looks fabulous as it grows out, in fact, it looks like I had expensive highlights done.
So, there are lots of little wisps of gray on one side of my head. They look kind of blonde, but I know they are grey. It's not an issue now, as I will be getting a color next month and they are not noticeable. But, I can just see me with a head of gray. I will look old. I'm still not used to having brown hair, let alone gray. I guess I am the only one who doesn't want to be gray.

[surgtech1956]

I'm all natural too. Gray streaks in my brown hair. I wear my hair short. I thought about coloring a few times, but that was it. I would much rather see someone with gray hair, then some of these 'terribley' bad color jobs.

[azfiddle]

Crankin I think I posted on this thread before, but I can't make the switch to gray. Still teaching middle school and I really don't want to look "old"- and still performing regularly, I'm not really comfortable being on stage and being gray yet.

Also, my hair has been gotten frighteningly thin the last few years- it just makes it all worse. I'm trying Rogaine but am afraid it's not going to work at all...

[shootingstar]

That's great Selkie that your greying hair is a flattering shade for you.

One has to look closely but I do have the odd strand of grey or white here and there. I'm not doing anything about since I have never coloured my hair at all.... that's how virginal my hair is except for perm for 3 yrs. in my early 20's.

I keep on forgetting to look at my hair often enough in the mirror but it has been deliberately cut short for hassle-free hair.


Seriously I attribute keeping my natural hair colour longer due to cycling to help me de-stress because it has been a serious challenge last 12 months of major life changes.

[emily_in_nc]

I know I posted on this thread again but thought I'd chime in since it has now been 1.5 years since I made the decision to stop coloring. I had been coloring since age 25, and when I hit 49, I finally decided "enough" I am sure I'd look younger if I colored, and I've had a couple of younger gals tell me I would be "a cougar" if I colored my hair blonde. But I am married don't care to be a cougar! At 50, I am finally comfortable in my own skin, and hair! You can see what my hair looks like in this recent blog post:

http://bebelize.weebly.com/1/post/20...-cook-off.html

Anyway, I completely understand and respect the decision to color; after all, I did it for nearly half my life. But it's quite liberating to say "enough".

[Selkie]

Emily, you look gorgeous! You also look very, very happy.

LPH--there is no way I could have cut my hair short, as I don't have the face for super short hair. It probably didn't look as bad as you thought.

Once my hair is all my natural color, I'm thinking about letting it grow out a bit.

If coloring your grey makes you feel good, do it! I have to admit that I got to resent all the time I spent in the salon (the money, eh, not a big deal, but admittedly, with a pay freeze this year or at least next (probably longer), it's nice to save all that cash).

There is a lot of ageism in the workplace, so it makes sense for some folks to color their hair for "professional" reasons.

[lph]

Emily, you look stunning. And you look younger than your hair, if that makes sense. Your face is so young that your hair doesn't age you, you just look very cool.

Yes, there is ageism in the workplace, but I've also found out it goes both ways. By some older guys I used to get treated like "just a girl" (cute and funny, but inexperienced and not particularly important) before. This may be just my perception of myself, but I've found it easier to be taken seriously with "older" hair. I think it doesn't only signify actual age and experience, but also I'm signifying that I'm less interested in looking attractive in a young way.