bye bye Clairol: going gray gracefully?

[tulip928]

Movie Zombie - that''s so cute - my older daughter has very long hair. When she talks about getting a haircut, she really means trim because she gets about 1 inch cut off. I have to laugh because when I asked her afterwards why she didn''t get a few more inches cut, she said she doesn''t want "short" hair - which to her would also mean anything above nipple line! I used to wear my hair very long, so I know how you feel. I''m really loving my "bob" - it''s short to me at chin length. It''s so easy and feels so light!

 

[Ellen]

OK, first, I looked at the pictures, which I didn''t the first time. Yes, she definitely looks better natural, but only because the color she had was too harsh. I bet if you colored her hair with something lighter and softer, she''d look better than the natural pic. I''ve never seen a makeover where they''ve colored some grey and she looked worse. jmo

tulip, no, the snow white hairs are absolutely white, as in snow. lol (Thanks grampa) And like cehra said, they are wild.

I had to look up what color she uses on me, it''s dark, medium blonde.

My natural color is like medium brown with auborn highlights. What''s neat is, usually a one color treatment (no highlights) will cover everything the same color, but luckily the natural highlights in my hair still show as highlights, so it looks really natural.

 

[eks6426]

I''m 35 and my hair is about 30% grey already. Unfortunately it nearly 100% grey at my hairline in front. I just can''t do the going grey thing at least not at 35. My husband is 48 and he has almost no grey hair. My hair color used to be a medium mousey brown. I tried going darker but then when the grey started coming in it got too hard to maintain. So, now my hair is a medium blonde with lighter beige blonde highlights. The grey actually blends in better than my natural root color. The blonde definitely looks softer. Who knows how I''ll feel at 48 like the lady in the article. Maybe by then I''ll be tired of the every 4 weeks touch ups with highlights done every 12-16 weeks. It does get old and expensive. But grey at 50 can look distinguished and chic. Grey at 35 just looks old. At least to me.

 

[firebirdgold]

Date: 1/29/2007 2:06:17 AM
Author: diamondfan
I think the reason some women cover the grey is that it can yellow easily and can actually be tough to keep looking nice. White is not what most people want (or yellow for that matter) but that silvery tone, which is hard to maintain with water deposits etc, it is porous and easily discolored.

It Is?

I didn''t know grey hair was porous! One of the reasons I don''t object to my fi''s ban on hair color is that I kinda doubt it''d actually stick to my greys anyway. Before Fi, I tried natural instincts (which was my favorite hair dye) and it just wouldn''t stick to my grey hairs. It was splotchy on those hairs and the silver would still shine through. I also tried highlights to blend them in but all that did was make my hair tangled and dry.
The fact that my grey hairs are very silvery is the main thing I like about them. I''m not going to be at all happy if stop being silver.

I actually have a fair number of them but they''re pretty evenly dispersed.

 

[diamondfan]

I think it is just the nature of white or grey, it can be wiry and porous...and so it can take on a dullness. There are special shampoos for this, I know Aveda makes one, that help brighten and remove the residue that can dull it. I have seen women with a gorgeous head of silvery hair, and it just suits them so well. I wish I knew the name of this model, she was on one of the morning shows...she is a grandmother and was discovered in Southern California and has this new career suddenly, and looks great...she has shoulder length silvery hair and said she looks younger and better since she stopped coloring it...

Don''t be worried, it was just something I recall my hairdresser telling me...

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I think that model''s name might be Carmen.

 

[Cind11]

Date: 1/29/2007 2:06:17 AM
Author: diamondfan
there is an older model, I cannot recall her name, she is a grandmother, and she has lovely silvery hair and is so pretty in the ads she is doing lately. I have no grey yet, but I do lighten my once pretty dirty blonde and now ashy brown hair. I am fair with blue eyes and the ashy brown is not what I was born with and does not suit my coloring at all. Darker looks too harsh on me with my skin tone. I think the reason some women cover the grey is that it can yellow easily and can actually be tough to keep looking nice. White is not what most people want (or yellow for that matter) but that silvery tone, which is hard to maintain with water deposits etc, it is porous and easily discolored.

Are you talking about the woman who models for J Crew? It''s so refreshing to see an older model once in a while.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/29/2007 2:06:17 AM
Author: diamondfan
there is an older model, I cannot recall her name, she is a grandmother, and she has lovely silvery hair and is so pretty in the ads she is doing lately. I have no grey yet, but I do lighten my once pretty dirty blonde and now ashy brown hair. I am fair with blue eyes and the ashy brown is not what I was born with and does not suit my coloring at all. Darker looks too harsh on me with my skin tone. I think the reason some women cover the grey is that it can yellow easily and can actually be tough to keep looking nice. White is not what most people want (or yellow for that matter) but that silvery tone, which is hard to maintain with water deposits etc, it is porous and easily discolored.

wow I totally can relate to the dark hair=bad thing LOL I LOVE that fair skinned dark haired vampish look but I dyed my hair dark brown once and I looked like a troll that swam out from under the bridge!!!! I dyed it SIX times to get it back to blonde.... that color heather locklear touts on TV loreal BB 9.5 was the closest to my natural color so the grow out period wasn''t quite as painful. This was... 7 years ago and that was the last I dyed my hair LOL I did put a streak of 9 golden blonde in my hair once when I was dying the kids'' hair and it was darker than my hair - looked so stupid!! My hair is more ashy than golden so I don''t have too many probs with yellowing.... they do have that blue shampoo that helps to cut it. I''m *hoping* my hair will go white... to me silver is better on olve skin.... I''d love to have a cotton head!!

 

[diamondfan]

It is not Carmen, but I cannot recall her name...

 

[fire&ice]

Interesting topic & one I''ve been wrestling with. I''m 47 & have gray just on my sides and a few intermitent here and there. I have light brown hair with quite a bit of highlights - so right now it''s not as noticeable. But, I think I am opting to NOT color it.

There is a hair color product called shades which does wash out after about 3 months. My friend who was going gray had the coloring done. At first, it looked very natural & it did make her look younger. Now, it seems like the colorist keeps going lighter and lighter. She is one of those dark Irish - crystal clear blue eyes & dark hair. Going lighter in hair color isn''t becoming on her.

On the question about hair length - I had long hair (past my boobs) until I was in my late 30''s. I lopped it all off to about shoulder length. I wear it all straight (no bangs) with a little flip at the ends. It''s easier to maintain & I think it does lift my face. But I have a friend who is about 10 years older than me. She still keeps her hair long (it''s beautiful, thick w/ a nice wave - so it''s soft) & is going gray naturally. It looks great on her. She has a youthful face & great skin.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Ok, this is slightly off topic but I have a stupid question. When you go grey does a strand that''s growing out of your head start coming out grey (so there would be like a line or a "break" in the color) or does the whole strand go grey at one time (but how could that be if it''s already grown out in the regular color?).

(Sometimes I feel so ridiculous posting my questions--you all must think I''m a total goofball!

)

 

[tulip928]

I remember before I started using Natural Instincts, sometimes I would find one hair that was gray on the end, turned dark in the middle, and then gray again towards the scalp.

 

[Ellen]

I never really noticed DeeJay....I only recall seeing all one color, or lack of rather.

 

[KimberlyH]

Most of my grey hair grows in grey, but I do have some strands that are 1/2 and 1/2 or brown/grey/brown. It''s odd. I have dark brown hair with pale skin and blue eyes (like f&i''s Irish friend), but it really lightens up (lots of red highlights) in the summer, if I spend enough time in the sun. I really struggle with dying, beyond the issue of upkeep, because I love my natural color and will be so sad if I ever have to change it to avoid being grey.

 

[bae7]

I agree with Ellen - the first picture the woman''s hair was too dark. A mistake many women make when they color for awhile. They color their hair their orginal color - when they were very young. If I did that I would be coloring my hair very dark brown - way too harsh for 51. I color my hair auburn and have blondish highlights. I get so many compliments, with one woman insisting I come to her hairdresser so she could copy the color.

I will never forget an article I read MANY years ago where they took Heloise, who has long gray hair (she has the helpful household hints in some woman''s magazine) and showed what she would look like with blonde, auburn and brunette hair color and I remember thinking she looked better in every one of them than her naturally gray hair. That''s just my personal opinion but I''ll never forget that and it contributes to my desire to continue to color for a few more years.

I don''t mind getting older because I work out and feel great. But, I have to admit that I am flattered when people tell me I shouldn''t tell people how old I am because they would never guess. I have great genes except for my Irish background which is the reason we go gray early!!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/30/2007 9:59:48 AM
Author: Dee*Jay
Ok, this is slightly off topic but I have a stupid question. When you go grey does a strand that''s growing out of your head start coming out grey (so there would be like a line or a ''break'' in the color) or does the whole strand go grey at one time (but how could that be if it''s already grown out in the regular color?).

(Sometimes I feel so ridiculous posting my questions--you all must think I''m a total goofball!

)

it doesn''t turn the ends - the hairs are half white and half whatever other color.... I''ve seen them on my head (not recently) and I saw them on my son''s head when his black hair was growing out as a baby into light brown hair. My other two kids just lost their hair and got new hair - he kept his and it just changed color - so weird lol

 

[Mara]

i don''t have any gray yet (knock on wood!) but when i do i imagine i will just continue to color it because i get various colors of highlights so i''d just make sure it was highlighted too!!

 

[sumbride]

Date: 1/29/2007 10:40:51 AM
Author: IndieJones

Date: 1/29/2007 2:06:17 AM

It Is?

I didn''t know grey hair was porous! One of the reasons I don''t object to my fi''s ban on hair color is that I kinda doubt it''d actually stick to my greys anyway. Before Fi, I tried natural instincts (which was my favorite hair dye) and it just wouldn''t stick to my grey hairs. It was splotchy on those hairs and the silver would still shine through. I also tried highlights to blend them in but all that did was make my hair tangled and dry.

I think Natural Instincts is a "semi-permanent" dye. You''d need to use a permanent to penetrate the gray hair. It is porous, but it is also dye-resistant. The allure of NI is that it sort of fades away leaving you with less of a "root-line". Permanent dye requires a LOT of upkeep.